RSS
Home
Injustice! New Jersey Dad Still Fighting Brazil to Bring Son Home
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
If you haven't heard this terribly tragic story about the New Jersey dad whose wife went on vacation to her home country of Brazil, taking the couple's young son with them, then never came home - here's a recap.
David Goldman's wife took their son, Sean, to Brazil, filed for divorce while she was there, (which isn't even recognized in the U.S.), remarried, died giving birth to a daughter, and now Goldman - for the past five years, hasn't even been able to bring visit his son up until a few months ago, let alone bring him home. He's been to Brazil 11 times fighting in the courts to bring his own biological son home to the U.S.
New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith traveled with Goldman to Brazil in February, and only then did the court grant the dad visitation with his own son. I spoke to Smith's public policy director today, who said the congressman was trying to get down to Brazil with Goldman again this week to accompany him on his Wednesday visit with little Sean, but between bad weather for air travel and missed connections, didn't make it. Sean's high-powered lawyer step-father then tried to prevent Goldman from visiting his own son, and Smith worked through the agency to make sure that visit happened. Now the fear is that Sean's Brazilian familiy will try to argue the little boy doesn't want to come home, and that some "dirty tricks" may be tried to keep him there. Goldman was finally granted custody after all these years, only this week to have a single judge overrule the decision. He came home to New Jersey empty-handed - again.
Women on the Web has the latest on the story.
It's a tragic story, and Goldman says the Brazilian people support him - it's the government and the courts that are denying him of his own child, for no good reason.
Now, Smith has introduced legislation that would halt tariff benefits enjoyed by Brazil until it adheres to the Hague Convention language on child abductions - which this was.
“The U.S. Congress must immediately adjust trade advantages enjoyed by the Brazilian government,” said Smith, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and its Western Hemisphere Subcommittee. “The Brazilian government must understand that these reckless, unending legal maneuvers which have kept a boy separated from his father have no compassion or justice and bring dishonor on the Brazilian government. How long will President Lula allow this disgraceful charade to continue?"
President Obama, Hillary Clinton and others have weighed in, but maybe they need to apply some more pressure. If a U.S. congressman can get the courts to grant Goldman visitation to see his own son, imagine what the president of the United States could do.
You can watch Goldman talking about his his fight for his son this morning on "Good Morning America" here.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
.jpg)
