Sally Faulkner wants $50,000

to be "donated" to her for a "really good lawyer".
For those of you who don't know who Sally Faulkner is  I need to explain. Ms Faulkner is the mother of two children who were taken to Lebanon by their father and have not returned. In a thoroughly misguided attempt to get them back Ms Faulkner and some of the personnel from a television program called "Sixty Minutes" tried to kidnap them in Lebanon - and film themselves doing it. They failed and ended up in a Lebanese prison. Two members of the kidnap team are, as far as I am aware, still there.  It is unlikely their cases have even been heard by the Lebanese court system.
In order to get out of the country Ms Faulkner signed a document handing custody to her husband. Now she wants the children back.
It is one of those incredibly messy situations in which there can be no happy outcome for everyone - if anyone.
Marrying someone from another country and another culture always requires an added level of understanding and maturity.  It can work. I once knew a very young nun. She left her order and married a Muslim. They are, many years later, still together. It's an extraordinary story but they had to work very hard to make it work. I have an American friend who married a Frenchman. It works for them although she has admitted that it is easier now they live in America. She speaks French but she didn't find her husband's family or friends particularly welcoming. Yes, it's a cultural thing.
Middle Cat married into the Greek-Cypriot community but she knew they would be living here. Her husband has no desire to live anywhere else. Nevertheless she had to accept some of the customs.
It can even be difficult when your partner is from the same culture and background as yourself and their job posts them to somewhere foreign. The Senior Cat had cousins in the diplomatic service. One of them saw service in places as diverse as Nigeria, Thailand, China, and Peru. His wife went along too, as did the children until they were old enough to go to boarding school. That sort of thing can be very hard on children - perhaps even harder when their parents are missionaries rather than better paid diplomats or company workers. 
It's something I have been thinking about lately because there are people I know who will soon be facing a "stay or go" sort of decision. When the decision is made however it won't be a Faulkner sort of decision. It will be made after the implications have been discussed and certain things have been made clear and agreed upon.  The decision will be made in the way major decisions should be made. 
It's a pity someone didn't help Sally Faulkner make some decisions that way.