Suha Arafat: I tried divorcing Yasser Arafat 100 Times
Nine years have lapsed since the death of former
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, and his widow revealed that she
attempted to divorce him over 100 times, but that he prevented her from doing
so.
"I loved Arafat, but the marriage to him was a big
mistake on my part," said Suha Arafat to the Sabah Turkish newspaper.
“I know there were a lot of women that wanted to marry
Arafat. However, it was my fate," said 49-year-old Suha who married Arafat
in 1990 when she was 27, and he, 61.
"I was engaged to a French attorney and then I met
Arafat. I secretly married him in Tunisia, I didn't even wear a wedding dress
then. My mother was against the marriage and later, I understood why. Had I
known what I would endure, I clearly wouldn't have married him. True, he was a
huge leader, but I was lonely," said Suha.
She revealed that in their 14 years of matrimony, until
his 2004 death, she tried leaving him time and again – but to no avail. "I
tried to leave him hundreds of times, but he wouldn't let me.”
“Everyone knows how he wouldn't permit me to leave.
Especially those in his servitude, they know very well what it was like,” she
added.
Along with her admission regarding her marriage to the
Palestinian leader, Suha discussed the rumors about her.
“Yes, I am regretful. Even when he was with me, I was
forced to defend myself. I was slaughtered by gossip against me, even
Ceausescu's wife told me in a conversation once that in person, I am nothing
like what is written about me in the media."
She described herself as as a "weak link" and claimed
that her husband's war with Israel led to the gossip.
“It (gossip) actually all began due to the uprising
(intifada) against Israel. Yasser was fighting against the strongest lobby,
media and nation, in other words Israel. I was the weakest link,” she said.
Throughout the interview, Suha defended herself in the
face of the corruption-related allegations and confirmed that she receives a
pension from the Palestinian Authority. She denied claims that she deposited
millions of dollars to her bank account.
"I receive money from the Palestinian Authority,
10,000 Euro a month, but that's not a secret, it is documented," she said.
Despite it all, Suha misses her husband. She said that
even though life with the Palestinian leader was difficult, “my life without
him is even harder.” She revealed that since he died, she has received dozens
of marriage proposals, but did not accept. "He is my hero," she
concluded.
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