In the year 2023, 136 cases of international child abductions were resolved in the United States. When these cases were resolved, 205 abducted children returned to their families. Congress defines international child abduction as “the wrongful removal or retention of a child from their country of habitual residence, in violation of the custodial rights of the left-behind parent.” Their safe return home was made possible by the U.S. Embassies, U.S. ambassadors, and most importantly, the Bureau of Consular Affairs’s Office of Children’s Issues (CI). Thankfully, there are many resolved cases of international child abduction, but it does not happen overnight.
New Jersey’s Representative Chris Smith recently asked Saint Benedict’s Prep alumnae, Nafeesah Ismail ‘23 to speak in front of Congress about the topic. Representative Chris Smith, who was elected in 1980 and now serves his 22nd two-year term. He is a republican who fights for human rights issues, specifically human trafficking. With his aid, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Act were passed. On September 10, a decade after the Goldman Act was passed, Nafeesah shared her story at a congressional hearing led by Rep. Chris Smith. Nafeesah shared her heartbreaking story with Congress and the world, making her and other child abductees well seen and heard.
Ismail is now an advocate for the cause to stop this issue. Ismail was taken by her father to Egypt at the age of 7 years without getting the opportunity to leave nearly 10 years later. During those years, “[she] used to imagine that someone from the United States government would knock on the door and ask for [her], that was [her] dream.” Once she was old enough to leave her house, she sought a safe house in Cairo and an opportunity to return to the United States. “[I] came up with a plan, with the President of IStand, an organization that helps with international parental abduction,” Nafeesah is now considered an older sister, supporter, and mentor for other child abductees.
The issue of International Child Abduction continues to take place and is unfortunately still a harsh reality for many kids. Ismail hopes to continue her journey as a mentor and advocate for this cause to lessen the number of child abductions and to help those who have gone through traumatic experiences such as her own.
