A Tipperary mother says she won’t leave Tunisia until she finds her children and can bring them home.
In Elaine Ryan from Portroe travelled to her husband’s home in Tunisia with their 4 young children for a holiday in 2019 but now claims they were taken from her by their father during this trip and she has not seen them for almost three years.
Despite two Tunisian court rulings in her favour she still cannot find them and has had limited contact, with a video call in February her last time speaking to her kids.
Elaine says she is heartbroken and worried that her youngest child won’t know who she is:
“I just feel like if I go home it wont be taken seriously enough over here, like out of sight out of mind. To be honest I made a promise that I wouldn’t leave without my kids…
he won’t know me like, he was 18 months when he was taken from me.”
She says she has no idea where her husband is and despite judges orders that she should have custody subsequent delays to further court dates due to Covid and his lack of co-operation have meant she has still not been with her children since 2019.
Speaking to Tipp Today Elaine recounted that last words she spoke to her daughter:
” That I loved her very much that she was the star of my heart and because she was the oldest I said she had to be prepared that Daddy might take ye and I might not be able to find ye, and that was the last time I saw my kids, that was back in 2019.”
Elaine has no financial support other than her family who have been sending money but are now struggling to continue, so her community have organised a Beneficiary Fund to help her in her fight:
