This is the first time I have talked to anyone about what happened.

Where did it happen?

I was at a private girl's boarding school in England. The summer holidays were due to begin, my parents worked in Egypt at the British Consulate and I was going out to stay with them for my school holidays and celebrate my thirteenth birthday.

I was ever so excited; I had never been abroad before.

Did it happen in Egypt?

Yes, about two weeks after I arrived, my mother had warned me about the Arabs. I never went out on my own. I wasn't stupid; in fact I was a very sensible girl for my age.

May be that's the only reason I am still alive today, the penalty for rape in Egypt is the death sentence, that's why most of the rape victims are killed, so they cant identify there rapist.

How old were you then?

I was just 13. I had only just had my birthday three days before it happened.

But I looked older then 13, I was tall for my age. My dad was very tall and my mother was Swedish and blond. I knew I was quite a pretty girl, being tall and slim with long blond hair.

What clothes were you wearing when it happened?

We had been invited to some sort of embassy dinner and dance for families and friends who worked at the consulate. Mum had brought me a fine new white cotton dress it was very beautiful, it came just below my knees and had a hand embroidered hem, short sleeves and buttons down the front to the waist. I had matching short white ankle socks, mum had done my hair, and she had left it long with just a few curls in it to make it look fuller. I was so proud of that dress; I think I must have been the prettiest girl at the ball.

Children and all the under 16 year olds had to leave the ball before 9 o'clock.

We had a magic show, then dad said I had to go home, he organised a driver and I was driven back to our apartment block, the driver even accompanied me into the reception area and he called the lift.

Did you at anytime feel in danger or that somebody was following you?

No, the apartment block was very safe; we even had security out side. Our apartment was on the 8^th floor. They were renovating all the apartments on the 4^th floor; the Arab workers always used the staff and furniture lift. Long pause.

Take your time, I know it must be very difficult for you, just tell us what happened.

I pressed the button for my floor, the door closed and the lift went up. The bell rang and the lift stopped at the 4^th floor. The doors opened. Two Arab workers were standing there; they were both wearing the typical dirty white caftans that Arab workers wore.

It all happened very quickly, they both came in the lift, one snatched my hand the other one grabbed my hair and together they pulled me out of the lift.

I screamed and the one pulling me along by my hair put his hand over my mouth to keep me quite. They pulled me along the corridor and into one of the apartments that was being renovated. There were cement sacks and boxes of tiles in the entrance; they pulled me into one of the rooms, it was empty, apart from a dirty old mattress on the floor.

Can you describe your assailants?

This is a sketch of what the older Arab man looked like.

I'm quite good at drawing and I drew this from memory 3 years later.

As long as I live I will never be able to forget what that horrible dirty old man looked like and what he did to me.

Both Arabs were about the same height, bigger then I was, but not as tall as my dad. They were both very unclean and the old man he stank, they had very dirty white caftans on, there heads were partly covered with the head wear that the workers always wore on the building sites. One was about twenty five or thirty, and the other one was much older I think he must have been more then sixty. His face was all wrinkled and he was a black Arab, probably from North Africa. He had a grey beard and mustache, and his teeth, most of them were missing, and what few he still had were disgusting, they were all black and dark yellow decayed stumps.

They pulled me over to the mattress, the younger one that was holding me by my hair with his hand over my mouth; he pulled me down by my hair, forcing me down onto the mattress. The older one grabbed my ankles and pulled my legs out so I was laying flat on my back.

Did they speak any English?

Yes the younger one, his English was quite good, and I think he could understand me. The older black one only spoke Arabic.

Tell me what happened next.

He took his hand away from covering my mouth, and pulled my arms up behind my head. I yelled at them to let me go. I told them my dad worked at the British Embassy he's a very important man and they would get into big trouble if the didn't let me go.

I think I was very composed for my age, considering what was happening. I struggled to try and get away, but they were both a lot stronger then I was. After he had pulled both my arms up behind my head he put his knees over them so that he was kneeling on them to hold them there. I tried to kick but the other one just grabbed my ankles and held my legs down. Then he knelt on my feet and legs, he was very heavy and I couldn't pull my feet out from underneath him.

Maybe they hadn't understood me. So I tried to tell them in simple English, I said "My father policeman, he coming to look for me, you in big trouble, let me go now" I don't know if they understood me or not.

They were talking to each other, but the older one was getting very loud. It sounded like they were arguing; I couldn't understand them as it was Arabic. I hoped they were talking about letting me go. But when I think about it now, they were probably only arguing over who was going to be first, anyway the older one must have won the argument, he raped me first, although the first time he tried, I really resisted and fought like mad to try and stop him I was a virgin and he couldn't get his penis into me But then, the younger one held a knife to my throat, he told me he'd cut my throat if I resisted. Then the dirty old Arab raped me. It hurt, he really hurt me.

Did you think you were going to be raped?

No, I was only just thirteen, and very naïve, I hadn't even had my first period yet. My mother was very religious; she had never really talked to me about sex. I knew were babies came from and how. At school I had three very good girl friends; we all came from good families. We'd made a pact, and solemnly swore that we would all stay virgins until we were 18 and only then if it was Mr. Right. I suppose that was typical what young girls do. No, I didn't think I was going to be raped. Men didn't rape 13 year old girls. I was totally innocent and had never even been kissed - I was very scared, but I thought they were only going to frighten me, then let me go.

What happened then?

The older one, he lifted my dress up so he could see my legs. I screamed and the other one put his hand over my mouth again, he told me to be quiet. He kept his hand over my mouth, while the dirty smelly old man put his hands up under my dress all the way up to the top of my legs. He got hold of my panties. I couldn't believe what he was doing. As he started pulling my panties down, I tried to scream and struggled madly but I couldn't stop him. The one with his hand over my mouth holding me down, he kept saying "Be quiet girl, be quiet" I started crying as he pulled my panties down, I was really frightened then. He pulled them all the way down my legs till they were down round my ankles. He put his hand up under my dress again, and started feeling my legs. Oh god I didn't want to be touched by this horrible old Arab. He slowly started moving his hand further up my leg.

It was awful; I had never ever been touched by a man before, I was a very shy, innocent respectable 13 year old girl.

I clamped my legs together tightly to try and stop him, but he forced his hand in between the top of my legs.

Crying I shook my head madly I didn't want him to touch me there. The horrible old Arab was grinning at me, showing his disgusting teeth, he was such a revolting dirty old man. I could feel his fingers in between the top of my legs and slowly he started pushing the tip of one of his fingers into my vagina. It was horrible, I hated him touching me. I felt so ashamed. He pushed the end of his finger inside my vagina; he kept pushing his finger further in me till it started to hurt. He spoke to the other one still holding his hand over my mouth. It seemed like he was very excited he said "Masutu" he said it a few times and then pulled his finger out of me.

Did you know what he was talking about?

Yes my mother had mentioned it, when she had told me about the Arabs way of life and how important it was that I didn't go out alone. I new that word and what it meant. In the Arabic countries it was there belief that the most important and precious thing a girl could ever posses is her masutu, her virginity, a girl who still had her masutu is a virgin, her maidenhood is still intact, meaning her hymen hasn't been broken. For an Arab man to take a girls masutu is a great honour and it's said for every masutu he takes he will live longer and be healthier. For a girl, if she loses it before her marriage it's a great dishonour for her and her family; she might even be stoned to death.

He knew you were a virgin then.

Oh yes, he definitely knew I was a virgin, because as he started pushing his finger further up inside my vagina he must have obviously felt my hymen with his finger so he knew I was still a virgin because my maidenhood was still intact. Anyway he must have realised I was far too tight not to be a virgin, my god I was only just thirteen years old. I hadn't even had my first menstruation. His finger was the very first thing I had ever had inside my vagina.

What happened next?

They talked together ignoring me. The older one, the one that had put his hand up my skirt gave the other one a knife. Then he got up from knelling on my feet and went to the door, he shut the door to the room. I was terrified. I thought they were going to kill me then.

The one with his hand over my mouth spoke to me, he told me to be quiet and listen. I will always remember what he said. He told me his friend was going to have sex with me. I was horrified when he said that. I pleaded with him; I told him my daddy would pay them a lot of money, he would make them both very rich. I begged him please don't do that to me, not that, anything, but not that.

He said he knew I was a good girl and his friend was very pleased that I was still a virgin. He told me his friend was going to enjoy taking my virginity. He held the knife against my throat and added that if I didn't let his friend take my virginity and have sex with me, he would kill me. I was so afraid, I just nodded. I didn't want to die. I wanted to go home and see my mommy and daddy again. He wasn't giving me a choice, you must understand, I had to agree, if not, I really believed he would have killed me.

He told me, if I refused he would cut me, so I better be a good girl and open my legs for his friend. It was so awful, so terribly degrading he wanted me to open my legs so that the horrible dirty old Arab could put his penis in me. He said I had to lay still and keep my legs wide apart till his friend had finished taking my virginity. If his friend was pleased with me, then he wouldn't kill me and they would let me go home afterwards.

You knew then that the old Arab was going to rape you.

Yes, but no, you don't really think it will happen. You keep thinking and hoping that it's not going to happen, that he won't do it, or somebody will stop it from happening, you know, at the last minuet the door will open and the good guys will come rushing in and save you.

Tell me exactly what happened.

The old Arab pulled my panties off; then he grabbed my ankles and pulled my feet apart enough so he could kneel between them. I still tried to keep my knees together.

The other one wasn't holding his hand over my mouth any more so I could talk, but he was still holding the knife next to my face. I pleaded and begged them not to do anything to me. But they just ignored me. The older one bent forward, and grabbed hold of the front of my dress; he yanked the top of my dress down. I screamed at him to stop it, a hand was put over my mouth again to keep me quite. One of the buttons popped off the top of my dress as he pulled it apart. He opened the front of my dress wide enough, so that my small breasts were fully exposed. I think he was disappointed that my breasts were not bigger, most thirteen year old girls don't have a lot of breast and I was no exception, a couple of fried eggs would have been a fair description. But it wasn't my breasts he was interested in. He pulled my dress up, pushing it up till it was above my waist so I was naked from the waist down apart from my white ankle socks. The horrible old Arab looked at me, glaring at my nakedness; no man had ever looked at my private parts or seen me without my clothes on before. He grabbed hold of my ankles again; I tried desperately to keep my knees together, but he was strong and easily pulled my legs wider apart. He knelt between my opened knees. Horrified I watched him undo the front of his caftan. He was very black. I'm not a racist, really I'm not, I have nothing against coloured people, but I didn't want to be touched by this disgusting dirty old black Arab.

He opened his caftan, he wasn't wearing any underwear. I saw his penis. I had never seen a mans penis before. He had an erection. It looked disgusting, sticking out from between the top of his legs, it looked like a big long black sausage, it was enormous. I didn't know a man's penis would be that big. God, I didn't want this horrible dirty old black Arab to put his revolting penis in me. I started wriggling madly, trying to scream and close my legs anything to try and stop him. He forced himself in between my legs.

I saw him put his hand round his penis. He bent over me lowering him self down to get on top of me, his hand guiding his penis in between the top of my legs. I felt his penis in between the top of my legs as he rubbed and pushed it against my most private part.

I knew he was trying to find the entrance to my vagina. He kept pushing it hard against me, I was hysterical, wriggling madly and frantically kicking my legs. I didn't want this horrible old man to put his penis in me; I didn't want to be raped.

Because I was so young and still a virgin the entrance to my vagina was very small and obviously being dry and very tight it made it difficult for him to penetrate me. You can believe me, I really did struggle madly, I did my very best to try and stop him

You were only just 13 still a child, everybody knows you did your best to try and stop him.

After a while he stopped trying to penetrate me, he sat back kneeling between my legs.

I was so young and naïve I didn't really know then for sure if he had raped me and taken my virginity or not. I thought it was over then and they would let me go home.

The horrible old Arab seemed annoyed because he hadn't been able to do it to me properly. I thought his penis was so large that it was obviously too big to go inside my small vagina.

I was able to talk, so I begged them to let me go. I said I wouldn't say any thing to my parents or any body else, I promised them, if they would just let me go.

The old Arab started spitting repeatedly into the palm of his hand, until he had a hand full of spit; he used his knees to keep my legs apart while he put his hand in between the top of my legs and wiped his revolting spit on me. I knew why he was doing it. He did it another couple of times, until I was all wet between the top of my legs. I knew it wasn't over yet; it obviously wouldn't be over till he'd had his penis inside me properly, taken my virginity and had sex with me.

The one with the knife, he put it against my throat, he told me he would cut my throat if I didn't keep still, and open my legs. The horrible old Arab bent over me again. I knew he was going to rape me then. He still had an erection, he lowered him self so that he was on top of me. I felt his horrible large stiff penis in between the top of my legs, he started rubbing and pushing it against me for a second time. I immediately started wriggling trying to stop him again. The knife was pushed against my throat, he told me to keep still.