The childrens mother is a friend of my aunts and my aunt asked me to forward their website to all of my contacts. I decided to go one step further and post the site and their story on my blog in hopes of reaching more people.
Help Bring Hannah and Cedar Home
Hannah and Cedar Hawach Missing from Calgary, Canada
Missing Children Society of Canada, August 25, 2006: Sisters Hannah, 5, and Cedar, 2 were looking forward to going to Australia for a holiday with their father Joseph Hawach on July 1 of this year. Instead both children were allegedly abducted by their father and are now believed to be in Lebanon.
Joseph Hawach, an Australian and Lebanese citizen, and the children’s mother Melissa, from Saskatchewan, met in Australia and were married there. A year later they returned to Canada to live in Calgary with their 2 children Hannah and Cedar. The relationship however, broke down, but both parents continued to see the children. Joseph told Melissa that he wanted to take the kids to Australia for a 3 week trip and signed a written agreement, promising to return them to Canada on July 21. Sometime after he took the kids on the intended holiday, Melissa became concerned because her daily conversations with the girls had stopped and she couldn’t get in touch with them.
Her concern was well founded when it was discovered by way of phone call from one of Joseph’s family members, that Joseph had left Australia with the girls. In early August, Joseph advised Melissa that she should travel to Australia where he would meet her with the girls. She immediately flew to Sydney only to be greeted by the realization that the children were not there and were most likely in Lebanon. Joseph’s family also informed Melissa that the only way the girls would be returned to Australia would be if she agreed to live in Sydney, give Joseph full custody, and dropped the charges against him.
Melissa is working with the police, the foreign embassies and consulates and the Missing Children Society of Canada to find her daughters. For Melissa and the rest of their family and friends, the nightmare of parental abduction is just beginning and we hope that someone will be able to come forward to help Melissa find her kids.
Hannah has brown eyes, light brown hair, is 3’8” and weighs 45lb. Cedar has brown eyes, blond hair, is 2’10” and weighs 35lbs. International warrants and an extradition order have been issued for the girls’ father who has been charged with two counts of child abduction.
If you have seen these children please call the Calgary Police Service at: (403) 266 1234 or call the Missing Children Society of Canada at 1 800 661 6160.
For more information about the Missing Children Society of Canada please call Liz Ballendine, Director of Development at: (403) 291 0705 or visit www.mcsc.ca.
Missing Children Society of Canada
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8 comments:
That is such a sad situation. I wish I could help in some way. Thanks for getting the word out.
That is such a sad situation. I wish I could help in some way. Thanks for getting the word out.
Dear Survivor,
I truly hope the girls are found safe, it is a mother's worse nightmare. Small world also, I want the girls found soon. If we keep posting someone will come forward!
i hope they are in australia instead of lebanon :(
Truly very sad. Hard to believe that kind of things happening in the world. I hope that those girls are found safe, and pray to god that they are given the strength to keep fighting.
Not much to say other than I hope they are safe and everything turns out all right.
Wow, you've got some really moving posts on here as of late (trying to catch up now that I'm back in town). I'll say a prayer for the missing and for you, too...dealing with body memories. I agree that you should "take credit" for them (my T even gives me "credit" for assertive dreams--Yay!) but I know living through them sucks. Anyway, I'm feeling stronger after doing some intense trauma processing and I want to thank you for checking in on me with support during my down time. THANKS! :)
Congratulations Melissa
Hearing the news that Melissa managed to recover her two girls is something to celebrate. I only wish that they can now start to rebuild a life that is free from fear and distress but that I think will take some years yet.
International child abduction is child abuse but Melissa succeeded in a situation where if the Hague Convention had been in place she would have been unlikely to have done so.
I hope that with the media interest and that of Angelina Jolie, that the rest of us still looking for our children and trying to get them home or not forgotten.
Karl Hindle
Emily's Dad
www.emilyrosehindle.blogspot.com
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