A mother from Dundalk, Co Louth, is campaigning to bring her two boys back from Egypt and has received an encouraging letter from Taoiseach Simon Harris, voicing his support and understanding. Mandy Kelly (38), shared that her current situation is due to her ex-spouse, the father of her children, who denied her sons’ return from a trip to Cairo in April 2022.
The two boys were very young when they were taken to Cairo. Kareem, the youngest, was merely a half year old, and Zayn, the oldest, was a toddler of three. This month, Zayn celebrated his sixth birthday. Ms Kelly revealed that she’s had no communication with her children after their father, who is an Egyptian citizen, took them. She has hired Egyptian legal representatives to contest for custodial rights.
One challenge facing Ms Kelly’s case is that Egypt is not a part of The Hague Convention, which could otherwise facilitate procedures for a parent working to get their child back from overseas. Ms Kelly has made it a mission over the last two years to lobby officials in the Foreign Affairs and Justice departments. She also wrote to Mr Harris, asking for his interference with the Egyptian officialdom in attempts to regain her children.
Mr Harris, in a correspondence from May 16th, revealed that the Tánaiste had directly approached Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry about Ms Kelly’s plight and hoped for a favourable end to this regrettable situation. The statement from Mr Harris mentioned that the Tánaiste had communicated with Egyptian authorities more than once and saw no valid reasons to recall the children’s Irish passports.
According to Mr Harris, the embassy in Cairo is vigorously pursuing the case, getting involved with members of the Egyptian justice department and a well-meaning committee. He conveyed his profound empathies for the distress Ms Kelly and her loved ones had suffered for the past two years. On Thursday, Ms Kelly conversed with the Children’s Ombudsman, Dr Niall Muldoon, during an interaction arranged by the Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys.
Ms. Kelly has stated her intent to use the forthcoming local and European elections next month as a platform to publicise her cause. She has reached out to incumbent and potential MEPs with requests for endorsement of her campaign, urging them to leverage the influence of European bodies to exert pressure on Egyptian officials.
She went on to explain that while the UK and Egypt have an established agreement on the repatriation of historical artefacts, no such agreement exists when it comes to the repatriation of children.
In the past, Ms. Kelly has held discussions with Justice Minister Helen McEntee. She insinuated that the Minister was agreeable to explore the possibility of a bilateral agreement or understanding between the two nations that could aid her situation.