Mandy Kelly

But announced to me in December 2021, he had actually consulted a lawyer in Egypt and had proceedings within the Egyptian courts for a travel ban on my two children.

I never received any legal notification about that travel ban.

And what I want your listeners to know is that travel ban has been put in place on the basis that me, Zain, Kareem and I had been living in Cairo at the time, which was completely false.

We were still living in Ireland.

And my former partner had also been living in Ireland at the time as well.

So...

And that travel restriction, sorry to interrupt you, that travel restriction remains until the boys are adults.

Another thing as well is

And obviously, as you can imagine, I do have an awful lot of time to think.

And having to leave Cairo in such horrid circumstances in March 2022 was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make.

And even, like I said, I didn't have, like I said, he removed the kids from my, the two boys from my care.

But even if I had got saline cream and gone to an airport, I would have been arrested and killed.

You know, arrested for child smuggling.

So he was putting me under, you know, like horrid legal implications as well.

Like even at the moment, if I was to go to Cairo and take custody of my two children, if I went to the airport, I will actually, you know, be arrested because I'd be committing a crime.

To be honest with you, the trauma of it, I remember only the bits that I have to remember.

But on the 11th of March, the day before we were supposed to leave, we were supposed to leave on the early morning of the 12th of March.

And he came and told me we were all, we were in a holiday apartment and that he didn't want to go back to Ireland.

Now, I had Karim in my arms.

Karim was only 16 months at the time.