How can the abduction of one child become the problem of two major countries? When Sean Goldman was abducted in 2004 by his mother, Bruna Bianchi, there was nothing the father, David Goldman, could do about it. Bruna Bianchi told her husband she was going on a two week vacation in Brazil to visit family, but when she got there she called David to let him know she wasn’t coming back and he could only see his son if he gave her full custody rights. While the laws of the Hague Treaty, the laws of the United States and Brazil, as well as international law stated that Sean Goldman should have been returned to his father in the United States, the Brazilian courts were on Bruna’s side. They treated the abduction like a custody battle, where the general rule is that the mother gets to keep the child. After David filed a court case in his home state of New Jersey, the Brazilian courts ignored the case for a year when they decided that the child had been in Brazil too long and should now belong to the mother. When the father had no luck going through the court systems, he brought his story to the attention of the media. With the support of the people of the United States, and later on the Brazilian people as well, he was able to gain the attention of the federal governments of both nations and encourage them to fight for his son as well. This court case is the perfect example of how international civil society can make a difference on the world. While this started as a court case between a couple and their son, by gaining the support of other Americans and Brazilians who had no relation to the case, but knew that what had happened was morally wrong, they created an organization that grew so large the governments of both nations had to take action.
This court case went on for over five years. There was no way that David Goldman could have gotten his son back on his own because the Brazilian courts were completely ignoring the laws of the Hague Treaty and they supported Bruna Bianchi in every case that came through the courts. Not only were the Brazilian courts unjustly giving Bruna custody, but they were also ignoring the Hague Treaty which was an international agreement that Brazil signed willingly. The Hague treaty was signed in October of 1980 and its clauses spelled out the laws for how abducted children were to be returned if they were taken to a foreign country. All states who signed this convention, including the United States and Brazil, are supposed to return all abducted children to their country of residence as soon as possible in the event that they are illegally abducted. While David Goldman tried for years to get his son back, he was powerless against the corrupt Brazilian court systems.
After spending four and a half years fighting by himself with his lawyers to get his son back, David Goldman took his story to the national news where it gained the attention of people all over the United States. The story gained the attention of New Jersey officials like Representative Chris Smith, Senator Jennifer Beck, and Senator Joe Kyrillos, who started supporting resolutions to return Sean to the United States. This story then spread to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and President Barack Obama, but the biggest statement was made when the United States Congress introduced H.R. 2702 which would suspend a piece of legislation called Brazil’s Generalized System of Preferences trading benefit which would give Brazil $2.75 billion in aid. Brazil got the message loud and clear and after this final threat from the United States government, Brazil ruled in favor of Sean Goldman and returned the boy to his father.
David Goldman started the Bring Sean Home Foundation, which now helps other internationally abducted children get home to their parents. This foundation was used during the case to bring awareness to Sean Goldman’s abduction and to keep the public informed about what was going on in both the United States and Brazilian courts. This foundation is an example of civil society in action; a group of everyday people brought together to fight against injustice. While David Goldman had little power over the Brazilian courts, by creating this foundation which gained the support of influential people in the federal government, his court case was made an international issue that was fought between heads of state. The Brazilian government was not upholding treaties they had previously signed, and the United States government was able to pressure Brazil to make the right decision to return Sean Goldman to his father.
Foundations and Organizations like the Bring Sean Home Foundation are created to be a voice between the people of a nation and the governments that have influence over international politics. Other organizations like Free Tibet and Invisible Children are created by people all over the world to raise awareness and gain support for important international issues. Most of these are social issues that are taking place in nations whose governments are not addressing the situation on their own. The Chinese government is certainly not going to do anything to help the people of Tibet gain their freedom, so by gaining the support of the international community hopefully other nations can pressure China into making the moral decision to leave Tibet. As we’ve seen in the Sean Goldman abduction case, international civil society can make a difference on international issues, and hopefully more of these organizations can bring justice to the world.
Works Cited
The Hague Conference. "Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction." HCCH. The Hague Conference. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. <http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.text>.
Eskwitt, Christine Burke. "Golden Moments - David Goldman." Living Media. Living Media, 27 June 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.livinginmedia.com/article/golden_moments_david_goldman.html>.
Downie, Andrew. "Sean Goldman: Home by Christmas - TIME." TIME. CNN, 24 Dec. 2009. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. <http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1949829,00.html>.
Wow Emma this is a really interesting story. I think it's sad that the U.S. had to pressure Brazil in such a way so that the child could be returned to his father. Until looking at the website for the Bring Sean Home Foundation I didn't realize that child abduction was such a large issue. There was even a young child abducted from a small town near where I live that I didn't hear about until now. The website even showed that the FBI came out with a "Missing Child App" for iphones that allows you to contact authorities quickly if something happens to your kid. How crazy!
ReplyDeleteEmma, this is a very interesting story. Not only does this show the power of the International Civil Society, but it also shows the power that the United States has over other nations.
ReplyDeleteYou stated earlier in your article that Brazilians got involved as well. How did they, and how much of an impact did they have on the case?
Also, Sean Goldman was returned to his father very quickly once the media began covering the story. Why do you think that the civil society was able to make such a strong impact so quickly with this incident? Many times, it can take many years for an idea to take hold and then for an action to result from it. Do you have any ideas as to how a group of people could improve their strategies based on this story?
Rachael:
ReplyDeleteI never knew either that international abduction was such an issue. My mom gave me the idea for this blog and while I had heard a little about this on the news, I didn't realize how big a deal it was until I started my research. I was shocked that the federal government would go so far to help one American, but I'm glad to know that they will. I learned that there are some countries that make it very easy for parents to take their children out of the United States and gain full custody in another country, Brazil being one of those countries, Mexico is another I believe.
And the iPhone app is interesting to think about. We've all seen amber alerts on TV or on billboards, but the idea that this same awareness could be spread through an app made me a little skeptical at first. But I think it shows how technology can make a real difference, and that app is certainly more useful than angry birds. =P
Shannon:
The Brazilian people were very much divided about this case. Some of them believed that Sean had been with his mother and her family in Brazil for so long that even though Bruna was dead, all he had known for the last 4 years was Brazil and Bruna’s family, so he should not be separated from them. Others thought he should be returned to his father since he is a blood-relative of Sean and has paternal rights to custody. But the one thing most people agreed on was that Brazil was not allowing the kidnapping of a child in their country. I don’t believe the Brazilian people had as much of an influence on their government so much as they gave encouragement to the Americans. I think this more shows that people on both sides could see that this was wrong, although truly there were a lot of Brazilians siding with Bruna’s family.
(http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/brazil/091218/sean-goldman-custody-battle)
And the media surely helped this story reach every home in America and many abroad. I think the reason why this story spread so quickly, and why so much action was taken so quickly probably had to do with all the previous work done by David Goldman both here and in the Brazilian courts. I also think this is a case where almost everyone can clearly see that David Goldman should have had custody of his son. There isn’t much room for argument when one parent takes a child to another country and refuses to ever go back. Also, by the time this story reached the media, Bruna had already died, so now no one is Brazil had any parental claims to Sean. It was now a matter of convincing the Brazilian government to comply because the entire population and government of the United States were standing behind the father. I think this most certainly shows the power and influence of the United States when they are able to force a large nation like Brazil to do what they want.
As for strategies for achieving this result, I would imagine awareness is the first step. By starting locally with his local governor and senators he could gain the attention of the House of Representatives and the Senate through their position of power. But in order for those other representatives to vote on legislature in favor of David Goldman, they need the support of the people of their state. This is where the media has the biggest impact. I am sure there were people all over the country calling their congressmen and other government officials to encourage them to help this man be reunited with his son. Our government allows the people to have a lot of say in what gets done, and both conservatives and liberals could agree that this boy needed to be reunited with his father. I think the combination of tugging on the heart strings of the American people and having a cause with such a clear answer allowed his story to get all the support that it did.
Sorry that was so lengthy, thanks for giving me so much to think about though!