| By Fuat Kircaali |
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| April 15, 2011 07:30 PM EDT |
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The day after my last tweet regarding the lack of any new information about my abducted daughter Sofia since March 4, I received an updated letter on Thursday, April 7, 2011, from the State Department on Sofia's welfare in Syria.
Fox News: ▸ video ▸ story
Sofia was abducted by her mother from the United States to Syria last July, following her diagnosis of GDD with possible autism. She had 13 remaining medical appointments left at the time of her abduction, none of which she was able to keep.
Last week's welfare report prepared by our Embassy in Damascus, Syria, after their second welfare visit to the home in Syria where Sofia remains with her mother and grandmother, showed a bleaker outcome for my daughter than the previous report dated November 2010.
At two years and two months of age, Sofia still doesn't speak a single word, make or follow simple hand gestures, such as a simple "bye-bye."
As explained by her physicians, she also started showing autistic signs, such as not having any eye contact with her mom, grandmother and others around her.
▸ Fox News on-camera Interview
▸ Fox News Story on Sofia's Abduction to Syria
▸ US Leaves Its Youngest Citizen Behind Syria
The Embassy personnel who visited Sofia could not determine "whether Sofia's vocalization or facial expressions were within the normal range of affect for a child of her age."
Sofia does not respond to her name.
A copy of the "unclassified" State Department report is below.
Sofia needs intense urgent daily therapy, up to 4-5 hours per day, which was scheduled to start seven months ago in New Jersey, United States.
She has not received any medical attention for her condition since her abduction to Syria.
Diane Macedo of Fox News worked on Sofia's story for more than a month, studying documents, interviewing more than a dozen people, and fact-checking before publishing her news story on Monday and airing our interview.
Here is the link to the Fox News on-camera interview.
On Monday, she also published a detailed article on Sofia that was picked up by a dozen or so media outlets around the world during the week.
▸ Fox News Story on Sofia's Abduction to Syria
When Sofia returns safely home, she will pay her first visit to Diane at the Fox News headquarters in New York City.
▸ US Leaves Its Youngest Citizen Behind Syria
P.S. - Last Monday AP reported that "State Dept. issued travel warning on Syria" and on Monday Reuters filed a follow-up report that "US offers free flights out for employees in Syria."
As of today, and since July 2010, my abducted daughter Sofia Kircaali, a US citizen, remains in Syria and in harm's way.
On Friday, I watched videos on the Internet showing violence inside a mosque one block away from where Sofia currently lives with her mother and grandmother.
Twitter updates on Sofia @FuatKircaali
Copy:
Mr. Barack Obama, The President of the United States
Mrs. Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State
Mrs. Sharon Anderholm Wiener, Outgoing Consul General to Istanbul, Turkey
Mr. Charles F. (Chuck) Hunter, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy in Damascus
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