Page 2 of 4   Previous |  1 |  2 |  3 |  4 |  Next

Piauí Magazine
March 2009

Family Matters
Diplomacy arrives on the scene
by Dorrit Harazim
Translation and adaptation by Rachel Glickhouse

[ Page 2 of 4 ]

ichele Bond was cautious. “Judges don’t evaluate the case based on its visibility,” she declared. “Most of the work has been done in silence, in the wings, behind closed doors. Publicizing the story only made more people identify with the case in a more personal way. You end up thinking: ‘if this happened to me, what would I do?’ With this aspect in mind, publicizing the story is positive since more people become aware of the existence and meaning of the Hague Treaty. The purpose of the Treaty, as a matter of fact, is to alert people that you cannot simply pick up your child and take him away.”

In the last year alone, the Office of Children’s Issues dealt with 575 cases of illegal removal of minors by one of their parents, involving a total of 821 children. Brazil is the fifth country on the list, while Mexico is the first, with 195 cases involving 320 children.

Continental Flight 0031, which took off the night of last February 4th from Newark, New Jersey en route to Guarulhos (São Paulo), was midway when an American stewardess lightly touched passenger Goldman’s shoulder: “I just want to let you know that our crew would very much like to be on duty when you bring your son home,” she said. At the request of Congressman Smith, who took another flight accompanied by aide Mark Milosh, a staff member from the US consulate in São Paulo met the group at the airport. It was the first time in all of Goldman’s trips to Brazil that anyone besides his Brazilian lawyer, Ricardo Zamariola Jr, barely 28 years old, was awaiting him.

On the connecting flight to Brasilia, the American was approached again. A young Brazilian couple who live in the US introduced themselves: “Excuse us, are you David?” “Yes.” “We watched the show that told your story, back in Washington. We just want you to know that we also think what’s happening to you is wrong..” The group that landed in Brasilia at the end of that afternoon had a very busy schedule. There was barely time to check into the hotel, unpack their bags, take a shower and get to the second floor of the Ministry of Justice for the first meeting, with the Central Federal Authority coordinator, Patricia Lamego Soares. A law school graduate with a Masters in International Affairs from the George Washington University, Patricia Soares is adamant about keeping a low profile – for herself and for parents involved in international abduction cases. She works with a tight, highly focused team of five people. She has been working on Sean Goldman’s case since September 2004, when her department was notified by the Office of Children’s Issues in Washington that a child had been illegally retained by his mother in Brazil.

Respected for the assurance with which she accomplishes delicate tasks and stays cool under pressure, she hadn’t yet met David Goldman, only his Brazilian lawyer. Ricardo Zamariola, from the São Paulo law office Tranchesi Ortiz & Andrade, has been practicing cases involving the Hague Convention for six years. He repatriated four children since graduating from law school in 2004 –one to Sweden and the others to the United States – and he has five other pending cases.

Paulo Lins e Silva and his son João Paulo – Sean’s stepfather – are well known in Brasilia. Paulo is the head of one of the largest law firms practicing family law, as well as being ex-president of the Paris-based International Lawyers Union, and is proud to belong to the century-long line of attorneys that the Lins e Silva family has produced. Currently, father and son are defending, along with the General Advocacy Union (AGU), a Canadian father fighting for the right to reunite with his eight year-old son, after the boy was illegally brought to Rio in 2004 by his Brazilian mother.

For the next meeting with Minister Paulo Vannuchi, Special Secretary of Human Rights, who had to be substituted at the last minute to attend a funeral, the Goldman entourage included American Consul Joana Weinz and another staff member from the US Embassy, Marie d’Amour. According to a member of the group, Congressman Chris Smith received a phone call from a member of Hillary Clinton’s staff shortly before entering the room.

From there, the Americans proceeded to the residence of Clifford Sobel, the American Ambassador to Brazil.

David Goldman was hopeful and tense. “It seems like everything is happening, but at the same time, nothing is happening,” he said. “I’m just a regular guy who wants his son back, and here I am walking in and out of meetings with high officials.” He later returned to the hotel to prepare for the tense marathon awaiting him the next day, when he would come face to face, for the first time, with João Paulo Lins e Silva.

It was Friday, February 6th, and Brasilia had emptied out, with most members of parliament back in their home states. David Goldman had a last meeting with his lawyer, He was wearing a brown suit jacket, slacks and a tie and didn’t notice that a sales tag was still hanging from his sleeve. Feeling uneasy about his attire, he rushed back to his room and changed into a dark suit.

A van from the American embassy came to pick up the group for the first meeting, with Oto Agripino Maia, Deputy Sub-Secretary of Brazilian Communities Abroad. It was held on the second floor of the Itamaraty building. A few days before, Maia, a former Brazilian ambassador in Pretoria, the Vatican, and Stockholm, had made a courtesy visit to Minister Luis Felipe Salomão, from the STJ, and mentioned that the Goldman case was beginning to cause unease. From the Itamaraty building, the entourage went to a meeting with Minister Ellen Gracie, at the request of the US Ambassador. The visitors arrived at Annex 2 in the Federal Superior Court twenty minutes late, but the minister, in a gray suit and with impeccable English – compatible with her eye for a seat in the World Trade Organization – didn’t complain.

The part of the agenda intended to demonstrate David Goldman’s strong support by his country’s diplomacy, was completed. The crucial and substantial part of his visit to Brasilia would begin two hours later.

None of the parties summoned risked arriving late to the majestic Superior Court of Justice headquarters, built in 1995 with architectural pomp that overshadows other buildings in the area, all carrying Oscar Niemeyer’s signature. On a Friday without regular hearings, the interior of the colossal mass of courtrooms and meeting rooms was practically deserted. Each step echoed in the hallway. The museum on the second floor had no visitors, whether Brazilian or American. No wonder: right at the entrance, as the collection’s first item, are two enshrined pages from a celebrity magazine, Caras, dated June 25, 1999, showing an article on “Judge Eliana Calmon Alves, the Pioneer Minister of the STJ.”

David Goldman and João Paulo Lins e Silva had been summoned by Judge Luis Felipe Salmão for a conciliation hearing. The arrival of the two groups in the deserted hall on the second floor intrigued even the EMTs on duty. With a circulating population of seven thousand people per day, the STJ has forty of these professionals ready to assist in emergencies. “A place like this has emotions running high, and sometimes it’s the judge who gets ill, other times it’s someone who came to the hearing,” explained Eleusa Oliveira, an EMT for two years. Besides her luminous yellow uniform, she was equipped with surgical gloves, a mask, and hospital glasses, and had a stretcher and first aid kit stand-by.

Previous |  1 |  2 |  3 |  4 |  Next

Copyright © 2009 Piauí Magazine - Brazil, Reprinted with permission

http://www.revistapiaui.com.br/edicao_30/artigo_910/A_diplomacia_entra_em_campo.aspx

Top of page