the unseen and unheard in florida have a way out - truthatlastruthatlas | discover who's...
TRANSCRIPT
12/22/14, 2:30 PMThe Unseen and Unheard in Florida Have a Way Out - TruthAtlasTruthAtlas | Discover who's changing your world.
Page 1 of 7http://truthatlas.com/somy/
TweetTweet 2
The Unseen and Unheard in FloridaHave a Way Out
PLANTATION, FL–In 1992, a bright and beautiful 15-year-old girl named Somy Ali traveled fromPlantation, Fla., to Mumbai, India, where her talent and beauty catapulted her to fame as a Bollywoodactress. Several years and 10 movies later, she became an even more potent kind of star, founding theMiami-based nonprofit No More Tears, a rescue organization that helps women, particularly immigrantssuffering in silence and fear, escape from domestic violence and abuse.
No wonder that Somy was one of the 10 women to be honored at the 2013 L’Oreal Women ofWorth ceremony, set to be held Dec. 3 in New York City. It is a much-deserved accolade.
“I always enjoyed helping others,” Somy says, “and was influenced by my now-ex-boyfriend Salman Khanand his family, who were very giving. I saw how incredibly satisfying their donations and time became.”
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
TRUTH ATLAS SPECIAL REPORTS
“Alaskan Sunrise” by AlyeskaBrunke
TruthAtlas SpecialReports feature theinspiring people whoare propelling entiremovements beyondconception
ANAND RAO, TRUTHATLAS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT • DEC. 3, 2013 • HELPERS, HEROES • COMMENTS (0) • ♥6817
170LikeLike
SEARCH
! HOME ○ VIDEOS FEATURE STORIES GOOD NEWS WHAT IS TRUTHATLAS? CONTACT US
SPECIAL REPORTS » PEOPLE| SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS| PEACE & CULTURE| SCIENCE & EXPLORATION|
12/22/14, 2:30 PMThe Unseen and Unheard in Florida Have a Way Out - TruthAtlasTruthAtlas | Discover who's changing your world.
Page 2 of 7http://truthatlas.com/somy/
Somy Ali personally delivering donations to a rescued woman’s new home.
Shortly after Somy arrived back in Florida, one of her neighbors pounded on her door, bleeding profusely.A Bangladeshi immigrant, this woman had been beaten by her husband and raped by her father-in-lawover a period of 10 years, and finally found the courage to seek help. Somy immediately took her in andfiled a police report, then found her another apartment and supervised her application to nursing school.
“That’s when everything fell in place,” Somy says. “There were many girls from India, Pakistan,Bangladesh, Russia, Jordan and other countries, brought to the United States through arranged marriageand abused by the very men who were supposed to protect them. These women don’t have anydocumentation; their men deliberately don’t do the paperwork. They can’t drive, can’t write a check, andhave no friends.” Until they meet Somy.
Somy’s grassroots approach includes leaving cards and literature printed in multiple languages in grocerystores as well as ladies’ rest rooms in restaurants, temples, mosques, and churches. “These abusive mendon’t want their women to step outside for work or study, but they expect them to get groceries and cook.So the grocery stores are the best places to communicate with them,” Somy explains. It’s a successfulapproach, as hundreds of women have reached out to Somy after reading the cards printed in theirlanguages.
No More Tears now partners with police departments, attorneys, therapists, physicians, and other localbusinesses, offering services such as English classes, driving lessons, and immigration advice at no cost.Since 2006, No More Tears has rescued 318 adult victims and 682 children. Somy’s voice quivers withemotion when she talks about how these innocent victims are transformed. No More Tears’ very first casewas a Jordanian woman who’d been locked in a room for three months because her husband forbade herfrom trying to get an education. “When we went to rescue her, she fainted because she hadn’t seensunlight in those three months, and there were large patches of hair missing from her scalp.” recalls Somy.
“With our assistance, she went to school and graduated with a doctorate in pharmacy. It was the proudestday of my life.” In another case, a professor of computer science at a prestigious university had forciblyshoved his wife’s hand in a hot oven when she forgot to salt his food. He also brought home other womenand had sex with them in his wife’s presence, destroying her self-esteem. Proof that, unfortunately,
YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
MORE SPECIAL REPORTS
We have original stories to shareevery week. Subscribe to ournewsletter today!
People making adifference in "YourNeighborhood"
“When someone leaves my storeand they love what they’re leavingwith it feels great. I love shoes, so Iget excited when other people getexcited about them too.”
Alessandra Lazarek, Co-manager at Journey’s,Toms River, NJ
SUBMIT YOUR FAVORITE NEIGHBORS
email address
Subscribe
12/22/14, 2:30 PMThe Unseen and Unheard in Florida Have a Way Out - TruthAtlasTruthAtlas | Discover who's changing your world.
Page 3 of 7http://truthatlas.com/somy/
Somy helping one of the rescued kids with her homework.
domestic violence spans all economiclevels.
“I did not know that I could be so resilient,”Somy adds about her work that is asemotionally satisfying as it is heartbreakingand draining, especially when she rescuesabused children — or is herself threatenedby abusive and violent men. “Even after allthese years, each story still shocks me.However, the certainty that this woman orthis child will not endure this again keeps megoing. Our success rate has beenphenomenal considering the statistics that
women go back to their abusers seven times on average.” Recently, Somy received a distress call from awoman in India, giving No More Tears its first international rescue. She admits that she’s both shockedand amazed when she receives letters from all over the world — from girls looking up to her for inspiration.
Somy (left) selling self-designed T-shirts to raise money for her organization, No More Tears.
“I consider myself an ordinary person, who wants to help others. I never wanted to be someone high andmighty.”
Somy’s biggest challenge is raising the funds to help increasing numbers of victims. “All the money that Ihad saved up as an actor is gone,” she says, “and sometimes people are more likely to donate for abuseddogs than give to abused women.” Still, she is profoundly grateful for several friends and philanthropistswho continue to donate at crucial times.
Whether navigating the complex legalities of working with undocumented victims or responding to
FEATURE STORIES
VotingDoesn’t Haveto be a Chore.Here are 5
Tools to Make...
Will ArborBikeBecome aModel forSuccessful
Bike Sharing?
Billion Bricks:An InnovativeArchitectTakes the
Leap of Faith
SocialMarketplaceStartup WinsForbes’
‘Pressure Cooker’ Pitch-Off
PeacePlayers Intl.'s Romy and Malak provethere's hope for a shared future between #Israel & #Palestine: youtu.be/Yk2UIKPuys4#TruthAtlas
Truth Atlas @TruAtlas
Show Media
I'm all out of Reese's. #ScaryStoriesIn5Words #TruthAtlas pic.twitter.com/pbqAcvsHX0
Truth Atlas @TruAtlas
Tweets
Tweet to @TruAtlas
OCT. 30, 2014
OCT. 27, 2014
OCT. 24, 2014
OCT. 22, 2014
12/22/14, 2:30 PMThe Unseen and Unheard in Florida Have a Way Out - TruthAtlasTruthAtlas | Discover who's changing your world.
Page 4 of 7http://truthatlas.com/somy/
TweetTweet 2
RELATED POSTS
desperate calls in the middle of the night, Somy is on a mission. “I rescue women, but I care more for theirchildren,” she says. “It’s important for little girls to get educated and grow up to be strong women. And it’sessential for young boys to know that it’s not OK to hit a woman. Stopping our children from becomingabusers when they grow up is the only way we can stop this cycle.”
Does she miss the glamour and fame of Bollywood stardom? “I never wanted to become a star, but I missthe perks, like my own driver,” she says with a laugh. “But I am in a very happy place right now, and Iwouldn’t trade my work for anything.”
Want to get involved?The declared mission of No More Tears isto provide immediate individualizedassistance to victims of domestic violencethrough holistic services, bringing hope,happiness and healing to survivors. Theirvision is to serve as a leading voice in theglobal fight against domestic violence throughdirect services, victims advocacy andinfluential policy.
DONATE HEREDONATE HERE
GOOD NEWS
SolarBags UseSunshine toBreak DownWater
Contaminants
Got a CandyProblem? OneOrganizationHelps Get
Candy Off the Streets
Truth AtlasYou like this.
You and 17,763 others like Truth Atlas.
Facebook social plugin
Like
ADVERTISEMENT
170LikeLike
MALALA YOUSAFZAI,KAILASH SATYARTHIWIN NOBEL PEACEPRIZE
INTERNATIONAL DAYOF THE GIRL CHILD: 10ORGANIZATIONSEMPOWERING YOUNGGIRLS
FINDING ANENDURING SPOT FORHUMAN LIFE INNATURE’SECOSYSTEMS
HEFORSHE: HERE’S STUDY FINDS THE MO’NE DAVIS MAKES
OCT. 31, 2014
OCT. 31, 2014
12/22/14, 2:30 PMThe Unseen and Unheard in Florida Have a Way Out - TruthAtlasTruthAtlas | Discover who's changing your world.
Page 5 of 7http://truthatlas.com/somy/
Studies Find that Believing in theParanormal Has Its Benefits
LATEST VIDEOS
MakingMovies inAfrica’sLargest Slum
Featured onUpside TV:Songs for theWorld’s
Bravest Kids
These RockClimbers AreProving Their
ADVERTISEMENT
WHAT THE MEN HAVETO SAY
HIJAB MAY IMPROVEWOMEN’S BODYIMAGE
LITTLE LEAGUE WORLDSERIES HISTORY AGAIN(AND AGAIN)
MALALA ENCOURAGESOBAMA TO COMBATTERRORISM WITHBOOKS AND PENS
THE WORLD HAS 500DAYS TO REACHMILLENNIUMDEVELOPMENT GOALS
THE FIRST WOMAN TOWIN THE ‘NOBEL PRIZEOF MATH’
BECKY HAMMONBECOMES NBA’S FIRSTFULL-TIME FEMALEASSISTANT COACH
EMMA WATSONNAMED A UNITEDNATIONS GOODWILLAMBASSADOR
SURVIVORS OF SEXUALVIOLENCE IN GOMAFIND HOPE AND ANEW...
FIRST FEMALEPROMOTED TO FOUR-STAR ADMIRAL BY THENAVY
MARIA SHRIVER:PEOPLE ON THE BRINKOF POVERTY‘DETERMINED ANDHOPEFUL’
NO GIRL LEFT BEHIND–WHY HELPINGREFUGEE FAMILIESSTARTS WITH TEENGIRLS
OCT. 31, 2014 • ♥99
JUN. 1, 2014
MAY. 23, 2014
○
MAY. 22, 2014
○
12/22/14, 2:30 PMThe Unseen and Unheard in Florida Have a Way Out - TruthAtlasTruthAtlas | Discover who's changing your world.
Page 6 of 7http://truthatlas.com/somy/
$ Previous post:
Guardian of the Gate
Next Post: %
Alexandre Havard on Great
Leaders
ANAND RAO, TRUTHATLAS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Anand Rao, is a New York City based writer and communications consultant with
a richly diverse set of experiences acquired in 2 countries. From advertising
creative, journalism, and corporate communications to content strategy and
change management, he has held both ‘consultant’ and ‘client’ roles for
companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 corporations. He is also an
actor and director with a special interest in multicultural theater. Anand has an M.B.A. from the
Westminster College, Graduate Certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications from the
University of Utah, in addition to Bachelors' and Masters' degrees in English literature from
Universities in India.
Disability Doesn’t Define Them
BridgingTroubledWaters:Women
Helping Afghan Women
ADVERTISEMENT
LEAVE A REPLY
Enter your comment here...Enter your comment here...
APR. 25, 2014
○
TruthAtlasSM shares compelling
stories about the people who are
making the world a better place.
Learn more about our
collaborators here.
NOMINATE A LEADER!
Have a Story Idea?
Know an
extraordinary
individual? Tell us about them.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Would you like to contribute to
TruthAtlasSM? Learn more here.
MEET OUR TEAM
PRIVACY POLICY • TERMS OF
USE
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAILINGLIST
SEARCH
email address
Subscribe
12/22/14, 2:30 PMThe Unseen and Unheard in Florida Have a Way Out - TruthAtlasTruthAtlas | Discover who's changing your world.
Page 7 of 7http://truthatlas.com/somy/
©2014 TruthAtlasSM Discover who's changing your world.