My ex took my sons on holiday 7 years ago and never came back – don’t make the same mistake I did

SAYING goodbye to her young duplicate sons Luke and David, Nataly Anderson’s bosom breaks each implicit again. 

It’s been 8 years since their dada Ivan took them connected vacation and ne'er returned, and each she has to clasp connected to is simply a video telephone with her boys who are surviving thousands of miles away.

Nataly, 51, has fought a agelong and heartbreaking conflict to get them backmost but hasn’t succeeded - and it has been 18 months since she past wrapped her arms astir the pair, present 11, who are surviving successful Croatia with their dad.

She says: “I talk to them each night. I inquire them astir their time at school, who their champion person is, what they had for dinner.

“But it’s not the same. I agelong to clasp them, cuddle them, ruffle their hairsbreadth and buss them goodnight.”

Despite however fiercely she loves her children, Nataly has withdrawn from warring her lawsuit to beryllium reunited with them.

She says: “I can’t get anyplace successful a strategy which I consciousness isn’t prepared to travel the law.

“Hiring a lawyer is simply a discarded of clip successful a strategy wherever it seems similar courts garbage to perceive to the needs of children.”

Now, she is channelling her vigor into helping different parents who judge they person been wrongfully separated from their own.

She hopes her campaign, Family Court Crisis, volition rise consciousness of the challenges faced by parents who are successful the household courts system, some successful the UK and overseas.

“Throwing myself into the run has helped maine transmission the anger, vexation and grief I consciousness astatine having my children taken distant from me,” she says.

The 'perfect' spouse

Nataly, who has a Yugoslavian parent but grew up successful the UK, met her ex-husband Ivan connected a dating tract successful 2008 aft travelling to Croatia.

She says: “He was tall, dark, handsome, Mediterranean-looking and talkative.

“I retrieve popping to the loo connected a date, looking successful the reflector and mouthing to myself, ‘He’s perfect’.’’

The brace rapidly began a relationship and acceptable up location unneurotic successful a level owned by Nataly’s parents successful Croatia. They joined successful 2011.

“It was truly beauteous astatine first, each romance and excitement,” Nataly, who lives successful Woking, Surrey, says. “He truly wanted kids truthful we started trying for a baby.”

'I felt miserable and alone'

In 2013, pursuing two miscarriages at astir 8 weeks, Nataly got large with twins and says she had ne'er been happier, until she felt Ivan was being controlling.

She says: “It was dilatory and subtle but I felt helium was isolating me. He’d socialise with enactment mates but I ne'er felt included.

"Soon I felt miserable and alone.

“Then, astatine 34 weeks, I went into labour and delivered 2 tiny steadfast duplicate boys via caesarean.”

But erstwhile Nataly and the twins returned home, she says things began to change.

“He helped retired but I felt it was lone the bare minimum,” she says.

“I was moving successful telecoms by past and earned much than him truthful aft a twelvemonth I went backmost to enactment and helium took paternal leave.

“But helium said helium couldn’t bash it unsocial and suggested I wage for a nanny, and I bought him a posh hybrid car.

“He had costly tastes and wanted the champion nutrient and fine wine.

“I felt nether pressure. I missed my sons but felt it was down to maine to supply for everyone.

“Then 1 day, arsenic the twins’ 2nd day approached, helium abruptly blurted retired from obscurity that helium hated Croatia and wanted a change.

“We’d ever talked of going backmost to the UK due to the fact that I knew it well, spoke the connection and Ivan excessively had worked there.

“We felt determination would beryllium much opportunities for the boys and much employment opportunities for us.

“But arsenic we made plans to leave, things betwixt america began to deteriorate owed to the accent of looking aft the boys, and fiscal pressures.”

'He began to complain'

In 2016, erstwhile the boys were two, Nataly was made redundant.

Ivan helped her look for enactment in the UK and wrong 10 days she recovered a caller occupation arsenic an IT consultant.

“I moved backmost to Britain archetypal and I started enactment the adjacent day,” Nataly says.

“He packed up our lives successful Croatia, I flew backmost a period aboriginal to get the children, past Ivan and the dog followed by car.

“But it wasn’t agelong earlier helium began to kick astir looking aft them, saying helium wanted to spell back.

“Yet our boys were increasing into gorgeous, happy toddlers. They were some truthful calm and well-behaved wherever we went.”

'I kissed the boys goodbye'

In June 2016, Nataly says Ivan had a telephone from a brag suggesting helium mightiness beryllium successful enactment for a promotion successful his erstwhile occupation backmost successful Croatia.

She adds: “He said helium wanted to instrumentality the boys to Croatia for 3 weeks to spot his parents, to person a holiday by the oversea and relax.

“I agreed, due to the fact that I trusted him. Then helium asked, ‘Should I instrumentality the boys’ UK passports oregon their Croatian ID cards?’

“For immoderate crushed I looked successful his eyes and said, ‘I’m frightened you’re not going to bring them back’, and Ivan stared close backmost astatine maine and replied, ‘That would marque maine a kid abductor’."

Under UK law, a kid tin lone beryllium taken retired of the state if everyone with parental work gives their permission.

Believing the boys would beryllium distant for nary longer than 3 weeks Nataly fto Ivan instrumentality them, and due to the fact that helium booked instrumentality flights she had nary crushed to deliberation helium would enactment successful Croatia.

“I handed him everything," Nataly explains. "On the time they acceptable off, I took them to the airport.

“I kissed the boys goodbye and made definite they had their snacks, beverage bottles and favourite teddies. I saw their small heads bobbing until they disappeared into the crowd.”

But erstwhile Ivan rang not agelong earlier the extremity of the three-week holiday, Nataly says: “I picked up the telephone and his dependable sounded hard, different.

“I couldn’t astatine archetypal compute what helium was saying erstwhile helium told me, ‘I’m not bringing them home’.

“For a 2nd I didn’t judge him. He started saying should I spell there, that he’d archer everyone what a atrocious parent I was due to the fact that I worked.

“Then helium started waxing lyrical astir Croatia, saying he’d have a nanny, that helium could work, that everything was amended there. Then helium hung up.”

Stolen passports

In sheer panic, the archetypal happening Nataly did was telephone the UK police.

She says: “I told them my sons had been abducted by their father. expecting them to help.

“But they told maine it was a civilian matter, not criminal, and they had nary powerfulness to bash thing astir it.

“I got a lawyer and helium told maine I could inquire for the children to beryllium returned nether the Hague Convention.

“I couldn’t beryllium forced to spell backmost to Croatia. My parents were precise adjacent and a immense enactment — the UK was our home.

“I had a job, the twins were settled, they had a bully future.

“That is what we had moved for. I didn’t privation to spell backmost to Croatia.”

Nataly went implicit that summer, and for a week each period from past to spot the twins.

She recalls visiting her sons for the archetypal time: “I felt terrified arriving astatine Ivan’s parents. I didn’t adjacent cognize if they’d fto maine in.

“My sons were sleeping and erstwhile they woke up and saw maine Luke was truthful shocked helium burst into tears.

"Ivan had their British passports so I couldn’t permission the state with them but I wanted to bargain them back.”

A 'devastating' decision

Then successful December 2016, six months aft they were taken, the Croatian courts ruled the boys should beryllium returned to the UK.

Nataly says: “I was thrilled but past I recovered retired Ivan had launched an appeal.”

The mates divorced successful January 2017 and that March, the entreaty was heard.

“I was devastated, the tribunal overturned the ruling and ordered a retrial,” says Nataly.

In the meantime, and while court proceedings were ongoing, it was decided the boys should enactment successful Croatia.

Ever since, she has been warring to bring them location but truthful acold each judgements person ruled that her boys should stay successful Croatia.

Now, 18 months since she past saw them, each she tin bash is await their nightly telephone call.

She says: “David is talkative and volition archer maine however helium feels, what he’s doing astatine school. But Luke is withdrawn. I deliberation he’s realised the lone mode to support himself is by shutting down. 

“He gets mislaid successful his machine games and doesn’t accidental a batch to maine connected calls. David, however, precocious said I americium the champion mum successful the world.”

At Christmas and for Nataly’s day past summer, the boys sent her handwritten cards, which read: "Dear mum… I emotion you truthful much. You are the champion mum ever. I privation I could spot you."

“I treasure them. I work them each day,” she says.

She has present thrown her value and acquisition into helping different parents estranged from their children pursuing tribunal rulings.

'It's destroying lives'

Her campaign, which includes raising consciousness for parents who consciousness they’ve been unfairly separated from their kids, is being backed by Seema Misra, who was wrongfully convicted of theft successful the Post Office ungraded and imprisoned portion pregnant.

Referring to the stories of the families she meets, she explains: “One couple’s girl died of cerebral palsy.

"The section authorization labelled them with intelligence wellness issues and their surviving children were taken into care. 

“Another parent took her girl overseas to spot her father. After a convulsive attack, they fled home.

"The UK High Court refused the father’s petition for the instrumentality of the kid arsenic helium was excessively unsafe but a section tribunal sent the miss backmost to him.

“There are truthful galore cases of parents whose children are wrongfully taken from them and it’s destroying the lives of the ones we are expected to support – the children.”

• Read much astir Nataly’s run present Home - Family Court Crisis

• *Some names person been changed