Numi Zarah: A Tale of Peril and Salvation

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Landing back in California on July 4, Numi Zarah turned many an appreciative head at the airport thanks to her stunning dark-haired American/Bangladeshi heritage, but appearing glamorous was the furthest thing from her mind. After an intense half year overseas in her family's native land, she is happy and thankful to be home and eager to get back to work—and make her harrowing exeriences known. “I want my story to be told,” she said in the first of many phone calls to this writer after settling down from her long intercontinental flight. This isn’t the type of exposé one might expect about sleazy occurrences in the adult industry, or trafficking, or forced labor or prostitution. Rather, it's a cautionary tale of sorts for anyone from a background steeped in extreme zealotry. Things began with a trip toward the beginning of this year to Dubai. “Dubai has always been my favorite place on the planet,” Zarah divulged. “I think it is incredible. It’s all man made. I’m super into art, and the architecture is insane; it’s like you are in another world.” Supplied with a plane ticket and start-up cash, she was, or so she thought, on her way to begin a new chapter in her life. “My flights were paid for; my luggage packed. I was told I’d get my own place with the rent paid for the first month and a card with 17K on it.” She was excited. “I thought I was gonna invest in myself, start a business, and get my OnlyFans back as soon as I got there," she continued. "I have cousins there on my mom’s side that I love—I was gonna be a part of their newborn’s life. I burned everything down in L.A. so I had a chance to build it back up in Dubai.” Once she arrived, she soon found out she'd been lured there under false pretenses. Zarah knew that her family—her father in particular—was not supportive of her porn career. “My dad once called me a prostitute," she recalled. "Then a little over a year goes by and we just never spoke about it. But little did I know he was plotting and planning since then.” Her story really began when she was born in Arcadia Methodist Hospital after her parents came to California as immigrants. “I grew up my whole life in a small city on the outskirts of L.A. called Duarte," she said. "It was mostly Hispanics and Blacks and immigrants who wanted to give their kids a better life. It was very normal to me; nobody questioned what I was—we were all different shades of brown and black. It didn’t matter. We were pretty poor, lived in a small apartment, and grew up eating a cup of noodles, hot Cheetos, and my mom’s Bangali food. “I didn’t grow up in a glamourized L.A. There were no tourists—just families trying to survive. Extremely diverse. Duarte is so small everyone knew each other. I grew up listening to '90s hip-hop. 'Suicidal Thoughts' by Biggie in 6th grade was my shit. I was on the streets a lot—especially as a kid from the ages of 14 to 18—but not in a scary way. Because I had a drunk for a dad and an oppressed mother and a brother who followed my dad’s footsteps in being incredibly abusive, the streets were my family. I dated the leaders of a gang whose whole crew were my friends. This made me infamous with every female hating me for being pretty. My ex got checked by my homies for dating a ‘whore’ because they ran a train on me. But he stuck with me for three years.” Zarah continued, “The streets made me in the sense that it made me a strong woman who got through any situation. I got guns pulled to my head. I’ve been beat up and had the man I thought I loved [leave me] bleeding on the driveway. My family said it was my fault. I grew up with horrible morals from the streets that taught me to steal and think it was OK. “The people around me started dying. Young kids. The streets were no longer family to me, and when I turned 18 I decided to get out. This was after six different high schools and a TTI Wilderness. When I hit 19 I didn’t even know what an addict was. I thought it was normal. I Googled detox rehab. I hit rock bottom. A woman there, named Angel, explained and guided me through things. She said, ‘The best revenge is living a well-lived life.’ Those words stuck with me. She taught me meditation. She educated me on what an addict was, and how my life was by no means normal. I was sober for eight months.” She was still stuck in Duarte, but pushed to stay sober even though she still lived in a household with substances and alcohol. And in the meantime, she discovered making money on the web. “My friend Kayla retweeted me to 3K in followers on Twitter, and the first day I made $80 and felt like the richest motherfucker alive. I quit working a burger place to make money doing this. Some days I made $600 to $1,700, some days $200, some days nothing—and I would cry. “I found a modeling manager, but after two years and him taking half of whatever I earned, he finally told me that I wasn’t white enough or tall enough to get in a magazine. I felt I was being scammed. I had to move out and work ‘poker games’ every night where I prostituted myself. I was so insecure. “I attempted suicide.” Her mom came and got her from the hospital and she went to get help. “I was lost," Zarah admitted. "I’m in sober living for seven months. Heartbroken. No one in my life—just a stupid laptop and OnlyFans.” Things finally changed when agent Matt Morgia from COA (City Of Angels) modeling agency DM'd Zarah about doing adult videos. “I didn’t respond for a month,” she said. “I told my friends of his offer. Most everyone said no. Actually, everyone said no. Even my sponsor dropped me for wanting to do porn.” But Morgia offered her a place to live—at his model house. She accepted his offer. Zarah's first video turned into a three-time repeat appearance for Net Video Girls. And she was a hit. The same day that debut scene came out, it got over 1 million views. It is currently around 25 million. She was finally accepted. “The industry loved me and I loved it," she gushed. "They didn’t care about my skin color. They loved my curves, my natural body. This was the first time I truly loved myself.” Of that very first shooting experience, she revealed, “I was extremely nervous, but the second the camera starting rolling, I got to be someone else. I was comfortable. I switched to a persona I could use.” She went on to reminisce, “The best experience of my life was at the model house. Watching porn on the TV in the background and hanging out with the girls. Matt was not only my agent; he became my family. He gave me a place to stay and he would always answer your calls. All he does is work. For the girls.” Zarah would proceed to rack up over 60 scenes over the next two years. During 2022 and 2023, she shot for Blacked, Jules Jordan Video, Hussie Pass, Girlfriends Films, Team Skeet, Lethal Hardcore, Bang Bros, Reality Kings, Property Sex, Elegant Angel, Digital Sin, Penthouse, Mike Adriano and many others. As 2024 began, she was going through self-analysis and occasional personal problems. This led to her decision to partially reinvent herself. “I had a few friends die. My identity was stolen. I was a victim of fraud. All the apps that had supported me vanished," she disclosed. "I could have had shoots but my mental health turned me to my worst vices. I needed to kick all of my bad habits.” It was a perfect storm. One day, in mid January, her father said to her, "Why don’t you just go to Dubai?" "I didn’t trust him, but it seemed like a good idea," she related. "He also said my grandmother in Dhaka, Bangladesh was dying and she is crying to see me.” Her entire family backed up this story, so she agreed to go. Visiting Grandma ended up being an additional four hour flight from Dubai. When she got to Dhaka, Grandma was fine. It had all been a ruse. There was no ticket back. Her return ticket proved to be counterfeit. They took her ID and passport and money. She stayed with her uncle’s wife for a week and all she did was cry. Then 20 or more people appeared and physically took Zarah to a lockdown facility. She tried to run and fought back. No luck. They took her to the ninth floor and locked her in. There were cages on the windows. They watched her through a camera. They badgered her until she admitted she'd done porn. It suddenly became clear as day why she was there. Her father either wanted her to be punished for what she did—or thought this treatment would convert her to a good Muslim. “They said what I did was a disgrace to my family," she recounted. "But it was really to alleviate my father’s suffering—even though he prays five times a day, beats on women, kidnaps his whole family, and keeps his wife (who married him when she was 18 in an arranged marriage) captive for leverage. “They tried to convert me. My father wanted me to speak perfect Bangali when I left and be a Muslim. They used torture tactics like isolation, and when I spoke up about one of the staff harassing a girl, they put me in solitary confinement for a month. I tried running twice and they injected me with something; I was being controlled by being overmedicated.” There were four girls on her floor. One was 14, and Zarah befriended her. The two agreed that if either got out, they would contact the U.S. Embassy for help. Then everything changed. Zarah's father showed up and he was scared—she could see it in his eyes and in the eyes of the staff. "They told me to tell everyone that I was here for treatment and it was not a jail," she conveyed. "But to me it was a jail and there was no treatment. Then someone from the U.S. Embassy came in and we spoke privately. He said he would get me out but not right away. After he left, those running the facility were so scared they asked my father to take me with him. “So I left. I was then held captive in my father’s apartment with my mother who looked like she had lost 30 pounds and was very pale. All I saw was darkness in my dad’s eyes. I waited two weeks and then escaped and ran to the U.S. Embassy to see if I could get a flight back to the U.S.A.”  She did make it back—with help from her agent Morgia, whom she said had been calling the U.S. Embassy daily on her behalf. Shortly after this, her father almost strangled her mother and he fled the country. Her mom has since returned to California and is safe. Zarah would soon learn just how narrowly she'd managed to escape Dhaka. Barely a few weeks after she fled, the U.S. Embassy put out this warning statement: “The government of Bangladesh extended its lockdown (curfew) indefinitely, ordering everyone to stay inside except during announced breaks. The Bangladeshi Army has been deployed nationwide ... ongoing student demonstrations ... violent clashes in the city of Dhaka ... over 197 confirmed deaths and thousands injured ... guns, tear gas, and other weapons have been used in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy. The situation is extremely volatile and unpredictable. Shelter in place if near affected areas.” Her uncle, still in town, was able to briefly contact her family and he said the streets were a blood bath—and he personally saw two beheadings. Zarah had just missed being trapped—and probably worse—in a country overturned by violent unrest. But she was now safe in the U.S.—and her appreciation of this freedom gave her the enthusiasm and determination to double-down on her choice of employment. “I don’t regret doing porn—not for one single second," she asserted. "It showed me who I really am. Everything happens for a reason. Never let anyone make you ashamed of a career path you chose. Always go for your dreams. Never give up on what you want in life. And for anyone who’s experienced anything like this before, you’re just a stronger person for it at the end of the day and can deal with whatever life throws at you next. "If you want to be a slut on camera, then be a slut on camera!”