I Loath My Neighbour

Not just any one of them, there is this particular one who irks me like crazy. Initially we thought she was a single mother with her unmarried daughter who was pregnant. Everytime we walked past her house, we would hear her yelling: "You're a LOSER! You're a wh*re! You are good for nothing! Your baby is just going to turn out just like you."

We thought she was yelling into the phone at first and then it occurred to DH and I that there was a teenager in the house. Subhanallah - what kind of mother speaks to her child like that?

Then one day the girl - and another girl - went out to the stores, looking very conspicuous - and PREGNANT! I put two and two together and decided, yep, the woman's hiding her unborn illegitimate grandchild from the public... but I still could not accept the way she spoke to her daughter.

Then one day, one of our neighbours let us in on the scoop. He had noticed more than just the one girl and her friend - there were five or six pregnant teenagers in that house, and all were expecting.

It was a safe-house for pregnant, troubled teens. But as he inquired further, the so-called supervisor, who was always full of profanities, told him to mind his own business. Mind his own business? With all that yelling? She moved in over a year ago, and every single day, every neighbour in earshot range has had to deal with her excrutiating profanities, right after Fajr, all the way into the evenings.

If this was a safe-house she should have informed the neighbours. We could have helped. Counselling, coaching, training, financial help... our neighbourhood is a GOOD place to live. Everyone gets along with everyone else. We go on holidays together. We exchange salaams everytime we meet. Our children run in and out of each others' homes, borrowing toys and returning them three months later. We look out for our neighbours' kids all the time. We have monthly gatherings that involve food, glorious food.

What gives her the right to move her butt in here and contaminate the serenity of our home? I have nothing against the safe-house. Mashaallah what a task to take on and so many blessings to boot. But I seriously doubt this lady has a license to establish and run this home. If I were the authorities, I would not grant her a license - and speaking of authorities, there has not been an audit even once.

I only fear for the girls who stay there and their unborn children who are going to transition from traumatic pregnancies to potentially damaging lives. Whatever those teenagers have done to have gotten pregnant at such a young age is in the past, and screaming obscenities and ruining whatever they have left of their dignity is not going to help them. I'm not surprised if they pick themselves up after their births and fall pregnant all over again.

I have seen parents drop off their daughters there. I wonder if they know what goes on after they do. Worst still, I've seen unkempt looking men, visiting in their modified cars, hanging around and smoking with the girls. A father of one of the unborn babies, perhaps? One man was confronted by my concerned neighbour, and again, he was told to mind his own business, while his small children rode up and down the street on their bikes. What type of safe-house is this?

I have since alerted the press to investigate. I have lodged a report with the welfare department and have even called Teledera (the hotline for abuse). Nothing. No response. When I spoke to the operater from Teledera, he said they would take 4 to 6 weeks to respond to my report. That was during Ramadhan! About a year ago, a police van pulled up in front of the safe house. Crime Scene Investigation was printed on its side. The cops dawdled around and then left, leaving half of the street watching in silence.

I don't know what else to do. When the neighbours talked about asking them to leave, I said I was afraid for the teenagers and their babies - and they needed REAL help, from a REAL safe house, with proper attendees, teachers, counsellors, etc. But after my phonecalls have garnered no results at all, I think that I would like them to leave too.

Yesterday, DH ran over to the shops to grab something for dinner and he saw two of the pregnant teens strolling around enjoying ice-cream - that was before they sauntered into one of the shophouses for cigarettes. Astarghfirullah - how will they ever recover from the path they are already on? Especially with a sociopath care-taker? Who else should I call? What else can I do? I don't enjoy loathing a neighbour and I certainly don't enjoy having them live on my street.