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American Morning

Story of Heidi McClain

Aired June 27, 2003 - 08:06   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The story now in Heidi McClain. She is just one of a number of girls held against their will in Saudi Arabia. Her mother is American, her father is Saudi. He broke U.S. law when he took Heidi to Saudi Arabia six years ago. Now, under Saudi law, she is not free to go and has only limited contact with her mother.
Senator Blanche Lincoln has used the McClain case to illustrate the larger problem of children kidnapped to other countries. Senator Lincoln is with us from Washington and Margaret McClain, Heidi's mother, is with us from Memphis, Tennessee.

Ladies, good morning.

Thanks for being with us.

SEN. BLANCHE LINCOLN (D), ARKANSAS: Good morning.

Thank you.

MARGARET MCCLAIN, DAUGHTER ABDUCTED: Good morning.

KAGAN: Ms. McClain, I'll start with you.

When was the last time you were able to see your daughter?

MCCLAIN: I just saw my daughter earlier this year in the month of May.

KAGAN: And what were the conditions that you're allowed to visit her under?

MCCLAIN: I was supervised at all times. I did get to see her a little bit more than I did last year, so there was some improvement in the way the visit was run. But it was not quite satisfactory.

KAGAN: But your ultimate wish, obviously, is to bring her back here to the U.S.?

MCCLAIN: Oh, yes, definitely. We're working towards that.

KAGAN: And what does the State Department tell you when trying to pursue those wishes?

MCCLAIN: The State Department does not seem to be very cooperative. They are fine in arranging the visits for me, but as far as bringing her back, they say that under Saudi law my daughter is a Saudi citizen. She was born in the United States and we consider her an American citizen, but the State Department seems to go along with the Saudis' point of view on that.

KAGAN: Senator Lincoln, let's bring you in now. This is a story that's become all too familiar to us here in the U.S., hearing the story of these American children stuck in Saudi Arabia. Anything more Ms. McClain can do?

LINCOLN: Well, we're working desperately, as we have been for the last year and a half, to work with Margaret and the State Department. But she's exactly right. Unfortunately, most of what we, the objective of the State Department is is to gain access and to gain visitation. That's not our objective here.

Heidi is an American citizen. She was taken against her will. The man that took her is a criminal in this nation. We shouldn't have to negotiate with him. And unfortunately, you know, friendships are built on trust and respect. And it's absolutely critical if we're going to continue these types of relationships that we have that respect for our laws.

He used our court systems to gain access to Heidi and then he basically disregarded our court systems and our legal systems by taking her illegally out of this country. And we want to make sure that that's recognized and we want to do something about bringing Heidi home.

KAGAN: And so when you look at the complex relationship that the U.S. has with Saudi Arabia, are these children simply pawns in a much bigger game?

LINCOLN: Well, unfortunately some of that seems to be apparent, that they do happen to be elements or tools in a bigger scheme of things. But we want to make sure that we bring out the important issues here. One, that this man is a criminal in our nation. Two, that she is an American citizen. Her mother was given custodial rights to her child. The child was taken against her will and being kept there. And, again, that, you know, we should be, as a nation, standing up for her rights.

The State Department should be there making sure she has the ability to leave this country and come home. And there are many, many of these kidnapping and child abduction cases worldwide. And we want to bring about a bigger awareness of them and make sure that our nation is fighting for these children.

KAGAN: Ms. McClain, let me just wrap up with you.

When is the next time you think you'll be able to see your daughter? And how do you explain this all to her when you see her, how mom is there sometimes but for the majority of her life is not?

MCCLAIN: The next time I will see her, I'm not really sure, although the Saudis have said that I can now visit just about any time that I want. The problem with that is financial aid. The National Center on Missing and Exploited Children has not come through financially and neither has the Justice Department's Office of Victim Assistance. So our family cannot really afford to go over there any time we want.

Ms. Lincoln has been probably the most helpful in acquiring financial assistance for the last two visits that I've had.

As far as your second question about what Heidi thinks, Heidi is a very smart girl. She knows she's been kidnapped. She told me she wants to come home. She is willing to risk her life to cross the bridge to Bahrain, which is an independent country, a 20 mile bridge in 120 degree heat. She is willing to risk her life to get out of Saudi Arabia and that's how strongly she feels about that.

The only thing that her sister and I could tell her was that we have been trying for six years to get her out of there and we will continue to try until we get her out of there or until I'm dead. So she seemed very comforted by that, the fact that we are going to work for her.

KAGAN: An unimaginable way for a child to have to grow up.

Ms. McClain, thanks for bringing us your daughter's story.

We wish you well on your fight.

MCCLAIN: You're quite welcome.

KAGAN: And Senator Lincoln, thank you for your comments this morning, as well.

LINCOLN: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired June 27, 2003 - 08:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The story now in Heidi McClain. She is just one of a number of girls held against their will in Saudi Arabia. Her mother is American, her father is Saudi. He broke U.S. law when he took Heidi to Saudi Arabia six years ago. Now, under Saudi law, she is not free to go and has only limited contact with her mother.
Senator Blanche Lincoln has used the McClain case to illustrate the larger problem of children kidnapped to other countries. Senator Lincoln is with us from Washington and Margaret McClain, Heidi's mother, is with us from Memphis, Tennessee.

Ladies, good morning.

Thanks for being with us.

SEN. BLANCHE LINCOLN (D), ARKANSAS: Good morning.

Thank you.

MARGARET MCCLAIN, DAUGHTER ABDUCTED: Good morning.

KAGAN: Ms. McClain, I'll start with you.

When was the last time you were able to see your daughter?

MCCLAIN: I just saw my daughter earlier this year in the month of May.

KAGAN: And what were the conditions that you're allowed to visit her under?

MCCLAIN: I was supervised at all times. I did get to see her a little bit more than I did last year, so there was some improvement in the way the visit was run. But it was not quite satisfactory.

KAGAN: But your ultimate wish, obviously, is to bring her back here to the U.S.?

MCCLAIN: Oh, yes, definitely. We're working towards that.

KAGAN: And what does the State Department tell you when trying to pursue those wishes?

MCCLAIN: The State Department does not seem to be very cooperative. They are fine in arranging the visits for me, but as far as bringing her back, they say that under Saudi law my daughter is a Saudi citizen. She was born in the United States and we consider her an American citizen, but the State Department seems to go along with the Saudis' point of view on that.

KAGAN: Senator Lincoln, let's bring you in now. This is a story that's become all too familiar to us here in the U.S., hearing the story of these American children stuck in Saudi Arabia. Anything more Ms. McClain can do?

LINCOLN: Well, we're working desperately, as we have been for the last year and a half, to work with Margaret and the State Department. But she's exactly right. Unfortunately, most of what we, the objective of the State Department is is to gain access and to gain visitation. That's not our objective here.

Heidi is an American citizen. She was taken against her will. The man that took her is a criminal in this nation. We shouldn't have to negotiate with him. And unfortunately, you know, friendships are built on trust and respect. And it's absolutely critical if we're going to continue these types of relationships that we have that respect for our laws.

He used our court systems to gain access to Heidi and then he basically disregarded our court systems and our legal systems by taking her illegally out of this country. And we want to make sure that that's recognized and we want to do something about bringing Heidi home.

KAGAN: And so when you look at the complex relationship that the U.S. has with Saudi Arabia, are these children simply pawns in a much bigger game?

LINCOLN: Well, unfortunately some of that seems to be apparent, that they do happen to be elements or tools in a bigger scheme of things. But we want to make sure that we bring out the important issues here. One, that this man is a criminal in our nation. Two, that she is an American citizen. Her mother was given custodial rights to her child. The child was taken against her will and being kept there. And, again, that, you know, we should be, as a nation, standing up for her rights.

The State Department should be there making sure she has the ability to leave this country and come home. And there are many, many of these kidnapping and child abduction cases worldwide. And we want to bring about a bigger awareness of them and make sure that our nation is fighting for these children.

KAGAN: Ms. McClain, let me just wrap up with you.

When is the next time you think you'll be able to see your daughter? And how do you explain this all to her when you see her, how mom is there sometimes but for the majority of her life is not?

MCCLAIN: The next time I will see her, I'm not really sure, although the Saudis have said that I can now visit just about any time that I want. The problem with that is financial aid. The National Center on Missing and Exploited Children has not come through financially and neither has the Justice Department's Office of Victim Assistance. So our family cannot really afford to go over there any time we want.

Ms. Lincoln has been probably the most helpful in acquiring financial assistance for the last two visits that I've had.

As far as your second question about what Heidi thinks, Heidi is a very smart girl. She knows she's been kidnapped. She told me she wants to come home. She is willing to risk her life to cross the bridge to Bahrain, which is an independent country, a 20 mile bridge in 120 degree heat. She is willing to risk her life to get out of Saudi Arabia and that's how strongly she feels about that.

The only thing that her sister and I could tell her was that we have been trying for six years to get her out of there and we will continue to try until we get her out of there or until I'm dead. So she seemed very comforted by that, the fact that we are going to work for her.

KAGAN: An unimaginable way for a child to have to grow up.

Ms. McClain, thanks for bringing us your daughter's story.

We wish you well on your fight.

MCCLAIN: You're quite welcome.

KAGAN: And Senator Lincoln, thank you for your comments this morning, as well.

LINCOLN: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com