Re: I Need Advice
:(
I've been thinking of it all night long. The dry-cleaner wala uncle we spoke to (who is somewhat of an aalim and very involved in community affairs on the side as his service work) told us that since the girl is shia, he'll go to the shia mosque and talk to those guys (who are also family friends actually) to see if she's been there to ask for money. They want to make sure she's not scamming people for money.
I doubt she's been to any mosque, because when I raised that as an option to her, she responded as if she hadn't ever thought about that as an option...kinda like I almost felt the wheels in her brain were turning...
Apparently, these family friends who are involved in the community have told us that there have been a lot of new immigrant families who scam masjids and the community by asking for donations...
What they do is they get their wife to pretend like she's been abused and the guy ran off...and meanwhile, the money is being pocketed, and the husband is at home the whole time.
So they want to make sure this is no similar scam. But my fear is that they'll raise my name, and then she'll know that I was the one getting these people involved. I just actually wanted to find her to pinpoint her, since I never got her phone number when I talked to her. My mistake - if I did, it wouldn't have meant involving anyone else. I was afraid that she might not be able to make it to the masjid on Friday, since she's relying on a friend to drive her around. Or she might not want to ask desis for help, since desis can be nosy.
So, I've contacted Mr. Maulvi-dry-cleaner sahab to talk to him directly myself (my father spoke to him the first time) to tell him that I don't want him finding out any information about her or doing anything on my behalf. If he wants to talk to them, since he talks to the husband on a regular basis anyway, then he can do it from his side. But I don't want them mentioning me.
Then I'll go to the masjid on Friday as I will do that anyway. If she comes there, I'll introduce her to the Imam of the Masjid and then provide her with some more community references she can go to for financial help (naturally, they're state-run or private non-Muslim organizations). I was actually ready to give her some of my own money, but I don't think that's a good idea. If she gets dependent, things can get sticky. I'll just pull some of my counseling skills - i.e. let her figure out what she needs to do by asking her the right questions.