You might be asking yourself what the title of this post could possibly have to do with the purpose of this blog. But then again, some of you may not. Some of you may know this topic so well in your own lives that you know immediately the connotation. I suppose I might also have called it "the hamster wheel." Either way, you can deduce the analogy. You can run and run and run your heart out on either one, for as long as you possibly can, and at the end of the day, you'll still be right in the place where you started, only more exhausted.
Unfortunately, the update I'm about to deliver falls pretty much in line with what you'd expect after this intro...
As you know if you've been able to keep up with the blog, or at Bring Sean Home, the case of Sage and his father has been at a standstill for months now. After almost an entire year of testimony, evidence hearings, attempted visits with little to no enforcement, a move to Mexico and debilitating financial setbacks, the judge who had been hearing the case for Sage's hopeful return home requested, on the day before he was to finally make a ruling, to be excused from the case. At first giving no real viable explanation as to why he requested the excusal, he eventually claimed that it was due to harassment by my brother's lawyers, which led him to believe he could not deliver an unbiased judgment (nevermind the fact that this same lawyer also has other cases before this judge, from which the judge did not request to be removed). This happened in September. Since then, the judge who was to decide whether the other judge could be removed from the case also requested to be removed from deciding. Seriously??? Can you say hot potato? Or more likely to this has-become cynic, a deliberate game of pass the buck to buy more time. But I'll refrain from the hypotheticals for now...
Moving on, it has been roughly 5 months since the first judge failed to make his ruling as scheduled, and since then, very little has happened. Not only with the trial, but with enforcement of visitation orders (my brother has not seen his son since before I saw him for a few minutes while visiting in August), with enforcement of school attendance orders, or even with regards to verifying Sage's whereabouts and condition. Nothing has happened.
That is, until today.
As I was sitting at my computer sorting through a pool of volunteer requests from my own daughter's school, I received an email from my brother stating that yes, in fact, it has been ordered that judge Jose Francisco Lara Rodriguez, of some court whose official name I do not know, in Salamanca, GTO Mexico, has been excused from his responsibility in the case of my brother and nephew (and yes, this was in fact decided by a third judge, as the "second" judge did also manage to recuse him/herself). To make matters worse, the ministerio publico (whose bias against fathers or Americans or both has been demonstrated again and again, and is detailed in previous posts) did not attend any of the hearings to determine whether the aforementioned Jose Francisco Lara Rodriguez would be excused. It was her absence from hearings during the first Hague case, tried initially after Sage was abducted, that allowed the Mexican high courts to declare a mistrial then and start the whole thing over again.
So, like I suggested at the beginning of this post, these events clearly and quickly do bring to mind the image of a hamster running on a wheel, or, more poignantly, of a heartbroken father running on an endless treadmill, trying desperately to be reunited with his beloved son. The last time I spoke to my brother on the phone, only a week ago at most, we were talking about the gifts he had attempted to get to Sage during a particular Mexican holiday, which falls right around Christmas and is very similar in terms of its' tradition of gift-giving. Not allowed to present the gifts himself, despite the "orders" for visitation, Carlos submitted them to the courts as evidence, hoping they would somehow be passed on to Sage. Instead, they continue to sit in a judge's quarters.
If you've been able to view the videos of Sage on Carlos' YouTube channel, you might recognize one of the gifts--a little ride-in car. In the video you see Sage riding happily around in it, with his mother lurking close behind. The other gift, an EXTRA large cuddly teddy bear, had been in my brother's possession since before I visited him in Mexico, as he had never been given the opportunity to present it to his son. The third gift, a guitar.
And so, it seems that things have returned not-so-swiftly back to square one. Perhaps a small glimmer of promise lies in the recent acceptance by the Mexican National "Derechos Humanos," or Human Rights Agency of Sage's case. They will be initiating an investigation, but at this time I am not sure what the possible repurcussions of their investigation might be. Please send my brother any words of encouragement, and/or any pledges to provide assistance (in the form of letter-writing, phone calls, or financial support) that you can. Despite his ability to somehow keep things going through all this, I am sure he is once again in a heightened state of darkness and discouragement after hearing this news, and community is so important.
Thank you <3
Sonia
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Friday, December 23, 2011
The problem with letting 3 months go by...
...is that the passage of time, even a quarter of another year, doesn't necessarily mean there will be new results to post; it doesn't mean that "more of the same" will no longer apply to what I write here. It's been a long time since my last post, in part because I was tired, both physically and mentally, from dedicating so much emotion and sacrificing time with my kids; in part, because I was not seeing the results I was hoping for, and it was easier to refocus my energy elsewhere than to continue worrying about my brother's safety and future; and also in part, because NOTHING, really, has happened.
Still, I would like to elaborate a bit on the "nothing" that has happened, and add a bit of follow-up detail to my last, long-ago blog post, because in reality, although I do get tired, I continue to think of my brother and Sage everyday, and this blog will never die completely. Sage will always be my nephew, and one day, he'll know it, and this will still be here.
So, onto the story, as emailed to me in my brother's words. Be patient though...as I read through the nonsense it invoked a steady stream of theme music running through my head (think of the music that plays at clown shows...like when they're pulling a never-ending string of colorful hankerchiefs out of a hat or something...you know, "doot doot dadadada doot doot dada..." or if that doesn't do it for ya, try this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjedLeVGcfE&feature=related ). I'm not trying to make light of the situation, I just still can't believe how ridiculous it all can get.- The judge in Salamanca who is directly handling the Hague case for Sage's return requested to be removed from handling it the day before the hearing to close the case on Sept 23. He did this the day before the case closed even though he currently had the case in his court for nearly one year and the original Hague case (where a mistrial was declared) also started in his court almost three years prior.
- The judge's request for being removed from the case is immediately sent to the appeals court and assigned to an appeals judge, we filed a motion opposing the judge being removed from the case because it would cause additional delays and he was the only judge who had personally attended all the evidentiary hearings and had directly interacted with all parties to the trial.
- Rather than make a decision on the judge's request to be removed the appeals court Judge declared that the request to be removed from the case was not properly submitted and sent it back to the Salamanca judge because the Secretary of Foreign Relations office (designated as the Mexican Central Authority for the Hague Convention) was not personally notified by the judge that he'd like to be removed and thus, they hadn't been given a chance to offer an opinion on his request and the appeals court couldn't possibly make a decision on the request without knowing what the Secretary of Foreign Relations thought about the whole thing.
- The Salamanca judge then ordered that the Mexican Central Authority be notified and resubmitted his request.
- Now the appeals court judge, that is supposed to be deciding if the Salamanca judge can be removed from handling the case, seems to be requesting that they also be removed from handling the decision as to whether or not the Salamanca judge can be removed from handling the decision as to whether or not my son should be sent home.
In parallel to the above mess, I also have other, indirect appeals and complaints with a bunch of other federal courts and agencies. To make a long story short though, they are also plagued with the same type of time wasting nonsense, if not worse nonsense, than that displayed above. In particular there's been a perverse game of "Hot Potato" going on for the last year. Every case in Mexico has a court docket, or file, associated with it. During international cases Mexican courts and agencies are required to always keep a certified copy of the court docket so that they can use it in the event that they have to send the original copy to another court for some reason. Instead of doing this Mexican courts keep sending BOTH the original file AND the certified copy around to each other, in some cases without even attempting to make up a reason for why (I'm not kidding) and then say they are "blocked" from being able to make any progress on the case because they don't have the original files. Of course, even though they say they are blocked because such and such court has the files, they never send a request to that court asking for them to be returned, they wait until we go over there and request it and then look for an excuse to send the files out again as soon as they arrive.
And so, this is all the news we have from Mexico for now, after all these months. On the homefront, however, I suppose I should report for all of you who don't already know, my brother is back in North Carolina--at least for the time being. The pressure of trying to work remotely in a different country was threatening his only means of livelihood, and he was forced to return. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to see him yet up here as he is attempting to catch up on bills left unpaid while out of the country, as well as continuing to pay his lawyer in Mexico a significant amount of money each month. Since he'll be spending Christmas alone this year, please take the time to wish him a merry one if you can!
Thanks everyone, and happy holidays to you all as well :)
SoniaMonday, September 26, 2011
Let's try in a separate post
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:
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)