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CASE STUDIES ON SUPPORTING ETHNIC MINORITIES WITH MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS #5 AIMA – TRAUMA, ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH BACKGROUND Aima is a 20-year-old Muslim female from Bangladesh. She was born and raised in Hong Kong. She is single and is currently an undergraduate student studying at a local university. She used to live with her parents and her 14-year-old brother and recently she has moved out since she cannot cope with the situation in her family. Aima’s mother has been physically, sexually and emotionally abused by her father for almost 14 years. Aima is immensely saddened and affected by her parents’ conflicting and abusive marriage. Her mother has no place in Hong Kong to go or talk about the abuse. Her mother is stuck as Aima’s conventional grandparents are not supportive to divorce or a separation from the abusive marriage. To protect herself, her mother would go back to Bangladesh for months. When she is back to Hong Kong, the abuse happens and Aima would often be punished by her mother for her father’s atrocities. This is what Aima shared:
“A little mistake would result in whipping and there were plenty of bruises all over my body. Obliging to religious norms was a must and a slight error while performing my religious duties, would result in acute beating.” Aima’s father would pull Aima in for resolving the marital conflicts between her mother and him when needed, and most of the time, he just ghosted his two children, leaving them alone. Aima is feeling angry, frustrated, sad and helpless. She feels abandoned. She does not understand why her mother uses her as a punching bag and she finds her parents abusive and unsupportive. She thinks her home environment was suffocating and toxic. This has resulted in her not being able to focus on her studies. She used to love painting and going out with her friends; however, she couldn’t continue as she has severe emotional distress. Out of anger and fear, she decided to move out to a friend’s home. Even though she has escaped from her home, she is unable to restore peace in her life. Her abused and distressed mother frequently calls Aima and shares her intention of ending her life. Her aggressive, confused father continues to get Aima involved in their marital conflict. She feels torn between her own life and her role as an elder daughter. Aima fears about her and her brother’s future. She also couldn’t share her home situation with her friend or anyone else as her friend’s family is from Hong Kong of Chinese origin and no one in her new residence understand her family situation. Out of severe emotional pain & distress, Aima often self-harms herself by cutting her arm and wrists with any sharp object that is available. She also drinks alcohol frequently. She has sleepless nights and is surviving on a bare minimum food intake. She has an assigned social worker that takes her to a clinical psychologist in the Government hospital. However, Aima still feels hesitant to share her family issues.
ISSUES FACED BY CLIENTS • Parental Conflict • Mental health symptoms – severe anxiety and depression • Poor relationship with others • Lack of support • Feelings of abandonment The Zubin Mahtani Gidumal Foundation Limited, known as The Zubin Foundation (registered charity in Hong Kong - IR 91/12344). 小彬紀念基金會 (香港註冊慈善機構 IR 91/12344) 。 Unit 5F, High Fashion Centre, No. 1 Kwai Hei Street, Kwai Chung, Hong Kong 香港葵涌葵喜街 1 號達利國際中心 5 樓 F 室。 Tel 電話: +852 2540 9588 E-mail 電郵: info@zubinfoundation.org Website 網址: www.zubinfoundation.org © 2023 The Zubin Mahtani Gidumal Foundation Limited (registered charity in Hong Kong - IR 91/12344). All rights reserved.