Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Ten-year-old Adam Jones, who was snatched from his mother Rebecca on a visit to Qatar, has written a letter to the Amir of Qatar Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani telling him how desperately he wants to go back to his home in Bahrain.
In the letter Adam stated: "I am very sad and I miss my family. My life will be finished if I don't have them with me."
Adam's letter was faxed to the Amir of Qatar's office and Rebecca has received an acknowledgement.
"I was heartbroken to read Adam's letter. This is the darkest time of my life. Adam is suffering alone and he has no one in that family who cares about him. All these years they showed minimum interest in his upbringing and what they are doing now is very cruel. Adam has already lost one school term and they are neither concerned about his education or his learning disability (dyspraxia). He just sits home all day and is on the playstation. He is not even allowed to go outside," said Rebecca from Qatar.
Rebecca, 43, is fighting a custody battle with her late ex-husband's family who she says tricked her into signing legal papers in Arabic and refused to return Adam. The Qatari courts granted custody to his ailing 77-year-old grandmother and Rebecca has filed an appeal against the ruling. The case will be heard on January 31.
Rebecca has stayed in Qatar since October in an apartment but has recently moved in with an American expatriate woman who offered her a room to stay which has eased some financial load off the Jones family. She has seen her four-year-old daughter, Alex, and second husband, Barrie, only once during the ordeal. Schools all across Bahrain are closed for three weeks for the winter vacation and Alex, a St Christopher's Infant School pupil, is home while most of her friends are away with their families.
"There is no holiday season for us because we are torn apart as a family. Alex is very upset and keeps calling me and cries constantly. Although we are Muslims, but my family is Christian and none of them are celebrating Christmas this year. It's a struggle to continue both emotionally and financially and I think they want me to give up but I will not leave without taking Adam back with me."
