he turned to the u.s. state department for help and found out he is not alone. >> we are aware of 22 cases, but remember this is self-reporting and there might be many more cases. >> reporter: ambassador susan jacobs is the u.s. state department special adviser on children's issues. egypt, she says, is a difficult country to deal with, because it's not signed on to the hague convention regarding children's issue, which allows, in some cases, for the return of abducted kids. >> as an american citizen whose tax dollars go over there, is there no way we can't say to egypt, you want $3 billion a year for your military? give us back these 22 kids that are american citizens? >> well, i would argue that we have a very complex relationship with egypt that goes beyond military aid. we are trying to work with egypt's government as they transition to democracy, to encourage all kinds of new practices, and one of them would