For the Love of Nadia - My daughter was kidnapped by her father and taken to Libya. This is my heart-wrenching true story of my quest to bring her home
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When Sarah Taylor suspected that her four-year-old daughter, Nadia, had been kidnapped by Fawzi, her abusive ex-husband, Sarah's whole world was turned upside down. Shadowy CCTV from the airport showed Nadia boarding a flight with her father to Tripoli – and Sarah's worst fears were confirmed. No child abducted to Libya had ever been successfully returned to their mother in England; but Sarah was not going to let that stop her. Giving up everything she had in England, Sarah moved to Libya to fight for her daughter. Fawzi managed to move Nadia secretly between his relatives for 2 years, attempting to hide her away. But a dramatic car chase through the backstreets of Tripoli finally led to the safe reconciliation of mother and daughter. In a story of blackmail, embezzlement, secret police, a meeting with Colonel Gadaffi and the intervention of Prime Minster Gordon Brown, Sarah never gave up hope, and hers is an unparalleled tale of inspiration and courage. Sarah's experience is not uncommon, each year around 300 British children are abducted and taken abroad by a parent. Returning the child can prove impossible. Libya is outside of The Hague International convention on child abduction and Sarah was the first mother to successfully bring her child back – there are many parents still fighting. Foreword by Andy Burnham, who was Sarah's MP at the time, and is now Shadow Health Secretary.
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To my beautiful princess, Nadia. She is a delightful and wonderful little girl and I’m so very proud to call her my daughter. She has been through so much and has come out the other side, always smiling. When she reads this book I hope she can fully understand why I did what I did. Nadia is my life and I will do anything to protect her.
I love you darling ‘to infinity and beyond’.
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There was also something else weighing on my mind. Although I was only twenty-four, I was already worried that my biological clock was ticking. I suppose having had two brushes with cancer had made me think deeply about my future. Life must be lived to the full because you never know what’s around the corner. This may have pushed me to commit myself a little quicker than I might otherwise have done. The chemotherapy that I endured as a young girl might have caused me to be infertile. I was much too young to have my eggs frozen, something that could have been done then, had I been older. I’d been warned that I could start my menopause prematurely, possibly as soon as I reached the age of thirty. Now twenty-four, I desperately wanted children soon.
I couldn’t afford to wait too long to commit to a relationship. I was thinking about IVF and even adoption. Besides, I was smitten with Fawzi, wasn’t I? I explained to him about my medical history and the fact that I might not be able to have children; I didn’t want to wait until we got more serious only to discover that he wanted to back out. I felt quite comfortable talking to him about this – it seemed the right time and very natural.
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