Éire / Ireland

I have been given permission by both moderators of this community to post this here.

It's difficult to explain this long, drawn-out situation without a long drawn-out post, but I'll try.

My name is Aeron, you've probably seen me posting here before. Me and my son Sora came from Japan to Ireland last year to escape domestic violence and child abuse at the hands of his mother and her parents.

Despite both of us living apart from her for over a year and losing contact with her months before we came, she immediately filed kidnapping charges against me in the Irish Courts.

No amount of evidence confirming her abusive behavior or professionals in Ireland confirming that Sora has been traumatized and is in serious need of therapy prevented the Courts from ruling that Sora deserved to be deported back to Japan to live the mother who abused him. That happened on 19 June.

Needless to say, I've been suffering mentally and physically ever since. Thankfully, many people here in Ireland have been helping me to cope with the loss and pain. Mortally, I'm fine.

The problem with the Courts' ruling is that many local Irish have assured me it was made almost purely based on gender. An outmoded belief not supported by Irish law that says a mother should have custody of her children no matter what... even if she is abusive. No weight was given to the evidence of abuse and neglect on the mother's part, or the evidence from Irish social workers and medical professionals who confirmed Sora was suffering and advised he be kept in Ireland and allowed to recover. The more I research Irish law and human rights, and the Hague Convention - which is what was used to force Sora's deportation, the more sketchy and obviously wrong the ruling against us is and how out of line the Irish Judges on this case appear to be. It wasn't merely a case of differing opinions, our human and constitutional rights were violated.

I am appealing the decision legally, even thoughI have no legal representation right now. I am having to learn Irish law and court procedures because of this. I am also bringing this to the attention of Irish leaders in both Ireland and the EU. But the reason why I'm talking about this here is because I started a petition to combat this decision and prevent it from happening to anyone else who is genuinely trying to escape abuse by seeking asylum in Ireland. This doesn't just need to change for us, it needs to change for everyone. Permanently.

Our experience in Ireland so far has been almost completely positive. There are a precious few people who have given us problems. Most everyone in Ireland is so kind and compassionate and understanding, most Irish services have been extremely helpful to us. But the Irish Court, and the Judges within, behave very differently. Very against the progressive ideals Ireland clearly stands for in public.

https://www.change.org/BringSoraHome

A much more exhaustive account of what has happened and what I'm trying to do in response is written there, that is also where any updates to this situation will be posted. All I'm asking from you is to read and understand what we're both going through right now. i am literally doing anything I can think of to resolve this in a way that recovers Sora from the dangerous and abusive environment he is currently in and allow him to fully recover along with me here in Ireland.

If you are willing, you can help. Go to the petition page to find out how. Here on Lemmy, just upvoting and sharing this post and petition with others to increase awareness will make a difference. You can also ask me anything about this on this thread, or through direct messages. Be sure to read the petition and its updates first, because that will likely answer most of the questions you may have.

#BringSoraHome