For failure to complete assignments or chores in a timely manner; I was often told I would be exposed as an illegal and sent back to Najaf. What an illegal actually was, was beyond my comprehension when she first said this; but, it worked- at least for the next few weeks, then it was back to my usual sloth. Apart from that threat she never delivered any idle threats- she was a firm woman who would follow through on other punishments.
My grandfather on the other hand, who was as much like a father to me as possible; since my own father was absent most often, would use empty threats to cajole me into doing things which needed to be done. He would threaten to eat all my treats, to keep the blanket all to himself (we were not wealthy and there were for many years 4 in one bed- myself, my 2 brothers and our grandfather), he would tell me he would bring me to the police and leave me there until some orphanage came to claim me- and then I would be in forced labor every day. When I was 9 or 10 (in the 4th grade) he placed a horrific book in front of me which showed pictures of children in the streets, laying in alley ways and things of that terrible sort. These children looked cold and hungry and I had no desire to join their ranks. The book, was by a man named Jacob Riis and sent chills up and down my spine! It held a great amount of power over me for the next 2 years; after which I returned to my old troublesome ways. In all fairness, he never did follow through on those threats, and rarely placed a hand upon me in anger, although he did have a loud temper.