Mothers from the US, Canada, the UK and other western countries, are fighting to get their children out of Saudi Arabia after marriage breakdowns to Saudi nationals. A campaigner says many dont get the help they need from their own governments. At first all seemed fine when American mum, Carly Morris, arrived in Saudi Arabia with her five year-old daughter, Tala. The child Saudi father, whom she had married and later divorced during his seven-year scholarship in the USA, had persuaded her to come for a short visit. He had arranged a thirty-day visa for them both, so that his parents could meet their granddaughter for the first time. Carly holiday mood first took a knock on checking into the hotel her ex-husband had booked for her and Tala.

Their room had no windows or internet access and her mobile phone would not work there. Though Carly says she soon had much more to worry about. The week after we arrived he asked for my passport and my birth certificate so that he could start processing her [Tala] exit permit. Though what he really did, I later found out, was he transferred her to a Saudi citizenship. Dual citizenship is not recognised in Saudi Arabia so from this point on Tala, who had been born and raised in America, was considered a Saudi citizen only. This meant that under the country male guardianship system she could not leave the country unless her Saudi father agreed. It was soon clear that this was the last thing he would do. Carly says her Saudi ex-husband began collecting Tala each morning and not bringing her back until late in the evening. Left alone all day in her basic hotel room with little money she relied on boxes of food he would leave for her.

Finally, after nearly two years of appealing to him to him take her their daughter home, Carly began writing to members of the US congress and others who she hoped might help her. When he found that I was reaching out to people outside of the kingdom asking for help, he abducted my daughter for a period of two months. He and his family fled their home even. During that time he filed for custody of her. After failing to get any constructive replies from American politicians, Carly wrote to the White House for help. She never heard back but her hopes nonetheless soared when the US President, Joe Biden, visited Riyadh in July. That effort too came to nothing, along she insists with appeals to US Embassy staff in Riyadh. Back in America, Carly increasingly worried mother, Denise White, has come to believe that Saudi economic and political importance means US diplomats are reluctant to act.

The Gulf kingdom is one of the world biggest oil producers, which gives it powerful political leverage, especially during the current energy crisis. Speaking from her home in California, Mrs White says she is deeply concerned about her granddaughter lack of education, after being told that Tala has not been to school once in the past three years. Carly has also voiced fears about the psychological impact on Tala of being caught in the middle of a custody battle in a country far from her home.I can;t get her to speak to anyone when social affairs people come here. She will not speak to any strangers. If I try to do video for my family she hides from the camera. I m really worried about her socially at this point.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP