She sent the tweet to protect her from her own family and the Thai authorities at 3.30 in the morning from the transit area of Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.
"I'm the girl who made it from Kuwait to Thailand," wrote 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun. "My life is in real danger if I am forced to return to Saudi Arabia."
The young woman later declared that she had renounced Islam and was afraid that her family would harm her.
She had fled during a family outing in Kuwait, actually wanted to Australia, but in the transit area in Thailand was suddenly over. According to Qunun, her officials took their passport there and threatened to deport her to their homeland. Qunun then entrenched himself in a transit hotel room until the deportation flight took off without her.
Father traveled to her in Bangkok
The Saudi authorities are denying the information provided by the 18-year-olds. According to a press release, Qunun was stopped by the Thai authorities because it did not have the necessary documents for onward travel or hotel reservations. Also, no extradition of the woman was requested by the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Bangkok. Rather, it is a family matter. The head of the Thai migration authority, who claims to have no contact with Saudi authorities before the arrival of Qunun, described this as well. Which version in the end is right, the authority or the young woman, is not clear.
Saudi Arabian women are not allowed to travel without the consent of their male guardian or to make other important life choices. In the case of Qunun, this is her father, who traveled to Bangkok shortly after her escape to speak to his daughter. The refused a meeting but from.
REUTERS / TWITTER / RAHAF84427714
Twitter image of Qunun
Under the hashtag #SaveRahaf, her story spread over several continents within a few hours. Qunun described on her channel the physical and mental injuries inflicted on her by her family. She wrote several states directly and asked for help. In the meantime, friends also recorded their Twitter channel. Journalists, human rights activists and diplomats reacted to the digital call for help from the transit hotel, for example the German ambassador Georg Schmidt.
We share the great concern for Rahaf Mohammed and are in touch with the Thai side and the embassies of the countries she approached. #RahafMohamed
- GermanAmbtha (@ GermanAmbtha) January 7, 2019The sudden worldwide attention has probably significantly influenced the fate of 18-year-olds. A Saudi commissioner said at a meeting with Thai officials, "She opened a Twitter account and her followers rose to 45,000 in one day, so it would have been better if she'd taken her cell phone instead of her passport because Twitter did it all has changed." Human Rights Watch's Phil Robertson also sees it as a crucial step in spreading the case via Twitter: "Everyone's watching, and that's exactly what happens when social media works," he told Reuters.
SA charge d'affaires in Bangkok Mr. Al-Shuaibi in a meeting with Thai officials:
Twitter changed everything "pic.twitter.com/FEjPjUbteV." She opened her Twitter account and her followers grew to 45000 in one day
Qunun has been able to do something improbable - also because, unlike other affected people, she knew how to use social media skillfully. The Thai authorities are better known for bowing to the wishes of other states when unwelcome citizens move to Thai territory.
This is shown by the case of footballer Hakeem al-Araibi from Bahrain. He was sentenced in 2014 in his home country in absentia due to vandalism to a long prison sentence. He has been living in Australia for nearly five years, where he has been granted refugee status.
AP
Hakeem al-Araibi in Bangkok
However, on a holiday trip to Thailand, the athlete was arrested at the Bangkok airport on November 27 last year. The Thai authorities are relying on a Bahraini request, writes the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" on the case. In mid-December, a Thai court ordered that the footballer should remain in detention for the time being. Should he be extradited, he claims to be tortured.
China, too, appears to have influenced decisions by Thai authorities in the past.
About two years ago, the most prominent representative of Hong Kong student protests was arrested at the same airport where Qunun was stranded this weekend. Joshua Wong was denied entry there, and the then 19-year-old was held in a cell for about twelve hours before he was taken back to Hong Kong. He was allegedly put on a "black list" at the request of China, writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung, citing the Thai newspaper "The Nation".
REUTERS
Joshua Wong in Hong Kong court
In the case of the 18-year-old Qurun, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has now taken charge of the case. The Thai authorities initially refused to send the young woman back. She herself published a picture of her passport, which she has now recovered. In the meantime, the United Nations has granted her refugee status. Australia is considering, according to the Ministry of Interior, to give her a visa for humanitarian reasons.
"For someone who is 18 years old, you're brave and mature," read the background image of the Qunun Twitter channel.