A Scotch mother whose daughter was kidnapped by her Arab ex-husband two years ago has used another recent case to raise the issue of the need for a government-backed fund to help others fighting to find abducted children, according to a report by The Scotsman.com.
The new case involves another mother whose children are kept by her Egyptian father, after she was allegedly forced to leave Egypt.
Fiona Cameron alleges that she put her daughters, Rachael, then 11, and Sasha, then nine, on a plane to France for a holiday with their father, Robert, as part of an access arrangement.
Rachael returned after a row with her father, but Sasha, who was due be sent home three weeks later, has not been seen again by her mother. It is thought she is now living in South East Asia.
It was revealed at the weekend that Louise Soliman, from Clydebank, is also involved in a battle to win back her two young children, who she claims were abducted by her Egyptian husband. Soliman says her daughters, Karina, three, and Darine, one, were taken during a visit to Egypt and she was forced to leave the country.
Cameron says the recent case has highlighted the increasing number of child abductions by parents and the heartbreak it brings to many.
Cameron said: "There should be government funding for people in these situations. Without help there is nothing you can do. At the very least there should be support units set up and funding for the people, mainly women, who have to take an action, sometimes abroad.
"If you can’t afford to do it then you do not have any chance of seeing your child again. That’s an infringement of basic human rights."
Citing statistics by Reunite, the international child abduction center in London, The Scotsman.com said that the number of cases had risen from 132 - involving 222 children - in 1995 to 247 (365 children) last year, a rise of 87 percent. Only 28 children were returned.
Cameron added: "This happens to a growing number of families each year. While the numbers may not sound a lot, it is terrible for those involved. That poor woman [Soliman] is sitting there today in this position. "
Soliman, who was married for three years, moved to Egypt with her 30-year-old husband, Tamer, but returned with the youngsters to Scotland for Christmas and filed for divorce, claiming he had beaten her.
She said she had agreed to return to Egypt last month to allow her children to see their grandparents, Hussien and Nazik Soliman. However, she said the retired police chief had taken them when she agreed to meet her husband for a coffee.
Soliman said she had then been driven to the airport and forced to leave the country, with a policeman escorting her to the plane.
The UK Foreign Office said that it would do what it could to assist the woman.
A spokeswoman said a lawyer representing her had contacted the British embassy in Cairo last Thursday. However, she said officials needed more information before taking further action.
The spokesman said: "We are still awaiting further details. We will offer whatever assistance and advice we can, but ultimately it will be for her to obtain legal advice from Egypt, and it will be for an Egyptian court to decide who should have custody of the children." –Albawaba.com
