posted
I have a friend in need. She was tricked into coming to Egypt by her Egyptian husband who said if she didn't like it they could go home. Now, with two small children he has, for 4 years continually denied her any freedom to choose anything, controlled what was previously jointly earned money, and she isn't happy here and no longer trusts him. He won't allow her to visit the UK with both children, evidently scared she won't return (with reason!). He has taken the passports away until recently.
Can she never return to the UK? Is it true that under Egyptian law she loses custody of her children if she is divorced and ever leaves the country?
Can her husband register her and her children's names at the airport or with emigration so that she would be stopped if she ever leaves the country?
Is she effectively a prisoner here with her children?
posted
It seems to me that she is really fucked up situation.As long as i know from my hubby she cannot leave the country without her husband permission!She need legal advice!So sorry to hear that!
Really i hope this will change!
-------------------- "If you judge people, you have no time to love them" Posts: 1134 | From: NoNe oF uR BuSiNeS | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
surely if she and her children have british passports he cant stop them leaving? does she have british passports for them all or dual passports? do her children just have egyptian passports ? were they born in egypt? if they have all have british passports , no way can he stop them leaving, she only needs to apply for replacement passports at the embassy. surely?.
Posts: 3945 | From: ' Res Contr ' Amor non es guirens, lai on sos poders s'atura | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
I would try to conatc consulate in Cairo or Alex? not going into detail, my family freaked out before I cam back to Egypt in dec/jan (only for 2 weeks), as I married egyptian man (a different story), they insisted I copy my passports before I left.....as for leaving names at airport, do you know what that is exactly what went through my head when my 'marriage' went haywrire, but had British passport still with my english name in......there are several airports in Egypt, he cant be at every single airport, and your friend could hardly be categorised as a high risk person wishing to travel......I was given mobile numbers of people i met there in the last few days in case of emergencies, also was told to stay with people at all times, If she is at risk, maybe find a trusted person when he is out of house and run! this is a plan I had in mind when things went wrong with me...luckily I stood my ground and he left me freely.........somebody was looking out for me, cus it could have turned nasty, I was in Sharm at time, so guess this was a safehaven for me, could have been different in Cairo!
I wish I could help!! OMG, my heart really goes out to your friend.........if there is anything i can do to help, please let me know, I am in UK....
Posts: 10 | From: UK | Registered: Jan 2008
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posted
man thats BS....tis why i choose to never marry again.
Posts: 2757 | From: YOU CAN ONLY SEE WHAT I CHOOSE TO SHOW, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE YOU JUST DONT KNOW | Registered: Oct 2007
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quote: surely if she and her children have british passports he cant stop them leaving?
He can still stop them. I have a british passport (the kids where on mine then) and was refused to leave the airport without my hubby coming and speaking to the officer and signing me out! They wrote on my passport wife of egyptain in arabic!
So sorry to hear about this, it saddens me so much when i hear these stories.
I would tell her to contact the embassy ASAP and get some advice. Could she not persuade him to come with her to the uk 'for a holiday' as a family. When she is here she will find it easier to sort things out and stop him taking the kids back?
posted
"Wife of Egyptian" translates to 'Property of Egyptian' - I could not endure such a treatment!!
Good friend, as said earlier she needs to get in contact with her embassy to receive more info about her and the children's status.
If I was her I would be playing along and do everything for my husband so he gains trust in me again. I would not bring up the subject of visiting the UK for at least a year.
Maybe she can also after a while suggest to her husband the idea of going on vacation outside of Egypt, just anywhere. And then take your kids and run girl, run!!!
Good luck to your friend. This story sounds horrible like the Betty Mahmoudy one!!
Posts: 30135 | From: The owner of this website killed ES....... | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Horrible. Wow I was feeling crummy because I think I just broke up but now I think I should go out and celebrate my freedom!!!!
Posts: 153 | From: Egypt | Registered: May 2006
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quote:Originally posted by happybunny: manx quote -
quote: surely if she and her children have british passports he cant stop them leaving?
He can still stop them. I have a british passport (the kids where on mine then) and was refused to leave the airport without my hubby coming and speaking to the officer and signing me out! They wrote on my passport wife of egyptain in arabic!
So sorry to hear about this, it saddens me so much when i hear these stories.
I would tell her to contact the embassy ASAP and get some advice. Could she not persuade him to come with her to the uk 'for a holiday' as a family. When she is here she will find it easier to sort things out and stop him taking the kids back?
Let us know how she is getting on.
Take care all
Anything besides the visa stamp and visa related markings, isnt' that illegal?
Doesn't UK have an international agreement that nations like Egypt cannot make marks on their British passport unrelated to the visas?
What the heck?
These same officers want foreigners to respect Egyptian law yet will not abide by international law Egypt had agreeed to. What a freaking idiot!
Posts: 1455 | From: debtville | Registered: Dec 2007
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quote: Originally posted by happybunny: manx quote - quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- surely if she and her children have british passports he cant stop them leaving? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He can still stop them. I have a british passport (the kids where on mine then) and was refused to leave the airport without my hubby coming and speaking to the officer and signing me out! They wrote on my passport wife of egyptain in arabic!
So sorry to hear about this, it saddens me so much when i hear these stories.
I would tell her to contact the embassy ASAP and get some advice. Could she not persuade him to come with her to the uk 'for a holiday' as a family. When she is here she will find it easier to sort things out and stop him taking the kids back?
Let us know how she is getting on.
Take care all --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anything besides the visa stamp and visa related markings, isnt' that illegal?
Doesn't UK have an international agreement that nations like Egypt cannot make marks on their British passport unrelated to the visas?
What the heck?
These same officers want foreigners to respect Egyptian law yet will not abide by international law Egypt had agreeed to. What a freaking idiot!
I know RM i was really mad at the time! I was arguing and shouting with them. It is legal to do this i am told. To be honest at the time my hubby wasn't with me he was outside. (you know at the airport people can only go so far in with you). My daughter was 4months in a child seat and my son was 14 months. They sent a soldier to find my hubby luckily he had driven off!!
I was so stressed out by the time my hubby came and was late for the flight (they did hold it for me) my hubby had to sign otherwise there would be no way of me leaving. That's when they wrote on my passport. I didn't realise at first but i just wanted to go home with my babies!
The one thing i would say to anyone getting married now is, on the marriage contract near the end there is a part on it saying 'special conditions'. A friend of mine had it written on her contract - 'is able to travel freely without the husbands permission'. I think some people don't realise they can do that. As the document is in arabic. That wasn't around when i got married to my hubby 13 years ago. I think they changed it around 5 years ago. It has worked out fine for me thank god but stories like these are so sad.
posted
I really hope your friend will be ok and can find a solution so quick. This is quite worrying really not to be able to leave so freely iff needed to. Does this relate to muslim and christians to be able to travel with or without permission, I am in the process of changing my passport due to it expiring in a few days, I cant decide wht name to write on my passport, should i keep my maiden name or married name, and shall i not say im married on my passport so i can freely leave iff i ever had too. Please tell me wht you all think.
I never changed my last name as the women in the egypt don't either. So in short all my offical documentation is in my maiden name. On your marriage contract is your surname changed? I knew the contract has changed since i got married but i don't know if the surname has changed. I never really thought about that aspect.
I suppose bringing things like this up to your hubby can be seen as not trusting - in their eyes. Wheras i think everyone needs to speak to their hubbys because it is important.
Yorkie, i would never tell you what you should do i would would say go with what your gut tells you.
posted
They have to have these rules in place to protect Egyptians also, 'wife of Egyptian' doesn't translate to 'property of Egyptian'! There are rules in the UK that prevent people taking their English children out of the country without the other English partners consent - remember children are the product of two people, not just the mother, it is no more right for a mother to take her children out of the counrty without the mans consent than the other way around.
It is a very sad situation of the woman is suffering abuse or bad treatment, perhaps one of the women's organisations in Egypt could help?
Posts: 918 | From: Earth | Registered: Jan 2008
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posted
They repealed the law last year (or was it the year before) that an Egyptian husband cannot stop his wife from leaving Egypt. The fact that she either has her own passport or an Egyptian passport that her husband has signed for is all the permission that she needs to travel. The only way he could stop her leaving would be with a court order for a valid reason, as in any other country. He would have to apply for that through the due processes.
The kids are a different matter. Egyptian children can only travel with the permission of their Egyptian father. And so a mother could be stopped at the airport and if she didn't have a letter from her husband giving permission for his children to leave, she may have to wait for him to come and give that permission.
They would write "wife of an Egyptian" on the passport in connection with the visa, as women who are married to Egyptians are given special visas to enter Egypt.
Posts: 4576 | From: Cairo | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
Good Friend, I would advice you to advice your friend to do what Betty Mahmoody did. She went to the U.S embassy. She found people to sneak her out of the country. You friend can find some people in Egypt, I'm sure, that can meet with her when she goes out of the home without her husband and goes to the grocery store and tells her story to someone in private. Or, at the embassy she can ask who could help her escape. Betty Mahmoody went to the embassy and remained in contact with a lady who tried to help. She went into a store to use the phone, and this guy helped her, well him and his sister did. Your friend just needs to find someone willing to help her escape.
Posts: 384 | Registered: Jan 2008
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quote:Originally posted by yorkshire rose: I really hope your friend will be ok and can find a solution so quick. This is quite worrying really not to be able to leave so freely iff needed to. Does this relate to muslim and christians to be able to travel with or without permission, I am in the process of changing my passport due to it expiring in a few days, I cant decide wht name to write on my passport, should i keep my maiden name or married name, and shall i not say im married on my passport so i can freely leave iff i ever had too. Please tell me wht you all think.
Good luck to youre friend
I guess you could still get those extra conditions added. I think I was so nervous and didn't understand Arabic that I "forgot" to ask for the conditions. Well that was no problem, now they are just on different paper, with stamps and all, English translations too. There are many but for example that I am free to travel alone AND with our children out of the country.
Posts: 758 | From: Finland | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
Sad situation, indeed, I hope things work out for her. I find it very dishonest when the men do this, sometimes the women do it and take off with the kids. I never understood using children as pawns, unfortunately even Egyptian/Egyptian couples do this to one other sometimes. I wish her the best.
-------------------- MEOW Posts: 412 | From: protectress of Lower Egypt | Registered: Aug 2007
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