I reported this story back in August, via Moldy Peaches;
An old friend – in Calgary – from high school had her little girls taken from her. It appears the girl’s father took them overseas and has no intention of returning. The father, Joseph Hawach, is Lebanese and lived in Australia for several years. He is expected to take them to either Australia or Lebanon. Joseph Hawach is travelling with his mother Gladys Hawach. The little girl’s names are Hannah and Cedar Hawach.
It was local news for a few days, then dropped off the map. Today, it’s gone international;
Wollongong father of one Brian Corrigan and David Pemberton, a former New Zealand special forces member, face up to 15 years in a Lebanese jail after leading a five-man team to reunite Melissa Hawach with daughters Hannah, five, and Cedar, three.
As well as holding Canadian and Australian citizenship, Hannah and Cedar are considered Lebanese citizens, giving their father Joseph rights to their custody under Lebanese law.
Missing Children’s Society of Canada executive Rhonda Morgan said on Monday that the five men did only surveillance work and were not involved in the seizure last Wednesday of the girls from the car park of a hotel in the resort of Jounieh.
Ms Morgan said the two Australians and three New Zealanders offered their services to Ms Hawach, whose father Jim Engdahl is the president and chief executive of Great Western Minerals Group and a former vice-president of Barclay’s Bank in Canada.
However, Lebanese police sources said yesterday that Mr Pemberton, the alleged team leader hauled from a plane at Beirut airport with Mr Corrigan last Wednesday, was initially approached via an email asking him if he wanted the job to rescue the girls, taken to Lebanon by their father at the height of the July-August Israeli-Hezbollah war.
According to local radio, Jim Engdahl (who’s from Saskatoon) called in help from his many business contacts – including the Prince of Dubai. He, daughter Melissa and the girls are reportedly in a safe place, but still in Lebanon. The Canadian Embassy isn’t commenting.
More at the Star Phoenix.
The permutations and combinations of the truth are mind boggling here. Culture, money, gender, hate and money.
poor kids.
Syncro
What a mess. Every single parent’s nightmare. I hope they get home okay.
We as a nation have to stand up and put a stop the this abuse. It seems to happen so frequently that men from middle Eastern countries marry western women and when things go wrong kidnapp their children and run away to the safety of their islamofacist states. We need to protect our children. We need tougher laws.
Canadian embasssy not commenting…
The Canadian Diplomatic service is known far and wide for being ineffective & uninterested.
…hey, didn’t we just save the arses of thousands of so called “Canadians” in Lebanon a few months back?
This time, let’s do a real rescue of two little girls.