Weird...it worked :)
And not to ruin the sweetness of the post, but here's one the lawyer sent me of what happens when he and/or my brother attempt to visit Sage at his home after they skip a scheduled visit:
Monday, September 26, 2011
No new news, but...
I received these tonight from my brother's lawyer. No description, but I'm pretty sure he took them the night he was setup to be arrested in front of Sage. My brother had said that his lawyer had asked Sage to do his kung fu poses while he took some pictures for his dad. A bit of rare sunshine to enjoy here on Justice for Sage :) He looks so much like his daddy :)
Okay...so blogger is being picky again and stopped letting me upload pics after this first one was uploaded...it sometimes takes a bit to start working again, but I'll add the others as soon as I'm able.
--Sonia
Friday, September 23, 2011
MEXICO
As I was getting ready to put my kids to bed tonight, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw only a number, but immediately knew that it was my brother calling. When I picked up the phone, I could tell right away that he was calling from his cell phone...the Magic Jack phone actually sounds clear, whereas the cell phone has so much interference that it sounds like you're talking to somebody at a loud party 1000 miles away. As you know, half of that equation does hold true. We had about a 40-minute conversation, and I struggled the entire time to hear what was being said and to ask questions with the delay, but this is what I have to report:
Having heard little from my brother recently about progress on the case, I assumed not much was happening. It's not unusual for there to be periods of inactivity, particularly in this court, where one can only deduce based on the level of coincidental incompetence that has been displayed, that there is a concerted effort going on to be inactive, and to delay the case as long as possible. Well, I assumed incorrectly that things weren't happening...it's just that it was all happening on my brother's end rather than coming from the court directly. Apparently, over the last week or so, my brother and his lawyers filed several motions to the court. In the past when they filed a motion, they usually were requesting some sort of action or decision regarding several issues at once (ie. Ana skipping visits, disregarding the judge's "order" to turn in a schedule of Sage's activities, his "order" that Sage attend the bilingual school in Salamanca, etc.). The problem with this, however, was that the judge, JOSE FRANCISCO LARA RODRIGUEZ, would conveniently "address" the motion by making some vague comment about filing it in the case file, and ignore the 5 other things they had requested in it. To make matters worse (and suspicion grow), when Ana would disregard one of the judge's orders, say for example to turn in Sage's schedule, he would simply give her the benefit of the doubt, stating (only after being prodded) that if she hadn't turned anything in, there must be no info to turn in. In order to try and get the judge to do his job, and to get these issues resolved, my brother decided he would need to file a separate motion for each request, which is what he did over the last couple weeks.
Having heard little from my brother recently about progress on the case, I assumed not much was happening. It's not unusual for there to be periods of inactivity, particularly in this court, where one can only deduce based on the level of coincidental incompetence that has been displayed, that there is a concerted effort going on to be inactive, and to delay the case as long as possible. Well, I assumed incorrectly that things weren't happening...it's just that it was all happening on my brother's end rather than coming from the court directly. Apparently, over the last week or so, my brother and his lawyers filed several motions to the court. In the past when they filed a motion, they usually were requesting some sort of action or decision regarding several issues at once (ie. Ana skipping visits, disregarding the judge's "order" to turn in a schedule of Sage's activities, his "order" that Sage attend the bilingual school in Salamanca, etc.). The problem with this, however, was that the judge, JOSE FRANCISCO LARA RODRIGUEZ, would conveniently "address" the motion by making some vague comment about filing it in the case file, and ignore the 5 other things they had requested in it. To make matters worse (and suspicion grow), when Ana would disregard one of the judge's orders, say for example to turn in Sage's schedule, he would simply give her the benefit of the doubt, stating (only after being prodded) that if she hadn't turned anything in, there must be no info to turn in. In order to try and get the judge to do his job, and to get these issues resolved, my brother decided he would need to file a separate motion for each request, which is what he did over the last couple weeks.
Keep in mind that Ana has not shown up for a single visit, outside of the random one where my brother's lawyer was set up to be arrested IN FRONT OF SAGE, for over three months; she has not brought him even one day to the bilingual school that my brother paid well over $1000.00 up front for him to attend.
Fast forward back to this week, and about three days ago, my brother sent a vague email to his lawyer, which was cc'd to me, that he was checking into a hotel in Salamanca. I asked him at the time what it was for, but never received an immediate reply...until today. Apparently, today (Friday, September 23rd) was supposed to be the closing of this trial in the Salamancan court. The judge would have had to address not only his decision on the Hague proceedings, but also resolve all the issues pending with visitation, Sage's school, etc., that would still be issues until the higher courts began their trial. Whatever he might have decided, the good news would have been that at that point, the case could have moved out of the courts in Salamanca and onto the next level courts, which they inevitably have to do before any action to return Sage can take place. My brother spent two days and nights paying for the hotel, having his suit dry-cleaned, and frantically preparing for the hearing to come. Yesterday, however, the day before the hearing was to happen, and almost a year after this trial was opened, the judge published a motion that he is backing out of the case, and turning it over to another judge. After months of effort, expense, hearings, evidence, THIS JUDGE'S observance of my brother's interactions with Sage, and witness to Ana's flagrant lying, the trial is going to have to be heard all over again by another judge, or, a rapid decision made by somebody who has no more to go on than paperwork, and whatever this pathetic excuse for a judge decides to tell him or her--neither of these scenarios seems hopeful. All because this judge can't "handle" the case now, and because my brother and his lawyers assertions that he wasn't doing his job hurt his feelings.
In my mind, this is devastating to say the least. Although this judge was about as far from competent, principled, or effective as one can be, I am both heartbroken, and at the same time, internally RAGING over the injustice that has taken place in this court of justice. My brother, however, remains a warrior, whom no matter how crestfallen he must feel, looks ahead to what he must do next. For however concerted this sadistic effort to separate father and son, however far removed Sage has been pulled away from his family and TRUE home, Carlos is his father, and he will never stop fighting...
...AND NEITHER WILL WE.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Conspiracy of Idiots...and diablos
As I signed in to the blog just now to begin typing this update, I was truly surprised by the fact that it's been 6 whole days since I last posted here. Although I knew when I entered my last post that it was going to be a busy week, and I wouldn't get much done, I really can't believe this many days have gone by. Truth is, most of my September calendar page is filled with a bunch of scribble...much more than I'm accustomed to, and right now, I really don't like it. Despite the fact that it really all is essential, my brother needs me now more than ever, and I just can't let up. I'm wracking my brain, desperately, searching for the most effective avenues to pursue, but I know at the very least, I have to update the blog, so here I am.
The days seem to blur together now. It's been so long since Ana took Sage, and the actions of the Mexican court have continued to be so much "more of the same," that it's sometimes difficult to remember what I've already written. I think I mentioned in my last post that the judge who has been hearing my brother's most recent trial, Jose Francisco Lara Rodriquez, had been neglecting to publish decisions on any of the motions submitted by Carlos and his lawyers, including the one requesting an emergency hearing to get Sage to his new school after Ana had already skipped the first week. The only "decision" he's posted in the last week or two was that he was fining my brother and his lawyer $100.00 for publicly commenting that he wasn't doing anything. Who knew Mexico had become a dictatorship??
Well, fast-forward to this past Wednesday, which those of you with great memories might recall is supposed to be a visit day for Carlos and Sage (I know, after two months of no-shows, it's hard to keep track); Carlos wasn't feeling well, and since he had ZERO reason to believe Ana would show up, he decided not to drive the hour to Salamanca this time. His lawyer (Elliot), however, who tends to take every opportunity to collect evidence that he can, decided to head over, and to his surprise, Ana, her cousin, and Sage were there. The rest, I will copy and paste from my brother's email to me, as it contains much detail, and trying to rewrite it in my own words would be lengthy and cumbersome. As you read it, keep in mind that when he mentions the "Ministerio Publico," he is talking about the same woman who deliberately had his first return order for Sage overturned by not showing up to "represent Sage." She is the same one who is claiming to represent Sage in the current trial, but who stated on the first day, before even hearing any evidence or interviewing my brother, that "the child" should stay with his mother; the same woman who sits tellingly next to Ana and her lawyer at every trial, whispering like a little school girl back and forth with them, and nodding her head every time Ana makes a statement equivalent to "yes, judge, I already said that...black is white." (Here is a picture of the Ministerio Publico, PATRICIA MARIA CARVAJAL AGUILERA sitting with Ana and her lawyer--she's the one to the far left:)
And now, back to my brother's email:
"So, as it turns out, Elliot was arrested trying to go to the scheduled visitation with Sage by a conspiracy of actors who used Ana, and much more importantly, Sage, as bait in an attempt to teach my attorney a lesson about who he can mess with, and to create evidence to use against me in court.
Of course the simple fact that the MP who is "representing" Sage, would use him as bait in what they are pretending is the apprehension of a dangerous criminal speaks volumes by itself. Either my lawyer is a dangerous criminal and she willing exposed the child she represents to unnecessary danger or she knows my lawyer is not dangerous and was trying to intimidate him and fabricate some evidence to use against me in the mean time. Either way, I'd say my son's better off representing himself than having such incompetent counsel.
The days seem to blur together now. It's been so long since Ana took Sage, and the actions of the Mexican court have continued to be so much "more of the same," that it's sometimes difficult to remember what I've already written. I think I mentioned in my last post that the judge who has been hearing my brother's most recent trial, Jose Francisco Lara Rodriquez, had been neglecting to publish decisions on any of the motions submitted by Carlos and his lawyers, including the one requesting an emergency hearing to get Sage to his new school after Ana had already skipped the first week. The only "decision" he's posted in the last week or two was that he was fining my brother and his lawyer $100.00 for publicly commenting that he wasn't doing anything. Who knew Mexico had become a dictatorship??
Well, fast-forward to this past Wednesday, which those of you with great memories might recall is supposed to be a visit day for Carlos and Sage (I know, after two months of no-shows, it's hard to keep track); Carlos wasn't feeling well, and since he had ZERO reason to believe Ana would show up, he decided not to drive the hour to Salamanca this time. His lawyer (Elliot), however, who tends to take every opportunity to collect evidence that he can, decided to head over, and to his surprise, Ana, her cousin, and Sage were there. The rest, I will copy and paste from my brother's email to me, as it contains much detail, and trying to rewrite it in my own words would be lengthy and cumbersome. As you read it, keep in mind that when he mentions the "Ministerio Publico," he is talking about the same woman who deliberately had his first return order for Sage overturned by not showing up to "represent Sage." She is the same one who is claiming to represent Sage in the current trial, but who stated on the first day, before even hearing any evidence or interviewing my brother, that "the child" should stay with his mother; the same woman who sits tellingly next to Ana and her lawyer at every trial, whispering like a little school girl back and forth with them, and nodding her head every time Ana makes a statement equivalent to "yes, judge, I already said that...black is white." (Here is a picture of the Ministerio Publico, PATRICIA MARIA CARVAJAL AGUILERA sitting with Ana and her lawyer--she's the one to the far left:)
And now, back to my brother's email:
"So, as it turns out, Elliot was arrested trying to go to the scheduled visitation with Sage by a conspiracy of actors who used Ana, and much more importantly, Sage, as bait in an attempt to teach my attorney a lesson about who he can mess with, and to create evidence to use against me in court.
Elliot represented another client before the same court (different judge though, it was the judge I went before the first time I had the Hague case) and won a settlement against an architect for some $200,000 (USD.) That decision has gone through all appeals and is now in the process of being executed. During the execution of the decision, Elliot, per a court order and along with a group of police and a court functionary, went to the mansion of the architect to place an embargo on her possessions in order to recover the debt.
Several male friends and/or family of the architect came out to attack Elliot. He argued with them briefly and they left with the court functionary noting to the judge that the order could not be enforced due to obstructions.
As it turns out, the judge who received the note is also my judge (since he is now the judge for that court.) He forwarded it to a specific Ministerio Publico, the same one that is "representing Sage" Instead of filing charges against the architect they conspired with the architect to file charges against Elliot. She came in and showed, what looks like a mosquito bite, and claimed it was an injury caused by Elliot attacking her and, according to the complaint, Elliot is an extremely dangerous, violent and armed person. On the basis of this the MP ordered that a team of Ministerial Police capture Elliot. In order to do so they arranged for Ana to bring Sage to the first visit in months as bait. She showed up well dressed and, uncharacteristically, happy about being there and, for the first time ever, brought her cousin who had a video camera and was recording everything.. I was not feeling well that day and had no expectation whatsoever that she would show up, so I didn't go. When Elliot saw her and Sage he went over and starting talking to them. He took a video of Sage and asked Sage to do some kung fu poses so he could take pictures for his dad. He then called me to tell me she was there with Sage so I could try to drive over and see him, even if only for a few minutes. While I was talking to him he told me that police dressed in plain clothes had suddenly appeared, surrounded him from all sides, and were arresting him on camera (Ana's cousin's) and, more importantly, in front of Sage, who knows Elliot as his friend and the friend, confidant and companion of his father -- even Ana has dishonestly claimed in court that during the visits Elliot plays with Sage and I just sit there. It's not true, but by her own admission Elliot is friends with Sage.
A few of the many not so coincidental coincidences there are:
- Ana showing up for a visit - 1st time in a long time
- Ana recording the visit - 1st time ever
- A team of 6 or so police waiting for Elliot in a place they should never expect him to be (the Plaza in Salamanca)
- A totally bogus claim that Elliot is an extremely dangerous and armed person
- The prosecutor who is pursuing the charge is the same one that caused the order for Sage to be returned to be overturned by her not attending the hearings
- the prosecutor pursuing the charge is the same one that Elliot and I have various complaints against, including one with the federal prosecutor, and a long list of complaints about her outright representing Ana and not Sage in my trial.
- the prosecutor pursuing the charge is the same one that Elliot and I have various complaints against, including one with the federal prosecutor, and a long list of complaints about her outright representing Ana and not Sage in my trial.
- The prosecutor knowing full well that Elliot is not an extremely dangerous and armed person.
On the one hand there is the claim that Elliot is "armed and dangerous." But if that's true, why are they arresting him and using a small innocent child as bait? Finding out which cases Elliot handles is very easy and they could just as easily arrest him when he goes to court.. or just go to his house. More to the point, the MP already knows of AT LEAST ONE case that Elliot handles since she has seen him there with me personally at least a dozen times.
But since everyone knows my lawyer is no dangerous criminal, the idea was clearly to try to intimidate Elliot and make a video of it to turn in to the court so that Ana can claim ignorance of WHY Elliot was arrested but pretend that Elliot is a dangerous criminal with whom I associate it in order to prevent Elliot from attending visitations with me and say that I'd put Sage in danger by being around such people -- which of course leaves me alone, without even my attorneys, in a foreign city of a foreign country amongst a group of people, my wife's family, who have proven repeatedly that they are willing to commit all sorts of fraud and false allegations to try to harm me.
And so, what more can I say? It is SO absolutely ridiculous, that if anybody important enough actually gave a damn, it wouldn't take much to expose the stupidity, corruption, and injustice being served in this circus to not only my brother and four-year-old nephew, but also now to the lawyers willing to represent him. Elliot goes to trial on Monday for this trumped-up assault charge. The courts sure can work quickly when they want to, no? I will post an update as soon as I hear something.
I know this was another long post; as always, THANK YOU for reading and supporting!
--Sonia
Saturday, September 3, 2011
In the thick of it...
Around the time that I started this blog is about when I really began to get so emotionally involved with my nephew's abduction, that I literally now think about it several times per day. It's not that it didn't affect me before, but like so many, I kept believing it was going to get resolved, and didn't feel there was much I could do anyway. My brother was living in North Carolina and I in Michigan, so although I was obviously aware of what he was dealing with, I didn't acutely feel the loss of Sage like he did immediately, nor did I have the chance to observe my brother's living hell day in and day out as I would have had he lived closer. My mind could sort of "believe" that things were okay, because even if Sage had still been at home where he should have been, I wasn't likely to see him more than a few times per year anyway at that point. I think everyone can relate to this story; most of us have known at least one person in our lives who has experienced something unimaginable, of which we empathize and secretly thank God it isn't happening to us...we offer condolences and generic (although sincere) words of encouragement, but at the end of the day, we all have our own families, our own jobs, our own stresses (however relatively trivial they may be), and it's HARD to have to dwell on painful situations for very long, particularly when you don't know what to do to make them better. Right or wrong, shameful or not, I was able to do this, for the most part, for the better part of the last almost four years that Sage has been gone (granted, I was completing an internship and starting a new job, my second child was born, and my oldest started kindergarten during this time), but as life has started to stabilize for my own little family a bit, and I've had the chance to start looking beyond my own borders more, it's all kind of hit me like a ton of bricks, and now, I'm in the thick of it...
The first thing I do every morning is get on the computer to see if there is any news from Mexico, any responses to attempts made to contact others about the case, any movement at all, first for my brother, and then also for other parents left in the same situation as his. Often, there is none, and I find myself wondering what could I possibly do today that might make some sort of difference? These are the times when I am most productive with keeping up on the blog, writing letters, taking pictures or flying to Mexico! I feel hopeful and strong during these periods, but as they go on and my patience begins to wear thin, and I see little progress made where it really matters, I fall back a bit, and begin to wonder how I can continue to care so much about this when nothing's happening, when I see other things in my life lacking, or my own children vying for my attention because I've been typing away for too long. Sleep is often the thing to give in my case, and I do pay for it. I am lucky to have my own supports at home to keep me going. But, the desire to do more is always there. I miss my brother regularly, and now, only weeks after returning from my visit to see him in Mexico, I find myself daydreaming about going back again, as though it were really an option in the near future. Money is always an issue though, as anybody taking the time to read this blog can relate to, and so I have to really consider the most wise use of it. I want so much to become fluent in Spanish, not just so I can communicate with my nephew, my brother's lawyers, and others willing to help in Mexico, but also so that the next time I'm there, I can really tell Ana and her parents what I think of them and what they're doing. But, again, I have to consider whether the outcome of that would be worth the financial and time commitment it would inevitably require.
I am one of so many that feels complete and total outrage at the fact that this kind of hell can be committed against a family, and 99.9% of the time, there is no effective recourse available. There has to be more that we can do, and we must...we must all continue to take advantage of these times when we have the energy and the ability to try and do something. If we don't, nothing will ever change. The State Department, the OCI, the Hague Convention have all proven themselves to be worth so little for so long, that people like my brother's in-laws consider it a generous offer to suggest to him that he leave things be, let Sage stay in Mexico, and they "promise they'll tell him who his father is"; the judge hearing the current trial in Mexico continues to find it acceptable that he exceed his legal limits for making decisions on motions that are submitted, most recently demonstrated by his failure to grant or deny an emergency hearing regarding Ana's failure to get Sage to his new school, which has been in session for over a week. Charges are now being filed against him for failing to do his job, which sounds hopeful, but at the same time, we'd hoped that this judge would finally care about what was right and make things happen.
And on that note, another week ends with renewed frustration, but also with my promise to my brother, to Sage, to other LBP's, and to Ana and her parents, who I know read this blog, that I will not give up, I will continue to fight for justice for my nephew, and that Ana and her family will not be able to walk quietly away from the sins they have committed and continue to commit each and every day. God sees all of it--the lies they tell to Sage behind closed doors, the scrapbook of pictures made for Sage of his cousins and family that they confiscated and refused to let him see; their neighbors will continue to see that Sage's father actually DOES care about his son, that he makes attempts every week to see him, and goes to their house when they don't show up; anybody who gets online will be able to read about what they've done, and one day, Sage will see what they have taken from him.
The first thing I do every morning is get on the computer to see if there is any news from Mexico, any responses to attempts made to contact others about the case, any movement at all, first for my brother, and then also for other parents left in the same situation as his. Often, there is none, and I find myself wondering what could I possibly do today that might make some sort of difference? These are the times when I am most productive with keeping up on the blog, writing letters, taking pictures or flying to Mexico! I feel hopeful and strong during these periods, but as they go on and my patience begins to wear thin, and I see little progress made where it really matters, I fall back a bit, and begin to wonder how I can continue to care so much about this when nothing's happening, when I see other things in my life lacking, or my own children vying for my attention because I've been typing away for too long. Sleep is often the thing to give in my case, and I do pay for it. I am lucky to have my own supports at home to keep me going. But, the desire to do more is always there. I miss my brother regularly, and now, only weeks after returning from my visit to see him in Mexico, I find myself daydreaming about going back again, as though it were really an option in the near future. Money is always an issue though, as anybody taking the time to read this blog can relate to, and so I have to really consider the most wise use of it. I want so much to become fluent in Spanish, not just so I can communicate with my nephew, my brother's lawyers, and others willing to help in Mexico, but also so that the next time I'm there, I can really tell Ana and her parents what I think of them and what they're doing. But, again, I have to consider whether the outcome of that would be worth the financial and time commitment it would inevitably require.
I am one of so many that feels complete and total outrage at the fact that this kind of hell can be committed against a family, and 99.9% of the time, there is no effective recourse available. There has to be more that we can do, and we must...we must all continue to take advantage of these times when we have the energy and the ability to try and do something. If we don't, nothing will ever change. The State Department, the OCI, the Hague Convention have all proven themselves to be worth so little for so long, that people like my brother's in-laws consider it a generous offer to suggest to him that he leave things be, let Sage stay in Mexico, and they "promise they'll tell him who his father is"; the judge hearing the current trial in Mexico continues to find it acceptable that he exceed his legal limits for making decisions on motions that are submitted, most recently demonstrated by his failure to grant or deny an emergency hearing regarding Ana's failure to get Sage to his new school, which has been in session for over a week. Charges are now being filed against him for failing to do his job, which sounds hopeful, but at the same time, we'd hoped that this judge would finally care about what was right and make things happen.
And on that note, another week ends with renewed frustration, but also with my promise to my brother, to Sage, to other LBP's, and to Ana and her parents, who I know read this blog, that I will not give up, I will continue to fight for justice for my nephew, and that Ana and her family will not be able to walk quietly away from the sins they have committed and continue to commit each and every day. God sees all of it--the lies they tell to Sage behind closed doors, the scrapbook of pictures made for Sage of his cousins and family that they confiscated and refused to let him see; their neighbors will continue to see that Sage's father actually DOES care about his son, that he makes attempts every week to see him, and goes to their house when they don't show up; anybody who gets online will be able to read about what they've done, and one day, Sage will see what they have taken from him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)