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Topic : 06/16 A Daughter in Danger?

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Created on : Thursday, November 08, 2007, 07:38:18 pm

Author : DrPhilBoard1

(Original Air Date: 11/14/07) When Shawn’s daughter, Katherine, was only 16 years old, she made international headlines when she ran away to the Middle East to be with 20-year-old Abdullah, whom she met on MySpace -- a man she never met in person but was convinced she was in love with. The FBI intercepted her in Jordan and escorted her back to the United States. Unbeknownst to her family, Katherine secretly continued a relationship with Abdullah via the phone and the computer for two years. After turning 18, Katherine said goodbye to her family and left to be with Abdullah in the war-torn Gaza Strip. Katherine’s family is terrified that she’s never going to return. They think Abdullah is lying to Katherine and possibly even brainwashing her. They say when she calls, something doesn’t sound right. Is she afraid for her life, but unable to tell them? Is she being held against her will? Dr. Phil talks with Katherine via satellite from Palestine, and has some hard questions for Abdullah about his real intentions with Katherine. Join the discussion.

Find out what happened on the show.

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mariamq

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November 24, 2007, 12:26 pm PST

Here we go!

Quote From: pamom123

I agree with most. It's not about blaming the parents, but there are things a parent can do to keep a closer eye on their child. When my two oldest children were teens, I installed spectrasoft software on their computers. Every email or website that they went on, I got an email copy of on my computer. As they grew, I was able to choose which parties were okay for my kids (ie, no alcohol or drugs and was able to identify which homes had parents who allowed this). If they were communicating to someone I did not know (which they did not do), I would of known immediately. We do have good communication, but like most teens sometimes their decision making is not the greatest and I was able to be aware of what was going on. They are almost done with college now (I took the software off when they started college) and are doing well. A lot of people might criticize and say that I invaded their privacy, but I don't regret it a bit. There is other software out there if you have other concerns, such as a system you can install in your car which tells you by email, how fast your car is going and where your car is at all times. I did not use this, but it all helps to be an informed parent. Kids need our love, guidance and support and this technology helps you know when more input may be needed.
Also one other thing, there is no such place as Palestine. There is Israel. There is the Gaza Strip, but there is no place called Palestine. I wish Dr. Phil would identify places correctly. Just some thoughts.

No such thing as palestine? Have you been living under a rock for your whole life? palestine has been around alot longer than the terrorist state known as israel... If this is your way of blocking out the fact that you are pleased with thoushands of palestinians being murderd every year for land that rightfully belongs the that palestinians then you really are a twisted person... Shame on you!

You should go and live with the palestinians and see how they get treated but the isrlaies.

http://www.exposingisraeliapartheid.com/
http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/
http://www.jatonyc.org/UNresolutions.html

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mariamq

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November 24, 2007, 12:47 pm PST

Thankyou

Quote From: weirving

I am an atheist, first of all. But I HAVE read the Quran. Trying to convince people in the West about the great life to be had by women in the Muslim world by referring to the teachings of the Quran is as ridiculous as a Christian American who refers to the Bible in order to sell the virtues of American life to Arabs.

The fact is, to a greater or lesser degree, all people are hypocrites. They profess one set of beliefs and values while behaving in ways contrary to them. All people everywhere are the same as far as this is concerned.

I am aware that in the Quran, women - according to the Prophet - are allowed to own property, are allowed to divorce their husbands, are in fact granted much more personal freedom and respect than is ever specifically granted them in the Bible. That said, while the Quran grants women freedom and rights, Arab societies DO NOT! Arab culture is very old and very complex - it pre-dates the time of the Prophet by many more centuries than America has existed. Before the Prophet, women in Arab culture were treated as chattel property - little more than slaves. Today, the Arab world is full of people who profess to be Muslims, but in fact, are still much more Arab than Muslim.

The same is true - maybe especially true - in America. Americans - about 80% of us according to most statistics - profess their Christianity. But very, very few of us behave in a manner either consistent with or becoming of a Christian. And if you are an observer of how ordinary people treat one another in daily life, it seems there are fewer and fewer every day, even as more and more trumpet that they have "found God," are "born again," and start thumping on their Bibles, suddenly feeling SO much superior to their less devout brethren.

Colorado Evangelical "mega-church" leader Rev. Ted Haggard, who worked tirelessly to not only stop laws prohibiting discrimination against gay people, but to actually promote more anti-gay legislation to roll back the anti-discrimination laws that already were on the books, was caught cavorting with a gay male prostitute! The Rev. Jimmy Swaggart, a televangelist from Louisiana - known for his fire-and-brimstone "You're all goin' ta Hell" sermons - got arrested for soliciting prostitution. Oh, yes... and the Roman Catholic Church, the priesthood of which has become a safe haven for pedophiles; the church hierarchy has long, as a matter of unwritten policy, shielded priests who are KNOWN for this behavior.

And we also have, across the planet, "Muslims" who feel it is just to send female rape victims to prison for "provoking" their rapists' behavior, or for being in public without escort by a male family member. This is NOT in the Quran, but it sure is a part of life in any Arab country. We have "Muslims" who kill at random, kill women and children, kill innocent non-combatants - sometimes, like on 9/11/01, by the THOUSANDS. And they do it by means of suicide missions, in the name of Islam, in the name of jihad.

These practices are very un-Islamic by the Quran, but are certainly very Arab. There is no more place in Islam for suicide than in Christianity or Judaism, nor is the killing of innocents a part of legitimate jihad. But like Christians who behave like they've never opened the Bibles they so sanctimoniously thump at the rest of us while wagging their fingers in judgment, there are Muslims in the millions who act and preach as if they've never actually read the Quran for themselves, they've simply allowed themselves to be demogogued into radicalism by self-appointed imams and mullahs who are verbally facile enough to cloak their fascist ideology in the vocabulary of Islam.

The bottom line is, it is human nature to be hypocritical. People everywhere are guilty of behaving at odds with their stated beliefs. And people everywhere are very good at rationalizing and justifying it. Otherwise, how could we live with ourselves? So, your citing of religion as an apologia for Arab cultures' treatment of women just makes me laugh in derision.

So well said, Thankyou very much.

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missmooselips

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November 24, 2007, 1:59 pm PST

what is this kid thinking

I sitll would like to know where in the hell is her father.I don't let my kids or grandkid on my computor and my space isn't going to be on any computor in my house.Didn't her mom look in on her at nite or even check her computor to see where she was going and talking to.I have never hear of such a thing.I think this kid needs a not on her head.

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mamewhel

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November 26, 2007, 1:31 pm PST

Wrong Victim

I'm sorry, but I think Abdullah isthe one who got the short end of the stick. Catherine managed to travel quite willingly at his family's expense and did everything exactly as she wished and cared not a wh

it for anyone else She's still doing it. A new boyfriend? What took her so long? She wants to bean adult? Let her pay her own phone bill. As her sister stated, she doesn't want to work or go to school. Why should she, she's on a free ride and will keep it that way until someone boots her off the bus.

She put herself in a very dangerous situation and thanks to Dr.Phil, she's safe and sound. Well, safeanyway. Good luck to anyone who gets in her way,

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veronicascott

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November 26, 2007, 7:47 pm PST

glad u are home

I am very glad to see she is home on American soil and that she has found an American guy.

I have my concerns whether she is safe from the clutches of abdallah. What she did was not accepted in his culture. She made a choice.She changed her mind. That is an American womans perogative. I don't think women in his culture have that right. I'm afraid he will come to the USA, hunt her down, kidnap her and take her back so she could be an american slave. I don't think she is safe.

WHO bites a woman??? WHO hits a woman with a belt no less.

If she should choose to go back now after her "wordly" experience then Dr. Phil should not spend any more money trying to get her back home. hopefully she has learned one of her life's lessons. right now,go to college, get a job enjoy yourself with your friends. Live with a purpose and make your life count.

VeronicaScott

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auntinpants

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November 27, 2007, 7:02 am PST

Daughter in danger!

I have read most of the message boards and they are very mixed. My family is in a similar situation with my 18 year old niece. Her trouble started about 2 years ago. We haven't figured it out, but she seems to be attracted to the boys that are "bad", the kind that do drugs, have police records and the most current has done time. At the moment, she has joined the military and they accepted her with open arms. She is a beautiful, smart (bookwise) and loving girl but most of all naive. When she was home for 2 weeks from training camp, she met a 22 year old male person. I have not met him but after looking him up on a background check, he has 40 violations that expand over the past 4 years. The man is a felon and got out of jail in Jan of this year. He is married and has 2 children.

He went to Cali to be with my niece because he says she is the greatest thing that has ever happened to him. He has successfully put her in debt so far she will never be able to pay it back. He says he married my niece even though he has no divorce. I thought it was against the law?

He is the worse thing that could have ever happened to her. Her mother (single parent) and the family believe this man will bring her down so far we will never get her back. I do not want to see her kicked out of the military because thats the one thing she loved but I believe she will do anything this guy wants her to do in an effort to keep him.

She is 3,000 miles away from home and we have never felt so helpless in our lives. In my heart I don't want to give up, but because she is 18, I know we have to.

I am happy to see Katherine has finally changed her mind about Abdulla. I just hope my niece will change soon before she regrets a foolish decision for the rest of her life.

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stavalis

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November 27, 2007, 1:11 pm PST

I don't buy it

I watched this show yesterday and had no sympathy for Katherine whatsoever. Everyone painted Abdullah with the bad brush and it was sad to watch. Katherine went of her own free will, even after being turned back the first time. Abdullah didn't go to the US with guns blazing and steel her away, she went to be with him. When Katherine was trying to make up things he had done to her it was obvious she was lying. When she told Abdullah she was through with him and he walked off I thought the remark by Dr. Phil of that's mature or something of that nature was clearly not called for. Anyone who watched that and couldn't see that he loved her must be blind. He walked off due to emotions not maturity or bad manners. She stayed with him for all that time, refused to go home even after promising Dr. Phil she would and now she says he was mean to her. I don't buy that for one second. Then we have her loving family who couldn't even bother to pick her up at the airport, and the first person she called when no one was there to get her, Abdullah, the guy who was so mean to her. Katherine is one spoiled brat that needs to grow up and take responsibility for her own life. I watched in total disgust as the audience clapped when she told Abdullah they were through. You could see he was heartbroken. He called her names because he was hurting and wouldn't talk to him, most of us have done the same thing and I don't believe we would be called a terrorist. He said his parents treated her well and I don't doubt that for one second. Probably much better than the reception she recieved when she got home. Abdullah got the bad rap here, that's clear, and sad.

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mactavish1

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November 27, 2007, 3:59 pm PST

Painful to view

The young man Abdulah lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw his girlfriend in the final segment. Truly a young love that was as real as Romeo's was for Juliet. Dr. Phil threw him in front of the bus and acted like he'd done everyone a favor by embarrassing and humiliating the young man. This kid was only 20 years old and had been involved with the girl for the past two years. They'd been together in the best and worst of times and conditions. How sad to end it this way and at the terrible expense of his feelings. We are a biggoted nation and everyone should read the book Kite Runner to have a better understanding of how different it is in the Middle East but additionally how very much the same we really are no matter where with our needs, desires dreams and ambitions. It all could have been handled a little more gently. I'll bet she'll end up back with him.

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fem4life

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November 27, 2007, 6:46 pm PST

WHAT?????

Quote From: hpmx59

A Danger Daughter In Phil. How do you like it when your son get in trouble in the East Middle? I would not--

like it if my Nice get in to trouble. See you on Wednesday November 14th, 2007. Sincerlley Your. Russell---

Vlaanderen.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What are you trying to say?

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lisa_burns

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November 27, 2007, 7:05 pm PST

unhealthy & dangerous

Katherine must stay away from any abusive person in her life. Bottom line.

Katherine should stay away from the middle east.

Someone said he lit up light a xmas tree when he seen her... Well, good for him. But not for her. He will keep hurting her & it will get worse if she decides to go back to him.

Abuse and middle east are 2 things everyone should avoid. Talk about a double bad situation.

I hope that abdullah can get some help for his insecurities and have a healthy relationship with someone someday, but the damage is already been done with Katherine.

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