Ocean County Leader

A New Jersey adult survivor of international child abduction shared her testimony today at a congressional hearing chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ). Nafeesah Ali Ismail, who was born in Newark, recounted her experience of being abducted by her father to a small village in Northern Egypt when she was seven years old.

"I was only seven, and I didn’t really understand that when I left New Jersey, I was leaving my family, my language, and all that I had known in my young life," Ali Ismail testified. She described the difficulties she faced as an American child in an Egyptian village where she felt isolated and misunderstood.

"My expectation as a child was that everything was going to be okay because I was with my dad," she continued. "But it was not okay, at all. I was a seven-year-old American in an Egyptian village surrounded by people who did not want to understand me; people who saw and treated me as ‘less than’ simply because I did not have the same skin color and hair texture."

Ali Ismail also shared how she spent much of her time alone, hoping for rescue from the U.S. government. "When I wasn’t in school, I mainly stayed in my room—imagining someone from the United States government would knock on the door and ask for me," she said. Her prolonged separation led to depression and multiple suicide attempts.

Back home, Nafeesah’s mother appealed to the U.S. State Department for help but received no effective assistance.

"The heartbreaking reality is that hundreds of American children are still abducted every year—illegally kidnapped by one of their parents to a foreign land," said Rep. Smith during the hearing. "They are subjected to what amounts to a form of child abuse—with devastating psychological and even physical consequences for them and their families left behind."

The hearing marked the 10-year anniversary of Smith's Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Act. The session examined how the U.S. State Department has implemented this law since its enactment in 2014. Testimonies were provided by top officials at the State Department, including Michelle Bernier-Toth, Special Advisor for Children’s Issues; and Robert Koepcke, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Japan, Korea, and Mongolia.

"The Goldman Act empowers the State Department to use the full range of diplomatic tools to seek the return of abducted American children—from a demarche or public condemnation to delay or cancellation of bilateral visits or an extradition request," Smith stated. He criticized the State Department's application of these tools: "In 10 years, it has only ever used an action that exceeded a demarche once—even as many countries still do not comply with their treaty obligations under the Hague Convention."

Jeffery Morehouse, founder of Bring Abducted Children Home, also testified about his own experience as a left-behind parent: "Over the past 14 years of advocacy for others and in my own personal efforts to locate and reunite with my kidnapped son...I have been told when our children are adults they will be free to contact their seeking parent." He emphasized that such statements dismiss opportunities for more proactive engagement.

"We can and must do more to work to bring our abducted children home," added Smith. He introduced new legislation earlier this year aimed at strengthening key aspects of the Goldman Act by requiring additional data from the State Department and providing funding for research into trauma caused by international parental abduction.

"In a sense, I rescued myself from abduction with the help of others," concluded Ali Ismail, who returned home three years ago with support from advocates like Dr. Noelle Hunter from iStand Survivor Network. "Now, I want to help rescue other abducted children."