Return to Court

August 12 was the long anticipated return to court, and a continuation to the visitation hearings that had been going on prior to the court's break.  As most of you know, I have traveled to Mexico with the hope of being able to provide some tangible support, and to see Carlos and Sage.  I arrived on August 9th and have been running all over the state since.  The day after I arrived, my brother's lawyers and I drove to the city of Salamanca to attempt to attend a scheduled visit with Sage, despite the fact that Ana had blown off every single visit after the court's closing.  It was a disappointment, but no real surprise when she didn't show.  Not wanting to waste the trip, the lawyers took me to the court to meet the judge.  We were introduced, and I was asked to explain who I was and what I was requesting.  I explained to him that I had not seen Sage in almost four years, and that my primary concerns at that very moment were attending the hearing on the 12th, and being able to see Sage prior to returning to the U.S.  The judge agreed to let me attend the hearing, but stated that I could attend the regular visits with Carlos.  Carlos' lawyer proceeded to tell him that Ana had been skipping visits, which he probably should have already known, and we left knowing that court would be my first real opportunity to see my nephew.  Much of the next few days was spent getting to know Carlos' lawyers and some of the area, and accompanying the lawyers and my brother on their MANY trips to file requests at the court and address other aspects of the case.

August 12th, and the hearing where the judge was going to clean the floors with Ana, and I was going to see my nephew, finally arrived.  I got my picture album and toys ready for Sage, and we got to the courthouse at 10:00 a.m.  Not too long after, we were sitting in the courtroom: the transcriber, the judge, my brother's lawyers, myself and Carlos, Ana, her lawyer, the ministerio publico (Ana's secret 2nd lawyer), and a representative from child and family services.  During the three or so hours that the hearing lasted, three things were going through my head:

1.) where is Sage?
2.) how am I supposed to be expected to sit quietly in the same room with this evil woman, whom had acted so sweet the last time I saw her, and then kidnapped my nephew? and
3.) what is going on?????

Unfortunately, as I have a only a minute grasp of the language, much was lost on me except for bits and pieces, along with the distinct feeling that there was going to be no floor cleaning today, and Sage wasn't coming.  As I sat there with my heart sinking, and the Mexican heat closing in on me, I felt a keen awareness of the painful build up/let down, build up/let down, baby steps, let down that my brother has been enduring for over three years now.  All this time, from the psychological safety of my own home and responsibilities, I've been responding to the stories of disappointment and frustratingly small wins/time-consuming fails, by expressing my sincere shock over how there was any question of what the right decision was.  Sitting in the courtroom, where respect for the judge, respect for the lawyers, respect for everyone is the usual battle cry, I fully realized that this is what there is for my brother.  He has the best lawyers in the state, and from my standpoint, anywhere really; he turned over heaven and earth to be able to travel back and forth to Mexico for court and to see Sage; he beats himself up with the stress and a tireless schedule to keep his momentum; and most importantly, he has the TRUTH, yet, all of this feels meaningless at this place, at this time, and for the foreseeable future.  I got the distinct sense that even though we were in a court of law, justice was not the order of the day, as the reality remains that it if he gets his son back, it may very well still take years to happen.  He continues to struggle with judges who feel it is more their job to make the whole world a little bit happy, than to lay down the law as it's written, and as I observed the gestures of those in the room, I saw first-hand the nods in agreement of all Ana had to say by the "unbiased" prosecutor that was there as "Sage's representative."

And so, it was another confirmation of the LBP/family's hard-learned lesson that without a functioning Hague Convention, or a similar piece of International legislation in place that is backed by the governments of all LBP's (not just those who happen to work for the government), there is little hope for a timely recovery, and the guarantee of a long and difficult road for the left-behind parents/families.

Once court let out and we all got our bearings, my brother confirmed that my sense regarding the tone of the hearing was basically correct.  Several items that were supposed to be discussed were not, and there were no repercussions for Ana for skipping out on visits or for failing to bring Sage to court (she claimed he was sick).  Prior to the court's closing in July, Ana was allowed to submit request for new "witnesses" to testify.  The request was affirmed, and is now basically the main wedge keeping the door open on this first level of the Hague trial.  Because these friends of Ana's happen to live in another city about 45 minutes from Salamanca, and they couldn't possibly make the trip to testify in this court, we are awaiting a date for them to testify in their hometown.  If Carlos and his lawyers are notified of the date and place ahead of time, they can attend for cross examination, but this information has not been made available to them as of now, and there has been no time limit set for when it must take place.

The good news, or the "little bit of happy" that Carlos got to take away from the hearing however, was that a new visitation schedule was created, this time allowing Carlos 7 hours with Sage on Saturdays, and one other visit during the week.  The visits have to take place in view of child/family services at their office, but Ana can't be within 20 meters of Carlos and Sage.  The judge informed her that from this point forward, if Ana fails to bring Sage to visits he can impose fines, and/or file criminal charges against her. While I admit that this is wonderful in that it will hopefully allow Carlos to finally attempt to rekindle the bond between father and son,  it's also impossible to deny the fact that the person they're really treating as the defendant in this case is Carlos, rather than the woman who committed the crime of abduction, and stole three years of Sage's relationship with his father, which can never be returned.  Ana spends day and night with Sage, without restriction, and without supervision, and now, after all this time, Carlos gets to try to foster a relationship with his alienated son in the presence of a social worker and in the confines of an unfamiliar building.  But this is what it's like for the left-behind parent...take what you can get...the abductor gets to call the shots.

I'm sorry it's taken this long to update, but this was what happened in court on August 12.  I realize I have many more days to blog before I get caught up, but my eyes are drooping, and the days and nights seem to blur into the next here.  I will try to get some sleep tonight, and straighten things out a bit before my next post...more to come tomorrow :)

Thank you all for your continued support...and for your patience :)
--Sonia