Ottawa won’t help woman stuck in Saudi Arabia

Is it just that the law of Saudi Arabia stupid or the Sharia law in general is stupid? Canadian citizen is kidnapped overseas and our government is not doing anything. I wonder what will the US government do in the same situation?

CBC News – Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Nathalie Morin, shown here with her eldest son, Samir, now nearly seven years old, says she has been trying to return to Canada for 2½ years.Nathalie Morin, shown here with her eldest son, Samir, now nearly seven years old, says she has been trying to return to Canada for 2½ years. (Family photo)The Canadian government says it cannot bring home a Quebec woman who claims her husband is refusing to allow her and her three children to leave Saudi Arabia.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon discussed the case of Nathalie Morin with his Saudi counterpart during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

After his return from Riyadh, Cannon said he considered the case to be a private matter that must be resolved by Saudi officials.

Saudi law allows a husband to prevent his spouse and children from leaving the country without his permission, Cannon said.

“It is important to remember that when Canadians leave Canadian territory, they are subject to the laws and conventions governing the country where they are,” Cannon’s press secretary Natalie Sarafian said in an email.

In an interview with the French-language arm of the CBC, Morin said she has been trying to return home for 2½ years.

“He doesn’t keep me in Saudi Arabia because he loves me and wants to keep me — it is just that he wants to get money, or one day have a chance to travel,” Morin told Radio-Canada.

Morin alleges she is regularly abused by her husband.

“I cry, he hits me. I laugh, he hits me. I talk, he hits me. I get angry and he beats me,” she said.

Contacted by Radio-Canada on the phone, Morin’s husband denied the allegations of violence.

Because of the intervention of the government of Canada, Sarafian said, the human rights officials in Saudi Arabia conducted visits and investigated the allegations of abuse.

She said the government “will continue [its] efforts” in the case.

Morin’s mother, Johanne Durocher, said she was bitterly disappointed by the government’s efforts to repatriate her daughter.

“The government had important elements to negotiate for Nathalie, but didn’t use them,” she said.Johanne Durocher says she won’t give up her fight to bring her daughter, Nathalie Morin, back home.Johanne Durocher says she won’t give up her fight to bring her daughter, Nathalie Morin, back home. (CBC)

Durocher said she would not give up the fight to bring her daughter home.

Saudi laws were recently amended to allow foreign-born wives to leave without requiring their husband’s approval — but the change is not retroactive and so does not cover Morin and her children.

Radio-Canada is expected to air a full interview with Morin on Thursday.

6 thoughts on “Ottawa won’t help woman stuck in Saudi Arabia”

  1. >> … Canadian citizen is kidnapped overseas and our government is not doing anything.

    I read other reports/comments that say she had fallen in love with an illegal immigrant, had a child with him in Canada, and when he was deported, went to Saudi Arabia with the man, had 2 more children, … , and now regrets her youthful decision. Apparently, she had been back to Canada, but chose to go back to stay with her children, which is understandable. If these info are facts, then yes, she is “stuck” in a foreign land and is unable to bring the children back with her to Canada, but no, technically she has not been “kidnapped”.

  2. oh god i am stuck in Saudi too! how can i get a passport to leave and why human rights do nothing with that this is important case it’s like a big prison for a women can u imagine how many girls suffering over here for one or more issues go to Saudi web sites and read they suffering that they can not drive car and cannot find somebody to take them to their collage or school or institute or even hospital, we canot get a job even our qualified higher than boys because 10% employment is for woman and 90% for men, so why we can’t move to another country to get job and live with freedom where is those people who believe of freedom where is the organizations to see that, we in prison for no sin but being female!! important things in our life we can’t do it because they took our right’s from us should i record a video is that gonna make some change maybe let media focus on important case or what should i do i tried all ways!

  3. unfortunately, she brought it on herself like many naive women who marry Muslims. Such men use guile and deceit to entice western unsuspecting women into marriage, and make them pregnant as soon as possible to tie them up so to speak with children and then as usual the marriage ends in discord and divorce once the woman discovers the darker patriarchal and patronizing side of those Muslim men. Happens too often I am afraid. I lived in Egypt and I know that kind of mentality. Let this be a lesson to any western educated woman : please verify and think about it 100 times or more before falling in love with a Muslim… they are very nice, generous in the beginning then surprise he is not what you thought.

Leave a Reply