Lara88.Bruin@ucla.edu
1 year, 5 months, 3 days…
That’s exactly how long Zanni Meguerian hasn’t seen or heard from her beloved children.
On July 2, 2008, the lives of three children and two families changed forever. Meguerian’s former husband, George Sulahian (or Silah), promised to take his two children, Alex, now 13, and Zaven, now 10, for a weeklong summer cruise aboard the Disney ship for a court appointed visit. Meanwhile, his brother John Silah, former husband of Christine Jeanbart, was supposed to take his son Greg, now 11, for a weeklong summer vacation. Both fathers failed to return the three boys to their mothers.
The cruise tickets were paid for but never even used. According to Meguerian, her former husband had no intention of going aboard the ship. “It was just a cover-up story so that he could get his hands on the children’s passports. I knew something was wrong; things just didn’t feel right, so I never gave him the passports. And after 15 hours of not getting any calls from my kids, I knew something was definitely wrong,” explained Meguerian.
Meguerian went with her instincts and immediately called the police, but to no avail. “They weren’t helpful in the beginning, telling me that I have to wait about a week before reporting missing kids. I couldn’t believe it,” said Meguerian. She emailed her children, left them voicemails (their phones had been turned off), and incessantly called her former husband… but again, to no avail.
What makes this parental abduction so disturbing is the fact that the criminal activities of the fathers have other people searching for them as well. George and John Silah were involved in large scale scams against people in their own community from which they have allegedly scammed over $5 million dollars. Both fathers may have been involved in selling fake identities to people entering the country illegally, as there were shredded fake documents, immigrant applications, and passport photos found in their Westchester home. These con artists gave people hope, motivating them to invest in their schemes, but ended up taking their money, leaving them with nothing. Needless to say, this angered many of the victims. Over 40 violent messages were left on the Silah brothers’ voice-mails, filled with threats on their lives.
It is clear that these brothers are on the run, both from the law and from possible killers ready to seek revenge. Both mothers are worried sick that if their abducted children are found by the wrong people, then their children would be in harm’s way. “My former husband and his brother have conned so many people and have ruined so many lives that I’m very afraid that if any one of the scammed victims finds them, they might retaliate by hurting the children,” explains Meguerian.
This fear has caused much pain, worry, and heartache to the mothers. “I wake up hyperventilating at night, wondering: Are they safe? Are they healthy? What have they been doing for an entire year? Did they miss out on a whole year and half of school?” said Meguerian.
She’s trying to go about her daily life, checking her email a hundred times a day, hoping for a miracle. “It’s an awful feeling, knowing that there’s nothing more you could do to find your children, but I can’t destroy myself. I need to stay healthy and sane; when my kids come back, they need a healthy mom to take care of them,” explains Meguerian. She regularly stares at a text message her elder son Alex has sent her about two years ago while she was on a business trip that reads, “I really miss you mom.”
Federal warrants have been issued for the arrest of the men. But finding them has proved to be very difficult. George and John Silah are conjectured to have altered their appearances to avoid detection and are using fake identities, since their own paperwork had been found shredded.
Evidence suggests that the boys were taken through Mexico, and then further south all the way to Guatemala, in the Rio Dulce area. The Association for the Recovery of Children (ARC) is also actively involved in this case. Both mothers have been using the media relentlessly to assist them in finding their children and have appeared on various news stations such as CBS, NBC, KTLA, Fox News Channel, and also on MSNBC. They were both interviewed by Dr. Phil and appeared on his television program.
Unfortunately, there haven’t been any new significant developments these past couple of months, but the mothers believe that they will find their children. “I believe it’s only a matter of time,” states Meguerian, “My faith gets me through it because I know God has a plan. He is keeping my children safe and will one day return them to me.” Meguerian and Jeanbart are on a crusade to find their sons and nothing will stand in their way.
To learn more about the abducted Silah children and donate to the ARC for this cause, please visit www.FindTheSilahChildren.com.
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