UK Mother Daring Rescue of Kidnapped Daughter/Egypt

Admin Thu 08 Aug 2013, 7:59 pm

UK Mother Dons Burka in Daring Rescue of Kidnapped Daughter
The mother had not seen her daughter for two years after the girl's father abducted her without warning and took her to Egypt.
Tue, August 6, 2013

UK Mother Dons Burka in Daring Rescue of Kidnapped Daughter
The mother had not seen her daughter for two years after the girl's father abducted her without warning and took her to Egypt.
A British mother whose daughter was abducted and taken to Egypt by her Egyptian father rescued the toddler after disguising herself with a burka and snatching the young girl off the street.

Alex Abou-El-Ella, who had not seen her three-year old daughter Mona for two years, received help from British author Donya Al-Nahi, who has been nicknamed “Jane Bond” for masterminding countless "operations" to rescue children snatched by Arab fathers.

The abduction by Mona’s father came without warning. Two years ago, Mr. Abou-El-Ella told his wife he was going to visit friends in Hounslow, a short distance from Heathrow airport, and took Mona with him. Instead, he went to the airport, bought tickets to Cairo on EgyptAir and boarded the plane without a passport for Mona.

Police, the Serious Organized Crime Agency and Interpol were all put on red alert when Mona disappeared, but no one had been able to retrieve Mona.

During the two years, Alex had intermittent phone contact with her daughter, with her husband periodically threatening to cut off it off altogether. She was told by police that there was nothing could be done since the UK has no extradition treaty with Egypt.

Despite warnings by the Foreign Office not to travel to Egypt, Alex decided to embark on a daring rescue attempt herself. Together with Al-Nahi, Alex flew to Egypt and found the apartment where Mona was living with relatives. The next day they spotted Mona walking near the apartment with an aunt.

The two hired a trusted driver. Alex, disguised herself by wearing a burka, with her face hidden by a black veil. The plan almost failed when Alex stumbled on the unfamiliar amount of long material she was wearing.

"I got out of the car, but I'm not used to wearing the long dresses so I kept pulling it up and walking funny," Alex related. "I was walking behind them, faster and faster, and saw Mona's hand a few meters away from me. So I grabbed her, pulled her into my arms and the lady looked at my face, but all she could see were my eyes."

Eventually, Al-Nahi helped her into the getaway car and they sped to the airport. Alex, who was born in Poland, used a passport that belonged to her older daughter (in addition to bribing an official) and boarded a flight back to England without being detected.

At first, Mona did not recognize her mother, calling out in Arabic to a woman that had cared for her. "I felt shocked and upset to hear those words coming out of her mouth about another woman," Alex said. "But after half an hour she looked up at me and said, "Are you my mum?"
"She finally recognized me and it was a beautiful moment for me, especially after not having her for the past two years," she said.

Alex praised Al-Nahi, thanking her for her help to retrieve her daughter after two long years. Nahi was quoted as saying, "You only have one mother and no-one has the right to take you away from your mum. But Alex was the real hero here. She took the girl."