second horrific incident that turned my blood cold. This morning, while stopped at a traffic light, a man driving a luxury black GMC, turned around to the veiled woman passenger sitting in the backseat and started slapping her repeatedly. My immediate reaction was shock, then absolute fury at the behavior of this man. He was beating someone who seemed clearly weaker than him. He was doing so with absolute impunity, as if he believed he had the right to do so. I rolled down my window to confirm that what I was seeing was really true. Her window was slightly down and I could clearly hear her begging him to stop. “Khalas please!” she cried, trying to defend herself from the blows. Incensed, I immediately sprang out of my car to intervene. I grabbed the handle of the driver's door and pulled hard, but it was locked. I then tried to open the back door but that was also locked. I shouted at her to open the door, but she would not do so. She waved me away. She was clearly so afraid of him, that she would not allow me to help her. “Khalas blash mashakel kifaya” (Enough, I don't want any more problems),” she cried frantically. Then the lights turned green and cars behind started hooting. The Asian-looking driver did not seem flustered at all by any of this. He looked at me, rolled down his window, swore, then sped off. By the time I got into my car to chase him, he had already disappeared. Of course I was angry and frustrated; and I felt a great sense of powerlessness because there was really nothing I could do. And if I felt this way, how must this woman be feeling? She must feel angry, frustrated, humiliated and powerless. And most of all, she must be immobilized with fear. As I drove to work, I was left with so many questions swirling around in my head. Why would the driver do this to her? Why is she kept prisoner to the needs of a driver? How much abuse is she suffering at this man's hands? And then I thought of so many others who must be suffering in silence like her: the vulnerable members of our society, the women, children and elderly. What about them? And what about this man? Who does he think he is? Who can abuse someone and think he can get away with it? I prayed that he would get the punishment he deserves.
