She became an orphan at an early age. The miseries of her childhood did not end with her marriage at the age of 17, but were rather aggravated. It was a horrible marriage for her that spanned a period of more than three decades, during which she had three daughters and one son.

Um Khaled cannot recollect any happy moment in her married life. She found it very difficult to sustain her children and herself. The limited income of her husband did not suffice. However, when she got a divorce, it did not bring the relief she had hoped for, although she finally escaped the harassment of her alcoholic husband.

Soon after starting a new life with her children in a small rented house, she encountered fresh problems that were mainly caused by her mentally sick son, who attacked one of her daughters with a knife on more than one occasion. As a result, she now stays awake at night to protect her three daughters and herself from his attacks, which may happen at any moment. The horrific memory of her son’s attempt to attack his sister is still very vivid in her mind.

Um Khaled was in tears when she narrated her harrowing experience to Arab News.

“After three decades of misery and ordeal in my married life, I finally escaped from that savagery. My hopes of leading a peaceful life with my children, however, have been dashed with the illness of my son.”

She continued, telling how they were “always in the grip of fear and anxiety, as we don’t know when my son, who has acute symptoms of schizophrenia, turns violent and attacks us.”

Um Khaled could not continue her emotional story. After some time, she narrated one of the many incidents that had happened at her house. “One day, my little girl was going through her lessons as part of her preparations for the final school exam. At that time, my son entered her room and inquired about her studies in a cordial way.”

But after some time, her daughter noticed sudden changes in his behavior while asking for her mobile phone. “My son became violent and attacked her. Had she not escaped from the room, she would have been killed. He even chased her outside the house,” she added.

Um Khaled said that one of her neighbors called the police then. “Even the policeman could not overpower him single-handedly, so he called in another patrol policeman. Soon, an ambulance rushed to the scene, and my son was given a sedative injection,” she said while noting that her youngest daughter was still afraid of living with her brother under one roof.

She also recalled an incident that happened one and a half months later: “When we were having dinner, my son suddenly started screaming and abusing us without any provocation. I strongly resisted when he tried to strangle me. He also attacked his sisters. When we screamed for help, some neighbors came in and tried to pacify him.” She and her daughters spent that night at a neighbor’s house, Um Khaled said.

Despite these experiences, it seems impossible for the mother of the mentally sick boy to treat him. “When I approached a psychiatrist, he said that my son was suffering from acute symptoms of schizophrenia. The doctor said that his treatment package would cost SR20,000,” Um Khaled said, adding that she found no way to collect at least one-fourth of the amount.

Um Khaled concluded that she also saw no way to pay the arrears of rent of the last six months, and expressed her fear of facing eviction at any moment.