Close X
Monday, September 23, 2024
ADVT 
National

Vancouver Island Mom Of Four Kids Allegedly Abducted Overseas Wants To See Progress In Case

The Canadian Press, 12 Sep, 2015 02:02 PM
  • Vancouver Island Mom Of Four Kids Allegedly Abducted Overseas Wants To See Progress In Case
VANCOUVER — A Vancouver Island mother fears her four missing children are in the same region where hundreds of thousands of refugees are fleeing.
 
Alison Azer's children were allegedly abducted by her ex-husband overseas a month ago and she believes they could now be in the Middle East.
 
The Canadian government needs to do more to bring them home, Azer says.
 
"I'm a Canadian citizen. My children are Canadian citizens. We need the Canadian government to locate them and bring them back," she says.
 
"After one month, I certainly expected more from my own government."
 
The four children were legally allowed to travel to France and Germany with their father in early August, but the group did not return as scheduled.
 
Interpol lists the children — Sharvahn, 11, Rojevahn, 9, Dersim, 7, and Meitan, 3 — as missing on its website.
 
A Canada-wide warrant for Saren Azer, who is also known as Salahaddin Mahmudi-Azer, was issued on Aug. 24 for abduction in contravention of a custody order.
 
He is a well-known Canadian doctor of Iranian descent who has spoken publicly about volunteering medical care for refugees in Iraq and humanitarian aid to Syria.
 
Alison Azer believes her ex-husband took their children to the Middle East, likely northern Iraq, where ongoing conflicts with Islamic State fighters have forced many people from their homes.
 
"They're coming out. My kids were taken back in," she says.
 
The concerned mother says she hasn't heard anything from the authorities about possible sightings or leads in the investigation.
 
"I really do need to see more in terms of progress. I need to see some proof that we're closer than we were a month ago."
 
Azer recently travelled from her home in B.C.'s Comox Valley to Ottawa to meet with officials and Lynne Yelich, the minister of state for foreign affairs, to talk about her missing children.
 
It's important for her to see the faces of people working on the case and have them hear her story, she says.
 
"It does matter that this is not a file number, that these aren't empty faces," Azer says. "These are the faces of my four beloved children. I need people to feel for them as my beloved children."
 
Her meeting with Yelich lasted about 45 minutes, and Azer feels like her story resonated, but she believes there's more that could be done.
 
"Somebody has to say loud and proud 'We accept responsibility and we're going to make this right for that mom and those kids,'" she says.

MORE National ARTICLES

Parti Quebecois Leader Pierre Karl Peladeau Says Quebecor Shares Put In Trust

Parti Quebecois Leader Pierre Karl Peladeau says he is placing his controlling shares of Quebecor Inc. into a trust administered by a well-known financier.

Parti Quebecois Leader Pierre Karl Peladeau Says Quebecor Shares Put In Trust

Fiat Chrysler Recalls Ram Pickup Trucks To Fix Airbag, Steering Problems

Fiat Chrysler Recalls Ram Pickup Trucks To Fix Airbag, Steering Problems
 Fiat Chrysler is recalling more than 250,000 trucks sold in Canada to deal with problems that may affect driver-side airbag deployment and steering in Ram pickups and Chassis Cabs.

Fiat Chrysler Recalls Ram Pickup Trucks To Fix Airbag, Steering Problems

Appeal Court Tosses Out Constitutionality Challenge Over Health Care

Darcy Allen, who is from Okotoks, Alta., had argued unsuccessfully in Court of Queen's Bench that the Alberta government's monopoly on health care was unconstitutional.

Appeal Court Tosses Out Constitutionality Challenge Over Health Care

Jury Selection In Dennis Oland's Second-degree Murder Trial Completed

Jury Selection In Dennis Oland's Second-degree Murder Trial Completed
New Brunswick's Justice Department says a jury has been chosen for the trial of Dennis Oland on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of his father, high-profile businessman Richard Oland.

Jury Selection In Dennis Oland's Second-degree Murder Trial Completed

Lululemon Posts Us$47.7 Million Q2 Profit, Revenue Up 16%, Direct Sales Rise

The Vancouver-based fashion retailer's net income, reported in U.S. currency, amounted to 34 cents per share.

Lululemon Posts Us$47.7 Million Q2 Profit, Revenue Up 16%, Direct Sales Rise

Constitutional Challenge Of Pipeline Hearing Rules Won't Proceed

Constitutional Challenge Of Pipeline Hearing Rules Won't Proceed
VANCOUVER — The National Energy Board has the right to limit evidence or exclude participants from the Kinder Morgan pipeline hearing, or any other hearing it conducts.

Constitutional Challenge Of Pipeline Hearing Rules Won't Proceed