It was early June in Saint Petersburg, formerly Leningrad. They had left Geneva, looking for a little Belgian girl, Marie Elisabeth. The operation had been prepared for several weeks, in Brussels, by her father Pascal Driess and the “Marie Elisabeth International Child Abduction Foundation” that he created for her. It had been decided that Pascal would not go there. Too many risks. The objective: to locate his daughter who also has Russian nationality.
Elena is an executive in the pharmaceutical sector. Pascal is a business aviation pilot. He comes from Walloon Brabant. In the 2010s, the couple lived in Switzerland, in Geneva, where they met and lived for several years, and where Marie Elisabeth was born in 2014. One morning in December 2016, Elena left with the child. Pascal Driess spent ten months trying to locate them. Elena, without her consent, had taken Marie Elisabeth to Russia. The little girl was then 2 and a half years old. The situation allowed the Belgian to go to Russia for a while. Pascal went there two or three times, the last in May 2018. Then Elena didn’t want to anymore. She only allowed Skype contacts. In the end, Pascal could only talk to his daughter on birthdays. June 4, 2020 was the last time. Marie was going to be six years old.
The following year, Pascal couldn’t call. Then came the war in Ukraine and everything was cut off. In short, Pascal Driess hasn’t seen his daughter “in real life” since 2018 – for exactly 2,222 days – and hasn’t seen her in a photo or spoken to her on Skype for four years. It has become the fight of his life.
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“800 children”
In this fight, the Belgian realized that he was not alone. There are several hundred of them in Europe. And that is how he decided to create a foundation to which he naturally gave the name of his daughter, Foundation Marie Elisabeth International Child. The headquarters are in Brussels in the European Quarter. If each situation is different, Pascal estimates at “around 800” the number of Western children who would be in a comparable situation.Among them, you have relatives who manage to maintain contact in Russia. In my case, there simply haven’t been any for years.”.
Pascal Driess has never been and will never be a supporter of the strong approach. He has continually tried to build bridges to his ex-wife and his in-laws. He had noted that Elena has 25 email addresses: since she left him, he has made it a point to regularly send “soft, respectful, reconciling” messages to all 25 addresses, guided by Marie Elisabeth’s interest.
At the start of the school year last year, Pascal wrote again: “Dear Elena, I hope this message finds you all in good health. Above all, I want to assure you that my priority is the well-being of our daughter. Although we have been through difficult times and communication has become complicated, I want to express my desire to collaborate so that Marie can fully flourish.”.
In Russia, Elena did not respond. So, Pascal Driess conceived a daring project that he charged trusted people to carry out in the greatest secrecy in Russia, in Saint Petersburg.
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Sixty seconds
This is where Marie Elisabeth is, grows up and goes to school, today, he is certain. The operation aimed to find her trace: mission accomplished. The team found Marie Elisabeth. They were able to meet her and even talk to her for a few moments on June 4, her 10th birthday.
Marie appears to be in good health. On this level, her father is reassured.
Pascal Driess insisted: “The goal was not aggressive in any way. We wanted to give her gifts and deliver a message from her grandparents. She has grandparents in Belgium who are suffering from not seeing her again. The third goal was to try to understand her current needs. The fourth, to send a message of mediation to her mother. I am trying against all odds to reach out. I only think about our daughter’s happiness. Despite the international situation, we must find a way to move forward.”
The operation was high-risk. It had been prepared in the greatest secrecy. The team brought back photos from Russia that her father discovered with the intense emotion that one can imagine: he had not had any photos of Marie Elisabeth since 2020. How Marie has grown in four years! The contact took place in the street, near the establishment where she attends school. It lasted less than a minute. Everything went off without incident.
Elena was visibly very surprised by such audacity. For her part, Marie Elisabeth reacted little, which is not without disturbing her father.Physically, my daughter seems fine. It’s her mental health that I’m wondering about.”
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A disastrous article title
We have been following Pascal Driess’ fight for several months. The previous article (DH of February 23, 2023) was entitled: “They are denazifying my daughter.”
Pascal wanted to react, this title “not reflecting my words or my thoughts.” The effect was disastrous, with the article being translated by The Brussels Times and The Moscow Times: “The Russians are trying to denazify my 8-year old daughter, claims Belgian father”.
In this fight that he continues with other parents in Europe, Pascal Driess specifies that the Marie Elisabeth Foundation that he created is ““deeply apolitical. We defend European children as much as Russian children. For us, it is obvious that every child has the right to both parents.” Pascal has other plans. His determination and enthusiasm command respect. He has no intention of giving up.
* To contact the Marie Elisabeth International Child Abduction Foundation: [email protected]
