My children were abducted to Saudi Arabia- Update. An arrest was made. I still don't have a visa, and I still don't have my boys though.
pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/04/femal...
pennlive.comPosted Apr 8, 2014, 3:44 PM UTC
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pennlive.comWait, why were YOU arrested ?
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NOT ME! My ex's new wife. She fled the country about a week after he took the boys, and just came back last week. The FBI took her into custody before she could even get off the plane.
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is this Cori? Im sorry but damn she is cute
Edit: is this majed? he is waay below average, looking bordering ugly, how was he able to marry two american chicks???!!
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That is them. I guess I can't see her as attractive because I know how creepy she's been. Also, it boosts my ego by thinking of all the weight she's gained in the past couple of years. He's been letting himself go since our separation as well. He was extremely charming, charismatic, and funny when I met him, if that helps explain it for you.
By the way, I'm assuming you checked out her blog where she posted a bunch of smiling selfies with MY kids, while I was at home weeping for my lost children? Seems borderline sadistic to me.
Edit: I know that makes me sound kind of shallow, about her gaining weight, and I'm actually not a shallow person, but hey, sometimes I have to take what comfort I can in a crappy situation.
Edit 2: Can I just add one more thing, that it really does a number on a woman's self-esteem when her husband of 10 years hooks up with a woman 12 years younger than her??
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[deleted]
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Yeah she is cute. He must be good at talking.
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The mother posted a way back on reddit asking for help in Saudi. Meanwhile for a single foreign female to come to Saudi alone sounds off unless he was married to her as well.
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I'm the mother. This woman who was arrested, Cori Mancuso, was my ex's new wife, although I don't believe she went there on a wife's visa, from what I heard from my ex's family, she was there on an umrah visa. I have not gotten to Saudi Arabia yet- I am still waiting to hear about my visa, although I call the consulate at least once a week, and I have written to the Ambassador. Next I will write to the Minister of the Interior.
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I thought as much for the wife thing. Hope things go the way you want, you're in a situation that will be tough swinging your way, yet you seem to be handling it the right way, good luck.
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Apply for Umrah Visa. As far as I know they give Ummrah Visa easier for female applicants.
Also, I am glad you seem to be in a more up lifting state than your first post. Not that you no longer care about your kids, but I sense that your kids are healthy and inshallah at least safe. Also, it's good to see you more relaxed. Inshallah things will be solved.
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Oh I go through my phases. I have my ups and downs. I keep telling my friends and family it must be like dealing with multiple personalities, because one day I might be so strong and purposeful and hopeful, and the next just be an absolute wreck and feel like no matter how hard I work and what I go though, everything is stacked against me and I will never be free of this nightmare. I just kind of roll with it now, I'm so used to it. I don't even get embarrassed anymore when I break down in tears at the grocery store because some kid and their mother just triggers the pain.
Because I know my children love me, and I love them. And no matter what he does, he can't take that away. And I will never give up. It doesn't matter when people tell me that nothing I do will work (and they do tell me that). It doesn't matter that one of his sisters calls me and leaves messages on my voicemail saying she hopes I'm happy, I got an innocent person arrested (which she did). I know who the victims really are in this- my children. I cannot give up on trying to help them get through this. I cannot give up hope that something I do will make a difference. And if he doesn't care if his wife goes to jail (which is what he told his brother), then she will go to jail, and I'll keep working. For as long as it takes.
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And I'm still pushing for the mothers visa. I am working on getting things set up with a lawyer in Saudi, the first thing he's going to do is secure my divorce there (I won't be safe from my ex if we aren't divorced there), then push for a visa for me. If they keep dragging their feet on the mothers visa, then I have other options- I'm thinking possibly a work visa. An umrah visa is too temporary. The lawyer will then work on getting me at least partial physical custody of the boys (which will of course only apply in Saudi).
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Umrah visas only get delivered to groups as far as i know (like through a prearranged umrah package booked in advance). It's always a plus if you're getting help and feedback from some in laws. Good luck.
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That's what I thought, but that's what his sister told me. It's not like I ever actually saw her passport!
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Unfortunately, there are a lot of these cases and few have happy endings. There was a rather notorious case involving Mexico and the Kingdom in 2008-9 where the grandparents tried to smuggle the children across the border into Jordan. Needless to say, it didn't work. Umrah visas are available to individuals, not just to groups, but they are not available around hajj. If you had a Saudi sponsor--your attorney, for example--he could sponsor you for a business visa. You would not be able to work but you would be able to travel to the Kingdom to work on your case. The problem is that two different legal systems are unalterably opposed. The rule under shari'a is that the mother has custody of the sons as long as they are of tender years. After that, the father has responsibility. This will never change. The ruling of a U.S. court is irrelevant. Unfortunately, U.S. government intervention in your case has made resolution more difficult. Positions will harden. By your actions, directly or indirectly, you have put your husband's wife--and legally, he can have you both in the Kingdom--into jail. How will you obtain your husband's cooperation in anything after that? This is the kind of case where the only solution is compromise, and sometimes a horrible, bitter compromise is better than no solution at all. I have seen children grow up not speaking English because of disputes between the parents. They become strangers to their American relatives. Under these circumstances, sugar goes a lot farther than salt. You have, from what I see, only one arrow in your quiver, and you are probably not aware that you have it. For Saudis, not being able to go to the US is not such a big deal. There are many other Western countries that are glad to receive Saudi visitors. And getting a U.S. visa has become such a pain. Everyone remembers when you could get one just by visiting a travel agent. Those days are no more. But Saudis are great travelers, and if you take away that right, that will truly be a hardship. The threat of an Interpol Red Notice; the threat of canceling a Schengen visa--these are very, very real. But making a threat is the last thing to do. The smart thing under these very unique circumstances would be to assist the second wife in obtaining legal counsel--maybe even paying for it--and ceasing cooperation anyone who is not in a position to guarantee you visitation with your children. There is no one and no institution in the United States that can make that guarantee.
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I have been trying to compromise since day one. I have ALWAYS been willing to work out a way for the children to have both parents in their lives, I have pushed and pushed for it since before he even took the children. He has been unwilling to budge one inch- he wants total control of the children and me. I practically begged his family to help me negotiate with him- and they practically begged him to negotiate with me, from day one. He has never wavered, not even one iota. His hatred of me far overwhelms anything else. He was NEVER going to cooperate. He doesn't care about shari'a- my youngest son is 4, and developmentally delayed, he needs me more than anything, but that means nothing to my ex-husband. None of it means anything to him, as long as he can keep punishing me.
I believe there is already an interpol notice out for him. I don't believe he cares one tiny bit. He is not a "great traveller." In the nearly 10 years we were married, we only ever went to the US. He doesn't care if he ever leaves Madina.
The fact of the matter is that no one ANYWHERE can GUARANTEE me visitation with my children, so I have to do anything I can, for as long as it takes. I have to follow the procedures, even if they are inadequate and frustrating. So if following those procedures for international child abduction led to his wife being arrested, then it was not MY actions that caused that, but his. It would not be "smart" to help her- you do realize that she helped abduct my children, right?? Can you even begin to understand the pain that she has caused in my life and my children's lives?
My children will not be strangers to my family- they have always been closer to us than his family. My children will not grow up not speaking English- even though we lived in Saudi for 8 years, they still learned English from me before any Arabic. They still call me as often as they can. They love me, and they know that I love them. My oldest son just told me yesterday that I am their mama, and nothing can ever change that, or make them forget that.
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You have absolutely nothing to give that woman, his other wife. Nothing. She made her bed, I hope she enjoys it.
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The arrest is an obstacle to resolution of the matter. The Saudis cannot formally give in. A lot can happen behind the scenes. She caused you pain--so what? Nor does it matter that this was caused by his actions. From an Islamic point of view, he is acting appropriately, whether you agree with the purity of his observance of shari'a or not. The object is to restore visitation with your children. U.S. officials will follow their procedures hoping that they will affect the Saudis. Highly unlikely. What needs to happen is for the U.S. Ambassador to take this up with the Minister of the Interior or a higher authority. The arrest makes it difficult, if not impossible for him to do so. And don't think that State is going to drop everything to help you. I would be shocked if they did. There are other matters on the US/Saudi plate. And there are Saudis who have arguably received unfair treatment before US courts and the Kingdom has been unable to help them. Speak with your (federal) Senator's staff and ask for his or her intervention. Keep in mind that you are entitled to visitation--actually more than this--of the 4 year old under the shari'a. Have you filed a proceeding in Saudi just asking for this and nothing more? The fact that you are a Muslim facilitates your efforts in the Kingdom. In other cases the Saudi parent was seen to complain about having an infidel raise their children. That can't happen in your case. Nor will the fact that you live in the US--there are mosques in the US and this is well-recognized. Otherwise my comments stand. Good luck.
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What is the full name of the father if you don't mind me asking? I wanna google his name to see if any Saudis have covered the story.
I tried googling his name in arabic but all I could find is this: http://mz-mz.net/277627/
(If you can understand and read arabic, don't look at the comments.)
Oh, and I absolutely had to look at the comments after you said that. It seems like many people who comment on Arabic news sites assumes I am not Muslim- hey people, I was Muslim way before I married him! And as far as "American courts give custody to mothers??" Our US custody agreement had the kids at his house 3 days a week, and that was even before the finalized agreement, which would have gone into place if he would have registered the Islamic contract in Saudi ensuring that the children would always be allowed to travel back to the US after a visit to Saudi. In the finalized agreement, he had every other weekend, and two nights a week after school. You have no idea how much driving back and forth I was doing just to ensure that my children had a strong parental presence from their father. And I was NEVER trying to keep them out of Saudi- I just wanted to make sure that THIS EXACT situation never happened.
I corrected them. Give me candy :D
Thanks! Candy for everyone!!!!!
...as soon as I get my boys back.
Majed Shamsudeen Sayed. There were a couple of translations of articles there. Here's one. I don't have the others off-hand, but could certainly search them out if you were interested. They seem to just be the "penns live" ones, repeated in Arabic- like the one you linked to.
I was looking for someone with info about the father, maybe someone interviewed him or something, but I can't seem to find any.
I don't believe he would be willing to do such a thing- I'm sure the news agencies would love to hear from him though. One reporter asked me for his phone number, but I thought it was kind of creepy and I didn't give it to him. My ex is pretty adamant that I'm a horrible person who is persecuting him for no reason. He even seems to think that I somehow "made" the FBI arrest his woman. Because you know, people can totally do that. He's also completely shot down every friend and family member who approached him on my behalf to try to mediate, or find a mediator.