Samantha Lewthwaite is victim of white widow phobia and turns women into hawks
SAMANTHA Lewthwaite: Anorak’s look at the wanted British woman in the news.
Sky News has edited footage of the killers patrolling the Kenyan shopping centre where so many were murdered and maimed.
Having been told that Lewthwaite – the mythic White Widow – had run the operation – the Mail heard her barking out orders to her assassins – it’s noticeable that there are no women shown in the gang. We see four black men. The Black Widow and Orphan Makers, if you like.
Sky notes:
Kenya’s government initially said 10 to 15 attackers were involved in the assault, which left at least 67 people dead. However, the official now believes only four people took part in the protracted siege.
The video is from CCTV. Also filmed were Kenyan soldiers looting the mall. The Nairobi Star, reports:
“Virtually all the shops in the mall were looted except the Bata shoe shop. Jewellery, watch and mobile shops were emptied. ATMs, banks and a casino also lost funds.”
But no sign of Lewthwaite. Well, not unless you read the papers.
The Guardian: “From Zulu to the ‘White Widow’, why do all African stories need a white face?”
Afua Hirsch wants to know.
Into this fray steps a woman – originally from the UK – whose story as told in the British press is such an enthralling mix of the exotic, the horrific and the familiar that the ensuing intrigue can almost single-handedly power the Twittersphere. Enter Samantha Lewthwaite, aka the “white widow”, a British convert to Islam whose husband Germaine Lindsay killed 22 in the London 7/7 bomb attacks. She fascinates in the way that white women who wear hijab generally do – I’ve seen them stared at on the tube in London – and because we still don’t believe that women can be terrorists.
Is Samantha Lewthwaite a victim of white widowphobia?
The ratings appeal of a character such as Lewthwaite is obvious. You only have to look as far as Homeland – an entire series based around our fascination with western-born, white jihadist terrorists, which returns to UK screens this weekend – to find evidence of this. One character in the hit US show, which centers on a US marine who turns into a would-be suicide bomber, is Aileen Morgan, an American woman who plays a key role in a terrorist plot.
There are plenty of Somali-Brits, Somali-Canadian and other Somali dual citizens suspected of involvement with Al-Shabaab, but they are black and Somali-looking, and therefore their capacity for violence is apparently less surprising.
It’s high time we started to see black men as having the same power to end your life as white women. Let’s be fair.
Al Arabiya: “Secret diary: ‘White Widow’ was grooming her kids to be jihadists”
British fugitive female militant, Samantha Lewthwaite commonly referred to as the ‘White Widow,’ was grooming her children to be jihadists, her secret diary found by the Kenyan authorities shows. The diary was found in a luxury house in the Kenyan capital Nairobi where she reportedly stayed with her jhadist al-Shabab fellows planning to attack two hotels and a shopping mall…
“Recently, my beloved husband gave a talk to my eight year old son and five year old daughter. He asked them what do you want to be when you are old? Both had many answers, but both agreed to one of wanting to be a Mujahid,” Lewthwaite wrote in a crumpled paper.
Every young kid wants to be just like dad. Maybe when they become teenagers they’ll become more like mum and reject everything their parents stood for.
The Bucks Herald: “EXCLUSIVE: ‘Gobby’ Samantha Lewthwaite was ‘not the sort of character you messed with’”
Was she a – gulp! – bully?
A former friend of terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite says she was a ‘very strong personality’ and ‘even boys were intimidated by her’…The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she was ‘good friends’ with Lewthwaite during their time at the Grange School. Lewthwaite has been described as a ‘shy girl’ by some who knew her, however the woman, who had a sleepover at her house when they were in their teens, said this was absolutely not the case.
She said: “To say Samantha Lewthwaite was shy at school is completely wrong. She was a very strong personality within the class. She never had loads of friends at once. If you were a fairly close friend, as I was for a time and someone upset you she would absolutely defend you. She never really got into any trouble but she was very gobby and always had her say. She always won arguments because she was the sort of character you didn’t mess with. Even the boys were intimidated by her.”
Adding:
“I have been watching the coverage like a hawk and it gives me butterflies.”
Such are the facts…
Posted: 5th, October 2013 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
