RIYADH: The ongoing saga of the Canadian wife and her Saudi husband has reached a point where the wife is still hoping to leave for Canada with her children, while her husband is insisting on visitation rights should he agree to their departure and that the Canadian Embassy should protect his rights as a father.
Zuhair Al-Harithy, spokesperson for the Human Rights Commission (HRC), set the record straight in the protracted case of Saeed Al-Shahrani and his Canadian wife, Nathalie Morin, which also involves Morin’s mother, by saying that the situation is being addressed and is nothing like what the Canadian papers have been reporting.
The woman, according to Al-Harithy, is determined to leave with her children, while her husband still demands visitation rights whenever he wishes should he agree to them leaving.
Although Al-Shahrani had previously turned down a plea by his mother-in-law, Joanne Durocher, to permit his wife to leave with their two children, he is now — following a recent meeting at the HRC headquarters — is leaning toward acceptance of this plea on the guarantee he will be able to maintain a relationship with his children.
Al-Shahrani, who met Morin in Montreal eight years ago at an Islamic Center where she was a regular visitor seeking knowledge about Islam, lived in the Canadian city for four years after their marriage. They had their first child, Samir, who is now five years old, in Montreal. According to Al-Shahrani, Morin always knew that they would return to Saudi Arabia one day.
“Before we all came home to settle, and even when I returned to Saudi Arabia, Nathalie went back and forth on her own will many times,” said Al-Shahrani, adding that their life was normal and happy until her mother visited them. “My mother-in-law did not approve of our customs and lifestyle, and she started to turn her daughter against our life,” he said.
Morin’s mother sought the help of the Canadian government in getting her daughter to leave what she claims was an abusive marriage in Saudi Arabia. Durocher wrote to then-Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier, who took an interest in the case.
In the meantime, Durocher, according to the CNCnews.ca, said that her daughter’s marriage appeared to be strong until the family moved to the Middle East.
“She’s not allowed to go out. He beat her. He took a knife to her and said, ‘I’m going to kill you.’ He beat my grandson Samir,” Durocher claimed.
Morin’s demands, according to Al-Shahrani, were that her domestic situation improve or be allowed to go back to Canada with their children, Samir and two-year-old Abdullah.
Her demands, according to Al-Shahrani, were met generously by Princess Sara bint Musaed, who gave a house for the family, while Princess Al-Johara bint Naif furnished it completely.
Al-Harithy concurred with this view, stating that the HRC had also contributed in trying to alleviate the situation by sending a woman lawyer and a social worker to the family’s home in Jubail repeatedly to study their status and provide them with help and aid from many philanthropists. The children were offered better schooling in private schools; the family was offered free medical treatment and the husband a job that provided a better income.
“Many officials and organizations took interest to make our life better, yet she was not satisfied,” said Al-Shahrani, stressing the fact that he and Morin enjoy a respectful relationship as she clearly testified during the meeting with the Canadian consul, HRC members and a representative from the Ministry of Interior.
“Her mother claims that I am abusive and that she is locked up and has no contact with the outside world; you can call her on her private cell phone and ask her directly,” Al-Shahrani said, adding that he has been slandered and sullied in the media.
Arab News called Morin on her cell phone, but she refused to give any statement except to declare in her accented English: “I do not wish to bring my life out into the public.”
The Foreign Affairs Depart-ment’s website says Canada’s mission in Saudi Arabia does not have the power to grant exit visas to Canadian citizens. Failing to convince Al-Shahrani to permit his wife and children leave, the Canadian consul requested the intervention of the HRC.
A source in the HRC said, after several calls, Al-Shahrani and his wife met with the Canadians at the HRC on Sept. 15 where many solutions were suggested, but the Canadians kept insisting that the woman and children have to leave.
According to the source, when Morin was asked if she wished to stay with her husband and children, she replied if a better life was provided, as well as health insurance and expenses, she would have no reason to leave, while denying that she had been abused by her husband.
“Although I have been reluctant to permit my children to leave with their mother, I have never prevented Nathalie from leaving. Yet now, and although it is very hard for me to be separated from my kids, I am willing to accept that solution if it is for the benefit of my kids,” said Al-Shahrani.
The Canadian consul, claims Al-Shahrani, refused to guarantee him any visitation rights, but suggested a future meeting in a neutral European country. Al-Shahrani refused, arguing that he cannot afford the expense of traveling to Europe.
Al-Shahrani also told Arab News that on Sept. 26 he received a text message to his cell phone from the Canadian consul that they have a letter stating that there are no warrants for his (Al-Shahrani’s) arrest in Canada; he had feared that the bad press in Canada and the mother-in-law’s claims may have led to criminal complaints there.
Al-Shahrani said that he began considering a concession after his case led to the Canadian press to drag his country’s name through the mud. Nevertheless, he insists on the right of a responsible father: that he will be able to see his children again.
“I could consider giving up my right for my children’s custody for what might be good for them, but the right to visit them and see them again I will never give up,” Al-Shahrani said.
Al-Harithy said that the matter is now left to the Canadian Embassy, whether to guarantee Al-Shahrani’s right as a father.
