Ungrateful

When I lived at the Istanbul Swissotel, I had a suite right next to the elevator on one of the higher floors.

One afternoon, my family and I heard the screams of a little girl. I rushed out of our suite to see a little girl's arm stuck in the elevator door. Upon further observation, her hand was inside the door by the rubber where it closes.

The door was trying to close and kept putting pressure on her arm. I pried the doors open with my hands and used my body to keep the door open. I was able to reach in and push the emergency button to summon help from the front desk.

My focus was on trying to free the little girl's hand and with a little luck, I was able to free it after a slight struggle. She was crying and very fearful.

Security arrived via the stairs and quickly assessed the girls' hand, which was swollen. He questioned me about what happened and asked the little girl where her parents were. She told them what floor they were on, and the Security officer's demeanor changed. The Security Officer and I brought the girl to her parents' suite and a female answered the door. She quickly pulled the girl inside and tried to close the door.

The Security officer held out his hand to keep the door from closing. The woman yelled in Arabic and a Saudi man came to the door. The man questioned me. "Why are you here with my daughter?"

The Security officer told him; "Your daughter's arm was stuck in the elevator and this man helped her."

The man turned toward his daughter and slapped her in the face. "She will be punished", he said, and proceeded to slam the door shut.