Last week we brought you the desperate plea of Veronica Hamze, a Belizean woman trapped in Lebanon and fighting her deceased husband's family for custody of her three daughters.
According to the laws of that country, custody of Veronica's children lies with her paternal grandparents because they are Muslims, while their mother is not.
And since that revelation, Veronica, and her sister who accompanied her to Lebanon have been told that they are free to leave. Still, the mother of three says she won't go without her girls. Here's what she told Cherisse Halsall this morning when they spoke via Zoom:
Veronica Hamze, Trapped In Lebanon
"This, from when I came to this country, this family took away my passport for six months at the end of January 2022. He said I need my passport because I need to renew my visa to go back to Belize so I gave it to him, my five passports, three, for my three daughters and my sisters and myself. So I gave it to them, February, March, April, and when I asked for my passports they say no you're visa isn't ready your visa isn't ready and we were waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. Then my sister told the family okay if you don't give me my passport I want to go to the consul because in this country, me and my sister are some Hondurans, born in Honduras so Lebanon doesn't have a consul to help in the British Embassy or in the Honduras Consul, embassy. I told this with my family and this family give me just my passport and sister's passport but not my daughter's."
"They took it away, my daughters this custody with my passport, you know, and I contacted via the internet an attorney here in Lebanon. He helped me with the situation to bring them to the court because he, this family took away my kids with the law from the religion."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Yes."
Veronica Hamze, Trapped In Lebanon
"But my marriage I didn't get married in Lebanon, never, I need came to Lebanon with my husband, my marriage is registered in Belize City and in the law from Belize. In the Muslim religion, but not with the law."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Ok."
Veronica Hamze, Trapped In Lebanon
"For the religion, you know, that is why we have to fight for my kids here in the country because in our law from our country my kids are my kids, for the mother."
