[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 140 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S11991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 293--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT NADIA 
   DABBAGH SHOULD BE RETURNED HOME TO HER MOTHER, MS. MAUREEN DABBAGH

  Mr. ROBB (for himself, Mr. Graham, Mr. Warner, and Ms. Feinstein) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 293

       Whereas Mr. Mohamad Hisham Dabbagh and Mrs. Maureen Dabbagh 
     had a daughter, Nadia Dabbagh, in 1990.
       Whereas Maureen Dabbagh and Mohamad Hisham Dabbagh were 
     divorced in February 1992.
       Whereas in 1993, Nadia was abducted by her farther.
       Whereas Mohamad Dabbagh later fled the country with Nadia.
       Whereas the governments of Syria and the United States have 
     granted child custody to Maureen Dabbagh and both have issued 
     arrest warrants for Mohamad Dabbagh.
       Whereas Mohamad Dabbagh has escaped to Saudi Arabia.
       Whereas the United States Department of State believes 
     Nadia now resides in Syria.
       Whereas Maureen Dabbagh, with the assistance of missing 
     children organizations, has been unable to reunite with her 
     daughter.
       Whereas the Department of State, the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation and Interpol have been unsuccessful in her 
     attempts to bring Nadia back to the United States.
       Whereas Maureen Dabbagh has not seen her daughter in over 
     five years.
       Whereas it will take the continued effort and pressure on 
     the part of Syrian officials to bring this case to a 
     successful conclusion: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the Sense of the Senate that the 
     governments of the United States and Syria immediately locate 
     Nadia and deliver her safely to her mother.

  Mr. ROBB. Mr. President, I am submitting a resolution today 
expressing the Sense of the Senate regarding a heinous crime affecting 
a family in Virginia and a growing problem in this country.
  According to Department of Justice statistics, 114,600 children are 
the subject of an abduction attempt by a stranger each year, and 12 
children are actually abducted by a stranger every day. The statistics 
on child abductions by non-custodial parents is even more alarming, 
with 983 abductions each and every day.
  I believe that we, as members of Congress, as parents, and as 
concerned citizens of this country, should use all available resources 
in an exhaustive effort to locate missing and abducted children.
  Today, through this Sense of the Senate resolution, I seek to bring 
to your attention the plight of Ms. Maureen Dabbagh of Virginia Beach. 
Ms. Dabbagh has not seen her daughter, Nadia, in five years. At the age 
of three, Mr. Mohamad Hisham Dabbagh illegally abducted Nadia and fled 
the United States. He is wanted on state and federal warrants in 
connection with this abduction and he has been the subject of an 
international ``wanted'' notice since 1996. Since the abduction, Ms. 
Dabbagh has not seen or heard from her child. She has been aided in her 
ordeal by many caring people, groups and government agencies, however, 
to this day, Nadia still has not been returned to her mother.
  Mr. President, I greatly sympathize with the plight of Maureen 
Dabbagh and other parents facing similar situations. I wish to redouble 
all efforts to bring Nadia home.

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