Woman trafficked to Germany retraces Kerala roots to reclaim lost identity
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sabeena A wants to forget the day when she left her house at Nadayara and boarded a Thiruvananthapuram-bound bus towards. It happened in 2002, four years after her father Abdul Razakh passed away. After Razakh’s death, Sabeena, who was born to another woman, had to face a lot of hardships at home where Razakh’s legal wife and children lived too.
The then 12-year-old ended up at Beemapally where she stayed for a while. Some months later, a German couple trafficked her to Germany on a fake passport under the alias ‘Anita’. The forced migration devastated her and brought her umpteen miseries, something she does not want to talk about.
Nineteen years later, Sabeena, now a 31-year-old German citizen, is in the final phase of her battle to retrieve her lost identity. Her petition before a German court to change her name from Anita to Sabeena is expected to be taken up for final hearing by this month end.
Her quest for justice began in 2011 when she went to apply for citizenship. She had to furnish details about her parents and that was when the idea struck her. “Why should I bear the name thrust on me? Why shouldn’t I retrace my past,” was what she though.
Aided by a lawyer attached with a women cell, Sabeena moved the court. On her request, law enforcement officers from Germany came to Kerala in 2015. Later, in 2018, a lawyer appointed by the German Consulate visited Nadayara and talked to her relatives and neighbours to corroborate her claim. Sabeena says she is expecting a positive verdict.
“It will bring solace to me. I suffered a lot and nothing can undo what happened. Still, I will get some relief once I get my identity back officially. The documents from the school where I studied for two years have been taken to prove my point. They will form part of the evidence to be filed before the court,” she says.
After identifying her relatives at Nadayara, Sabeena had flown down to the state from Hamburg in 2016. She visited again in 2018 and is back in her hometown for the third time. However, this visit was special as she got hitched.
Her marriage with Nisamudeen Zainy was solemnized in May and the couple is expected to move to Germany, where Sabeena is working as a psychologist for mentally-challenged children.
Her relative M A Sathar, who is also the president of Nadayara Jamaath, said relatives and teachers identified Sabeena and were happy to see her again. “She has suffered several hardships. I hope she finds peace in her life again,” he said.