A central Alberta woman says her family is dealing with a combination of anxiety and heartbreak as her aunt struggles to bring her young cousins home after being kidnapped and taken half a world away.
“Even for myself, in day-to-day moments of joy, it’s always in the back of my mind,” Kim Keys said from her Red Deer home Tuesday. “There’s just always this heaviness that our family is not complete.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Keys’ aunt, Alison Azer, held a press conference in Ottawa calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do more to bring her children home.
READ MORE: Alison Azer says Iranian authorities have detained father accused of abducting his 4 children
Azer’s emotional plea came one month after Iranian authorities detained Kurdish-Canadian doctor Saren Azer. Azer’s ex-husband was wanted by the RCMP and Interpol in the abduction of his four children.
“Every occasion we’re meant to be together, there’s just this heaviness and this brokenness and as much as we try to stay positive and find moments of joy, I think we just won’t be the same until our family is together again,” Keys said.
WATCH: Alison Azer accuses government of blocking efforts to bring kids home from Iran. Shirlee Engel reports.
Keys’ cousins were taken to Iran almost a year ago. Sharvahn, 11, Rojevahn, 10, Dersim, 7 and Meitan, 4 – were taken to the Persian country against their mother’s wishes after a court-approved holiday with their father in Europe.
Although Keys is Azer’s niece, their children are similar in age and she says it breaks her heart when her kids ask when they’ll be able to play with their cousins again and she is unable to make any promises.
“It’s so hard as a parent to not give them the answer they want,” Keys said.
On Tuesday, Azer specifically called on the prime minister to personally call Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, to physically bring her children back to Canada. Azer also alleged the RCMP asked for permission from “senior Canadian government officials” to contact their Iranian Interpol counterparts, but that the request was denied.
READ MORE: How much can the Canadian government do to bring the Azer children home?
A spokesperson for the office of Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion did not comment on Azer’s allegation Tuesday but said Ottawa remains “deeply concerned” for the Azer children, and is in regular contact with their mother.
-with files from Quinn Ohler & Monique Muise
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