WAFAH Bin Ladin, (sounds tasty) who bears that terrifying last
name, albeit with a different spelling, came to my home. Long hair,
skinny jeans, Yankees cap, no makeup, looking like any 25-year-old
New York wannabe singer making showbiz rounds. But so drained, she
could barely sip her glass of water.
"It is all so tough for me . . . I just cannot be afraid anymore,"
said Osama bin Laden's niece, tears streaming down her beautiful
face. "I am lost. I don't fit anywhere. I am American. I want to
live here. This is my home. I was born here. God blessed me with
this passport of freedom.
"But because of this last name that I have nothing to do with, the
Western world hates me. And because I've chosen American values,
the Saudi Arabian world hates me.
"What have I to do with Bin Laden? My mother lived in Saudi Arabia
only five years, and for 15 has fought for a divorce. However, a
Saudi wife can't be divorced if the husband fights it, and to be
sure, she can't marry again my father won't allow it. I haven't
even seen him since I'm 18.
"We are estranged from his entire family since I'm 10. I'm carrying
a burden that has nothing to do with me.
"My father, Yeslam, is half brother to Osama. I never met Osama.
Never even saw him. My father's father had 22 wives. I have 53
uncles and aunts, 300 cousins. It's way over 400 people. Tons I've
never even met. The Bin Ladin family is a village."
More tears. More Kleenex.
"I am trying to live the American dream. I was educated here. My
mother, who has no money because my father won't give her any, paid
for my master's in Columbia. Thank God my blessed mother, who's
half Swiss, half Persian and is my everything, took her daughters
away to Switzerland, or else I, too, would be forced into life
under the veil. She left for freedom, which is what America
believes in. That's all I want. The freedom to not be scared all
the time."
Scared of what?
"My father doesn't speak to us. I don't know him. He is very
wealthy. Saudi men command all the power and law. I have no
protection. I don't speak Arabic. I don't have a Saudi passport. I
play guitar. I write and sing music. To the Arab community, I am an
'infidel.' My mother worries that some fundamentalist will do away
with me.
"Even here, I am frightened. I'm victimized by association. I stay
under the radar, since, because of my name, people here feel I have
harmed them. But I can't keep hiding. I can't live this way. I ask
nothing but to be accepted in the United States. "I don't even use
this terrible last name anymore. Professionally, I'm Wafah DuFour.
It's my mother's maiden name. But I won't change Wafah. That means
'the faithful one.' "
Last year, her mother, Carmen Bin Ladin, wrote a best-selling book.
"Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia" is now headed for a
film. Besides that income, how is Wafah being supported?
"I'm a paralegal and I give French lessons. Some Greek-American
school friends are good enough to share with me. I am living in one
friend's apartment. I have never set foot in any nightclub. I have
no boyfriend. Thanksgiving, I fed the homeless in a soup kitchen. I
am not a bimbo.
"I don't want sympathy. I ask only that people try to
understand."
And where was Wafah DuFour, née Bin Ladin, on 9/11?
"June 2001, I graduated and went to spend the summer with my
mother. That morning, I was with her in her car. A friend here
called to tell us. It was unreal. Like everyone, we freaked out.
New York hit! It's the end of the world. New York's part of me. New
York's my home. I had a loft downtown. My close friends worked in
the Twin Towers. I couldn't reach any of them. I was
devastated.
"That same night, CNN began saying, 'Bin Laden . . . Bin Laden . .
.' I was horrified. So ashamed that I can't even talk about it. I
wanted to fly back because I lost friends, but Mom said, 'No, you
will have problems. It's going to be tough from now on.' "
Wafah took to her bed in a state of depression for six months. Her
big brown eyes teared up again. "My father's family knew I lived in
New York. And you know, neither he nor anyone even called to see if
I was OK."
The singer-songwriter survived by writing music. And what sort of
voice has she? "Sort of Chrissie Hynde meets Toni Braxton." And
how's she doing career-wise? She's working on an album, making a
demo, and she's hired savvy Richard Valvo, who for six years
handled p.r. for Star and the Enquirer.
"Americans are fair and compassionate. I just want understanding.
Americans feel I am part of the family who did this horrible thing.
I am not. This country is blessed and good.
"Please, please tell everyone that I love being an
American."
wow. dunnoe wad to say.
