Dubai: A Kazakh mum in Dubai has just received news of what happened to her children who went missing in war-torn Syria over three years ago.
Chinara Kassymova, 37, had been agonising over the fate of daughter Mariam and son Mohammad since August 2016 when her Syrian husband allegedly bundled them away to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, without her knowledge.
Mariam was seven-years-old that time while Mohammad had just turned three.
Last week, Kassymova’s husband was arrested in Sudan on the basis of an Interpol alert. Following his arrest it has emerged that the children are still in Syria, said Kassymova.
“I am so relieved to hear this. All this while I had been wondering if my little darlings were dead or alive. My life had become a wreck,” a joyous Kassymova told Gulf News over the phone from Kazakhstan where she is currently staying with her parents.
Kassymova, who used to work at a salon in Dubai Mall, said she would soon initiate legal proceedings to gain custody of her children.
“I have an order from Ras Al Khaimah Court granting custody of the children. I just need to execute it,” she said.
Recalling the catastrophic turn of events, Kassymova said she had gone to meet her parents in Kazakhstan when her children were kidnapped by her husband.
Subsequent enquiries showed they boarded a plane to Aleppo from Dubai with Kassymova’s mother-in law on August 22, 2016. The same day her husband and father-in-law took a flight to Jordan from Sharjah.
On her return to the UAE, Kassymova filed and won a divorce suit against a husband. A few days later she got a court order granting custody of her children.
Kassymova’s said recent developments have given her hope.
“I still have a long way to go before I could see my kids. It’s an uphill task but my resolve is firm,” she said.
