Four Children Forced To Go Back To Their Dad
These four sisters came to see their mother in Australia two years ago and wanted to stay with her forever. A judge in Australia ordered that they be returned to Italy even though they don't want to go. This is the video of them being forced on the plane. How can this be good?
Sad, but we don't know the whole story. Perhaps an evil mom brainwashed the kids against a kind and loving father. Maybe the father is a beast. We just don't know.
ReplyDeleteThis can't possibly be in the best interests of the children. Sounds more like dad trying to punish the whole family.
ReplyDeleteWe don't know the situation. What kids want to leave their mommy?. They obviously lived with their Dad first and he sent them to her...then she kept them. Im gonna reserve judgement.
ReplyDeleteokay comments like this definitely make me think you are not a lawyer. for one, australia may have been bound to do so under the Hague Convention, regardless of what is best for the children.
ReplyDeleteDo none of you actually watch the whole video? The mom took the children on vacation to Australia and kidnapped them, not returning to Italy like she had told the father she was going to. International kidnapping is no joke. If she wanted to girls to be with her full time she should have gone to court before taking them to Australia.
ReplyDeleteMy stepmom kidnapped my half brother when he was younger. She took him on vacation and didn't return. Eventually the cops were involved and she lost all custody.
Think before you act. Especially when children are involved.
Please be aware of the facts before you post. The children were born and raised in Italy and the mother took them on a "vacation" and never returned. She alleges abuse but there is no evidence, and her own behavior is mentally unstable. The court found overwhelming evidence that she has brainwashed the girls and travels to odd locations to "hide" them. She is already shopping their story for television. The father has been fighting for two years to get them back. Think how outraged we are when a parent kidnaps a child by going to another country. This is no different.
ReplyDeletePlease be aware of the facts before you post. The children were born and raised in Italy and the mother took them on a "vacation" and never returned. She alleges abuse but there is no evidence, and her own behavior is mentally unstable. The court found overwhelming evidence that she has brainwashed the girls and travels to odd locations to "hide" them. She is already shopping their story for television. The father has been fighting for two years to get them back. Think how outraged we are when a parent kidnaps a child by going to another country. This is no different.
ReplyDeleteHow can this be good? Because having rule of law is beneficial to all people, and couples that have children and then separate need to recognize that they have both lost an automatic right to custody. Custody has to be decided by the court system or arbitration, and if they can't work it out among themselves, it's going to painful for everyone. It's life on this planet. It's painful and tough a lot of the time for many people, sadly.
ReplyDeleteregarding the person who questioned whether the post was written by a lawyer, I agree. any lawyer would have known that 'how can this be good' is not the proper question to really address the difficulties of the situation.
ReplyDeleteI think that enty still posts, but that he gets help. and why shouldn't the kids go back with the father if there is no sign of abuse and the mother broke the law?
Too bad the mother and kids couldn't have just disappeared and gone into hiding where no one could find them.Kids belong with their mother.
ReplyDeleteI really wish I knew the whole story. Those girls were either trained to act out and cause a huge scene OR they really are terrified of going back to Italy to be with their dad.
ReplyDeleteI also don't like that they split them up into groups of two for the long flight back with multiple stops and transfers.
Regardless of who is right or wrong, it seems really clear that the girls didn't want to leave. I feel bad for them and fear that they will have serious long term psychological damage from the horrible way this way handled.
http://mobile.news.com.au/national/mother-of-four-girls-ordered-back-to-italy-clings-to-afp-car-as-her-daughters-are-taken-away/story-fndo4ckr-1226487684100
Smash - I didn't have time to watch any of the videos. What a super crappy situation for everyone!
ReplyDeleteUgh. I hate stories like this, mostly because we don't really know what's going on. I'm pretty sure the courts act based on fact and not emotion, which is a good thing. There are REASONS WHY the kids live with the dad, and it's not up to us to judge. Sucks for the mom, missing her kids and all, but the laws are the laws. For the record, my sister lost custody of her kids, and as sad as it is for her, the law is the law. What the judge said, goes.
ReplyDeleteActually they don't, Pogue. Not when their mother is an unstable manipulator. Kids belong in a stable environment. Period.
ReplyDeleteI totally get what you are saying dia. The police didn't handle it well, the mom made it worse by making a scence. That is all going to cause long term damage and hopefully they will be able to get the proper counseling.
ReplyDeletePerhaps they really hate pasta?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely the right thing was done. Easy to google to get the facts right. The mother is lucky she is not in jail.
ReplyDeleteThe system and the decision involve more than just this one family. Even if the mother was the better fit here -- which is far from clear -- Australia probably does not want to become a destination for anyone who disagrees with the custody decision made in their home country.
ReplyDeleteChildren aren't f**king bargaining chips and shouldn't be treated as such.
ReplyDelete@Pogue, gfy. My mother was an abusive drug addict. Children belong with parents who love them, regardless of gender.
ReplyDeleteI would bet money if you asked any given lawyer, none would know shit about international law.
ReplyDeleteWhy do so many people operate under the delusion that lawyers are well versed in all areas of the law? They aren't. They are usually very narrowly specialized (and international law is a relatively small specialty group). The people who read further articles about this probably know more about international law than enty.
Children belong with their mother? You mean like Dina Lohan?
ReplyDeleteI don't really give a damn which parent "ought" to have custody - the way that was handled was traumatic for the children. Shame on the police who turned a scary enough situation for these girls into a terrifying nightmare of screaming, crying, pleading and dragging.
ReplyDeleteAs for Enty knowing international law? Geez people... Lawyers are like doctors - would you go to your ear/nose/throat guy for surgery on you knee? Lawyers specialize folks.
can't being myself to watch this. when i had to return our kids over to their dad (following the court mediator's rec., but before the custody evaluation) i wanted to fall into a ball on the floor and cry. but as their mother, it was my job to keep THEM CALM. custody fights suck, but mom and dad need to be adults and remember that kids are at the mercy of the courts because their parents can't work it out.
ReplyDeleteParent alienation is real and terrible. The mother kidnapped the children and God knows what brain washing she has done to the kids. It irks me when people think a father shouldn't have the same rights as a mother.
ReplyDelete@Me: You are a brave and honest person and I would say a good mother. Whether it made you happy or not you never put your kids in the middle. I know it was hard for you. And thanks to the others here who gave the whole story as they could research of it (poorly written but you know what I mean).
ReplyDeleteNo, not all kids should be with mom. They should be with the parent that can best care for them and that doesn't mean money-wise. It could be emotional stability instead.
@Me That's how a caring mother should act. The way that mother acted is what made it worse for those children. I have a strong suspicion it's 'all about her' and not the children.
ReplyDeleteThe father said he won't press charges and so the mother is allowed to visit them in Italy.
ReplyDeleteSounds like he knows their mother isn't quite right.
If Enty can acquaint himself with the intricacies of celebrity divorces, there is no reason why he shouldn't have a basic grasp of something as well known as the freakin' Hague convention.
ReplyDeleteIf not as a lawyer, then as a publisher. Did he listen to this report? The report mentioned the mother had behaved badly in a disturbingly public campaign. If Enty had bothered to do more than ten minutes research, he could have uncovered more.
Finally, it was an absolute disgrace this was recorded and broadcast by the media. The mother has most likely tipped off the media, which has most likely caused even more drama and trauma for her children. Which just underscores what the judge gave in his findings, that the mother has behaved badly.
@ Jessie - either he's extremely kind-hearted or something is up - most people I know would be quite bitter if they didn't get to see their kids for 2 years, they were brainwashed against him, and they had to spend a shit tonne of money to get them back....I hope he is just really compassionate - those girls are going to need that too
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see anyone going through pain like this. But as others have said, we don't know the background information. My mom didn't see her dad from the time she was 2 years old until a chance meeting at age 20. My dad was on the Ham radio, and of all people to connect with, yep, my grandpa. Mom had been told all her life he had done terrible things--tried to smother her in her sleep, hit, yelled, and "wrote a blank check with her name on it" to be out of her life. She was terrified to meet the man who would later become a loving, principal part of our lives. Her mind had been poisoned. Possibly just like these kids. I hope they're going to be ok.
ReplyDeleteThere is more background to this here: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/convention-binds-judges-hands-20121004-27247.html
ReplyDeleteThe kids didn't want to go..is there anything else to consider?
ReplyDeleteIf the mother was a bad mom they would have not resisted leaving her.
Why do we assume something is wrong with her? He might be the real alienator..and perhaps fed up with the corruption that IS the legal system when a determined dad goes for custody, the mother reacted poorly..but isn't a bad parent.
Why couldn't he go there and ease them into going back? What was the big deal about MAKING them return?
Why should dads have "equal" rights? Anybody who says that mess has never been a mother, and hates theirs.
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ReplyDeleteJust because the kids don't want to leave doesn't mean the mom is good. I know because my mom was mentally abusive to me and sometimes physically abusive but I never told anyone because she knew how to manipulate my feelings and make me feel obligated to protect her! Don't assume anything when it comes to kids relationships with parents, you never know.
ReplyDeleteOh and kids belong with the loving, capable parent whether its the mother or father.
Hi, I hope someone gets to read this due to the time difference with Australia. The mother went to Italy as a teenage, fell in love with her now ex-husband, married him and lived in Italy. The children are all Italian. The parents split and they shared custody. The mother asked to bring the children to Australia for a holiday, the father agreed. She never took them home. Instead she, and various relatives moved the children around and hid them from the authorities as the father used legal means to bring his daughters home. The mother and relatives have bagged him in the media. He has refused to respond. He came out from Italy when they finally found the girls for the court hearing. He should have been able to take them with him, but the mother and family again hid the girls. He had to go home to Italy to continue working in order to afford to pay the lawyers bills he never should have had all thanks to the actions of his ex-wife. The judge stated that he believed the girls had been manipulated and brain washed by the mother and her family. My heart goes out to the father. I hope he has peace and the girls settle back into their life. If it was a man that had done this, people would be baying for his blood. Finally, the father has stated he won't press charges against his ex-wife as she is the mother of his children and he just wants to put this behind him. The way the mother carried on in the video was ridiculous. She riled her daughters up, she put them in this situation to begin with. If you live a long time in another country, marry a citizen there, and have your children there, I think you need to accept that is where they will be raised until they are adults and can make up their own minds (unless they are being abuse, which these girls weren't).
ReplyDeletePlease forgive the typos, I was pretty riled up myself.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking your time to write that feralart
ReplyDeleteAustralian (Melbourne) family lawyer and serial lurker chiming in here... The hearing wasn't to determine the best interests of the children, it was to determine where the trial re parenting arrangements should be held. And that will be Italy as the children's place of habitual residence. Australia and Italy are both signatories to the hague convention on child abduction. The result was not an unexpected one as it was the outcome of the original hearing back in June 2011. You can all read the judgment on the familycourt.gov.au website under judgments-first instance(the matter name is Garning). All court matters in Australian family law are anonymised to protect the kids. The Age article posted earlier is a good starting point for laypeople. Cheers.
ReplyDelete*should have also made clear the hearing wasn't to determine parenting arrangements ie what is referred to as custody. Mum is free to return to Italy if she chooses to although she says she studies full time here and is on centrelink (welfare) as her income which is apparently hard to get in italy. Time will tell what she decides to do.
ReplyDeleteThis is sad but if she really wants to be with her kids, MOVE TO ITALY.
ReplyDeleteWhat??? Why??? Usually it's the mother who gets the kids. I don't understand why the dad is getting the children. This is horrible.
ReplyDeleteThey didn't even show the worst of it in that report which I am glad about....apparently two of the girls have tried to run away from the villa in Italy and that's after being so disruptive on the plane the pilot kicked them off. They aren't brainwashed they just prefer to live here.
ReplyDelete