say so. I was merely following your lead when you said "poor Arab guy" (meaning ANY Arab nationality, not only GCC).
And to your other comment: I've lived in Qatar almost as long as I have in the US. I have several good Qatari friends that I have known for well over a decade, and have spent long stretches of time with them and other locals.
So I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of how things operate here, yes (though clearly you disagree).
And you're right. I guess I don't have a problem with the mother trying to kidnap her own child in the situation you reported -- because as I read the story, it seems clear to me that:
1. they weren't married when she was pregnant and had the child
2. she predominantly/exclusively raised the child until they moved to UAE
3. the biological father, Mr. Al Habtoor, had almost no contact with the child during his younger years
So yeah, it kind of seems manipulative that he "invites" them over to the UAE, then within 4 months makes a claim for custody, which, after he wins, eventually forces the mother and her new husband to have to leave the country, never to see her child again. I don't know of any mother who wouldn't do the same.
I find it 'amusing' that after not playing any role whatsoever in a child's life, an adult would think it perfectly okay to suddenly yank them from the only family they've known thus far and keep them from them -- because it is his "legal right".
Just because something is legal doesn't make it right.
"Marriage is a wonderful institution...but who wants to live in an institution?" -- Groucho Marx
say so. I was merely following your lead when you said "poor Arab guy" (meaning ANY Arab nationality, not only GCC).
And to your other comment: I've lived in Qatar almost as long as I have in the US. I have several good Qatari friends that I have known for well over a decade, and have spent long stretches of time with them and other locals.
So I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of how things operate here, yes (though clearly you disagree).
And you're right. I guess I don't have a problem with the mother trying to kidnap her own child in the situation you reported -- because as I read the story, it seems clear to me that:
1. they weren't married when she was pregnant and had the child
2. she predominantly/exclusively raised the child until they moved to UAE
3. the biological father, Mr. Al Habtoor, had almost no contact with the child during his younger years
So yeah, it kind of seems manipulative that he "invites" them over to the UAE, then within 4 months makes a claim for custody, which, after he wins, eventually forces the mother and her new husband to have to leave the country, never to see her child again. I don't know of any mother who wouldn't do the same.
I find it 'amusing' that after not playing any role whatsoever in a child's life, an adult would think it perfectly okay to suddenly yank them from the only family they've known thus far and keep them from them -- because it is his "legal right".
Just because something is legal doesn't make it right.
"Marriage is a wonderful institution...but who wants to live in an institution?" -- Groucho Marx