TESTIMONY
Sabrina has not seen her daughter for over ten years. The latter has been retained by her family in a sect in Mauritius since the age of five. Sabrina has taken steps and made numerous requests to find her daughter. At the microphone of "La Libre antenne", on Europe 1, Sabrina tells Olivier Delacroix those years when she remained without news of her daughter and explains how she managed to recontact her recently.
>> Listen to Sabrina's testimony in full here
"My daughter is retained by my family in Mauritius. They are members of a sectarian movement. It is the CTMI, the Church Team Ministries International. I was abandoned by my family when I was a teenager. They met the members of this Church and decided to give up everything to settle there. Before that day came, my mother insulted me. She made me understand that I was a ball which prevented them from advancing in their projects.
" I had to let my daughter go and live with my mother "I found my mother when my daughter was three months old. After several years, I had my parents on the phone. My mother came to see me in Toulouse. She told me that she was looking for me, that I missed her, that she needed me and that I had to find my family. As I was in the process of divorce with the father of my daughter, it was easier for her to convince me to leave everything and go to live in Mauritius with my daughter.
That's what I did, but I didn't know she had another secret project. His goal was to disinherit me. She had organized everything. I had to give my sister everything my parents left me. My sister kicked us out with my daughter. She made us search by social services. I had no choice, I had to let my daughter go and live with my mother. It was his goal. My daughter is now 18 years old. At the time, she must have been five years old.
" My family turned my daughter away from me "I could not return to France, I had left everything. I tried to get in touch with the justice services to find out what I could do. I had parental authority, but I no longer had any control over it. All of this made me terribly sick. I tried to negotiate a medical repatriation with the French embassy, which was refused to me. I saved to buy a plane ticket. I didn't want to leave my daughter, but I couldn't stay for treatment.
I returned to France. After several years abroad, I had lost all bearings. I had no family. I suffered from relentless medical care for five years. While I was being treated, my family diverted my daughter from me by conditioning her in her Church. There was a moment of great silence. For 1,711 days, I did not hear from my daughter at all. This is what made me initiate all the administrative procedures with the French and Mauritian authorities.
" The Ministry of Justice has ordered the opening of an investigation "In 2015, I contacted Enfance en danger, the French Embassy in Mauritius, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Defender of Rights, the Association for the Defense of Families and the Individual, the center against mental manipulations, a detective ... I really looked for all the solutions. I ended up despairing because none of these instances answered me. The international civil assistance office, an office attached to the Ministry of Justice, contacted me a year later. They offered me mediation by phone, but my family did not answer.
Against all expectations, on October 13, 2019, I was contacted by the police station in my locality for a hearing at the request of the public prosecutor. The Department of Justice has ordered an investigation. My daughter's father and I were auditioned. When I received this invitation, I asked for a certificate which I sent to my family. It was there that I was able to hear from my child after more than four years.
" She often quoted passages from the Bible to me "I didn't stop crying. I let her speak. I tried to make her understand that this religion had destroyed our family and that she and I had been manipulated. She made me understand that she would fight to defend her grandmother and aunt. She never knew anything else. I couldn't even recognize her. She often quoted passages from the Bible to me.
She asked me an ultimatum: "If you want us to become a family as before, abandon the procedure. I would also like you to break before the Lord and ask forgiveness for all the harm you have done to your mother and aunt. " I hallucinated. She was giving me a nice gift, but I refused to ask forgiveness from those people who voluntarily kept me away from my daughter. She is submissive.
>> Find Olivier Delacroix's Free Antenna in replay and podcast here
I don't want to give up hope and give up. I want to continue to believe that one day, I will see my child again. I am waiting to see what the current investigation will give. I will always continue to tell my child that I love her, that I have never abandoned her and that I will do everything to find her. It's hard to wear everyday, but I want her to know that her mom loves her. You have to have patience and persistence. "