What of the Ali family now???

What We Didn’t Know About the Ali Family — Attorney Speaks Out

I did not watch the whole trial, but did Fatima try to talk to her parents about bad things from her previous trip to Iraq. I have the sense from school officials' testimony that maybe her family did not believe her about any creepy things from the previous trip. Or maybe Fatima talked to the school counselor because she did not feel safe or like she would be believed by her mother.

One question I have is how are the younger kids doing in school? It seems like Zahraa could easily be overwhelmed just by navigating things like the process of advocating for a 504 plan. So I have some concern that Zahraa strongly be encouraged to seek help from an agency that specializes in advocacy for immigrant families just for the sake of her younger kids.

Did anyone ask questions about abusive behaviors in the home? Sometimes people can be REALLY reluctant to name the problem, but that issue definitely came to mind.

I also think the school did Zahraa a disservice by banning her from all North Thurston schools. Where do the younger kids go to school? How is Mom supposed to be a parent for them?

Finally, there can be A LOT to be said for a neutral non-family interpreter but Zahraa declined the services of Language Line. I assume everyone has uneven experiences with language line but in the best case consistent interpreter practices can provide more consistency and opportunity for people to ask questions directly. Also Zahraa probably needs more in-depth cultural support than one conversation.

Anyway, all of this probably requires a different approach from a criminal lawyer, but I think the judge could consider some of this in preparing for sentencing.