In August 13, Adele Horin from the Brisbane Times reported that a little girl consistently uttered the wish that “her father was dead.” The drama, for this Australian father and for her now eleven-years little girl, is that he has terminal liver cancer. Bingo. We have here the typical story of non custodial fathers with its common ingredients: the father is no danger for the child, the mother is “permeated with hatred for the ex-husband” and with the blessing of the court, she can pass it on at will to the child. We are living in a wonderful world: family laws and family court’s stupidity is global. In 2000, when the little girl was three, the parents separated. The father last saw his daughter in 2003 after having, it seems, regular visitations with her. In 2006, the father applied to the court to see his daughter every second week and half the school holidays. Always prompt to fix problems that it has exacerbated, the court recently granted the father a last visit with her daughter – after a doctor testified in court about his condition (with men, you never know). The father doubts that the visit will ever happen. He has left a “time capsule,” a letter and a DVD where he expresses how he loves his daughter.
I cannot help but thinking: if I were to be dying, which type of visitation would Manhattan family court let me have with my daughters? Supervised? Supervised and therapeutic?
After reading such a heart-wrenching story, one can only hope a mother -any mother- will “wake up” and realize the stupidity and selfishness of her acts, and how much permanent damage she is capable of causing an innocent person … or in your case, two innocent people: your daughters. But worry not: I’m sure sooner than later, these kids will see for themselves (and hopefully this will not require anyone dying.. not even the evil mother.)