Mother works with international connections to bring kids home from Saudi Arabia
DEARBORN, Mich. - For a couple 3-year-olds, it's as clean and well-maintained a bedroom as you'll find. That's because twins Nour and Hussein Abdulaziz haven't been home in nearly a year.
"Nour and Hussein need their mom. Their birth mom who carried them and loved them," said the twins' mom, Madonna Saad. "I miss them. I will never stop fighting for them."
Last August, Madonna said her husband Ali Abdulaziz told her he was taking the kids on a three-week vacation to visit family in Saudi Arabia. She told him she'll come too.
"His reply was 'no, it's okay. We will be back in three weeks. Don't worry about it. Work, take care of the house here and we will be back in three-weeks," Madonna said.
But two weeks into that vacation:
"He said 'we are not coming back and if you want to see the kids sell the house, pick up your stuff and come to Saudi Arabia," Madonna said.
Madonna said he betrayed not only her trust, but a family court order.
"We swore under court oath that we will live and reside in the U.S. for the rest of our lives," she said.
Madonna said she thought about going to Saudi Arabia herself to get her kids back, but was advised doing so would mean she would likely not be allowed back, especially with her kids.
"This is a huge trap that will set myself and my kids for failure," she said.
Meanwhile, back in the U.S. the court kept working in her favor.
"An immediate order, an expert order for the return of Hussein and Nour" Madonna said.
But U.S. court means little in the foreign land. Saudi Arabia us not part of The Hague Convention International Law, which deals with child abduction.
"There is nothing we can do legally," said Madonna's lawyer Shahad Atiya. "The only way to get farther in this is to get involvement from diplomatic channels."
They are working with an advocate based out of Washington State. The advocate alone is involved in 34 other cases in Saudi Arabia where children have been allegedly abducted.
In the meantime, Nour and Hussein have their outfits ready and waiting for their return, while their mom continues to tell their story to lawmakers and others with International connections to bring them home for good.
"My arm is reaching for you every single day. I will never stop," Madonna said.