Perfect reunion: Yemeni daughter finds 86-year-old father in Jeddah after 50 years

This is a poignant but heart-warming story of a father and daughter uniting after 50 long years.

For Mousa Al-Mangari, now 86, it was literally a dream come true to see his daughter, Salma, in flesh and blood, particularly since he was given to believe that she died five decades ago.

As the story unfolds, it becomes obvious that every character in the moving drama has played a key role. Beginning with the marriage of Al-Mangari, a Saudi citizen, to a Yemeni woman till the last scene where Salma is united with her father.

The couple had divorced a year after their marriage when Al-Mangari shifted from Jeddah to Riyadh for employment.

Al-Mangari, however, was not aware that his Yemeni wife was pregnant at the time of their separation. A year later, he, however came to know that his former wife was carrying. When Al-Mangari asked her about his child, he was told that a baby girl was born and that she died later. After the divorce, the Yemeni woman got married to one Hassan Mohammad Moruai, also a Yemeni national.

The truth would not have come out and the daughter would not have met her biological father but for the decency of a dying man.

“Three years ago, after the death of my mother, my father confessed to me that he is not my biological father. The confession came minutes before his death. He said that while the records said he was my father, my biological father was actually a Saudi and an employee of Jeddah municipality. He also gave me his name and address in Jeddah,” said Salma, adding that her stepfather wanted her to be united with her biological father.

Then began Salma’s journey to unravel the truth. “I went to the address that was given to me, and when I couldn’t locate my father, I went to the neighborhood mosque and enquired about his whereabouts. One of the persons in the mosque guided me to my father’s house,” she said.

Salma was filled with apprehensions when she saw her father but it was only momentarily. “My joy knew no bounds when I saw him and when he accepted that I was indeed his daughter. My father also said that he never believed that I was dead and that he was equally happy to see me,” she said.

Al-Mangari joined in to share his happiness over being united with his father after such a long time, and said he was confident that Salma would be registered as his rightful daughter.

“I have informed the authorities about her and have volunteered to any medical test, including DNA analysis, to prove that she is my daughter. I will not give up my efforts to establish my fatherhood till my last breath,” he said.

Al-Mangari said his daughter was married twice, the first time at the age of 12. “She suffered a lot in that marriage after her husband deserted her. He divorced her only after 16 years by paying SR 30,000. She was married the second time to a Yemeni man and bore three sons.

Source: http://www.arabnews.com/node/455606