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Dermatologist Recounts Terrifying Home Invasion, Shares Life Lessons in Memoir
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago /Conflict & Security

Dermatologist Recounts Terrifying Home Invasion, Shares Life Lessons in Memoir

From Trinidad Express · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Dermatologist Dr. Khamedaye Maharaj recounted a harrowing 2021 home invasion in an interview, detailing the fear and a surprising calm she experienced.
  • Maharaj, a 2024 Hummingbird Medal Gold recipient, also shared reflections on her memoir, which covers her marriage, divorce, and upbringing in St. Helena.
  • She pursued dermatology due to personal skin issues and received crucial financial aid from a professor during her studies in Jamaica.

Three years after a terrifying home invasion, dermatologist Dr. Khamedaye Maharaj is speaking out about the ordeal. In a recent interview with Her Magazine, she vividly recalled the moment seven intruders entered her Valsayn home, one holding a gun to her head.

I am a creature of habit.

— Dr Khamedaye MaharajRecounting her daily routine before the home invasion.

Maharaj described a profound sense of calm that fell over her during the invasion, which she attributes to a higher power. Despite the fear, she pleaded with the intruders not to harm her son, who was hit with a gun butt when they searched for a safe. She even managed to tell one of the men, "If you cut off my fingers, then I wouldn’t be able to use it to help you one day." Remarkably, after she asked them to keep her identification card, the man complied.

Every day I’d take a rest at two in the afternoon. On that day, the maid came into my bedroom, shaking with fear, accompanied by a man. I could see she didn’t want to show them where I was. The next thing I knew, a man with shifty eyes was standing near me and he had a gun to my head.

— Dr Khamedaye MaharajDescribing the moment the intruders entered her home.

The experience left her shaken, but Maharaj returned to work the next day, though she later sought counseling. Her memoir, "Beauty is More Than Skin Deep," delves into this and other life chapters, including her marriage, divorce, and the importance of enjoying life. She also reflects on her humble beginnings as one of seven children in St. Helena, where her father, a tailor, instilled in her the dream of becoming a doctor, despite their financial struggles.

He said he didn’t want to kill me but that he had killed someone on my street before, what an introduction.

— Dr Khamedaye MaharajRecounting the intruder's words upon confronting her.

Maharaj chose dermatology because she felt her own experiences with skin conditions would allow her to better relate to her patients. Her journey was not without financial hardship; she recalled struggling at UWI Mona in Jamaica until a professor provided assistance during a critical exam period.

There was definitely a presence in the house that affected that man.

— Dr Khamedaye MaharajAttributing her calm during the invasion to a higher power.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Trinidad Express in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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