[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H3185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                INTERNATIONAL ABDUCTIONS MUST BE STOPPED

  (Mr. LAMPSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to tell my colleagues the 
story of Sam Ali Tabaja, just one of the 10,000 American children who 
have been abducted to foreign countries. Sam was taken to Lebanon by 
his father Ali Ibrahim Tabaja in August of 1997. Sam was 3 years old at 
the time of his abduction.
  Sam's mother was awarded custody of him and allowed his father to 
visit him frequently. A warrant for international parental kidnapping 
was issued for the father. However, Ali Ibrahim Tabaja has a large 
circle of friends and relatives in Lebanon who have helped to protect 
him. Sam's mother, Zohra Tabaja, has traveled to Lebanon and was 
allowed to visit with her son for half an hour. During the visit, she 
was surrounded by bodyguards. Zohra has been informed that she will 
never see Sam again, and she has heard nothing since her visit.
  The problem of international child abduction is a disgrace. We should 
be displaying the same amount of outrage for American children that we 
did for Elian Gonzalez. I urge my colleagues to support the efforts to 
bring American children back to America, their home and their rightful 
place. Bring H. Con. Res. 293 to the floor and bring our children home.

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