David arrived home from Brazil last Thursday (Feb 12) and immediately hopped on an Amtrak train for the three-hour trip to Washington DC. David met with Congressman Chris Smith and other high level officials in the US government. David also had a meeting with Brazilian Ambassador Antonio Patriota. The important take-away from the meeting with the Ambassador was a reassurance that the Brazilian Government wants to do the right thing, follow their treaty obligations, and reunite Sean and David on US soil. The Ambassador pointed out that the Brazilian federal government has filed the amended Hague application for the immediate return of Sean to David in the US and cited this as evidence of the Brazilian Government’s cooperation in this case.
It was also very important for David to finally have his voice heard in Brazil. Brazilian Superior Court Judge Luis Felipe Salomão (as stated on his own web page at http://www.stj.gov.br/portal_stj/publicacao/engine.wsp?tmp.area=398&tmp.texto=90842) pushed for David and Sean to reunite, emphasizing the extreme and urgent importance for father and son to begin to re-bond after 4.5 years of separation. Judge Salomão stressed the importance for the biological father and son to be together.
Sean and David were able to be together for visits on consecutive days last week. Their bond was not broken! Their unconditional love for each other still lives strong! And Sean still speaks English, despite what some in Brazil would have you believe. It was extremely difficult for David and Sean to say goodbye to each other at the end of the visitation. Father and son need to be permanently reunited in order to end this completely unnecessary suffering. David wanted to remain in Brazil and take his son to school to see Sean’s teachers, but was not permitted to do so.
David is hoping, if he must travel back to Brazil for only another “visit” with his son, that he will at least be allowed to have some liberty with Sean to take him for ice cream or buy him a toy and do some very simple, basic, natural things a father and son should be able to do together, something that was not permitted during this round of visitation. However, given the nature of the situation and the behavior of the people retaining Sean, David does not have high hopes that this will be easily obtained.
What about the legal case and where do we go from here? The case records will be sent to the federal courts sometime next week. We will then wait for the federal decision on the Hague Convention case, which must reunite Sean and David on a permanent basis, expeditiously, in New Jersey. All of you are making a difference, this cannot be emphasized enough. PLEASE, keep doing what you’re doing, your support is tremendous. So much good has happened in a short while, the momentum is with us. Let’s keep it going.
We are also planning a demonstration in Washington DC on Tuesday March 17 at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, to coincide with President Lula’s meeting with President Obama. We fully expect the topic of the Sean Goldman abduction case to be on the agenda for that meeting. For more information on the rally and to RSVP, please visit the Event on the HELP BRING SEAN GOLDMAN HOME Facebook Group at:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=49656442761.
