Margarita said to me, very matter of factly, “Mom…I don’t have a Daddy.” I said, “Well you have Mono (Skz), and he can be your dad if that’s okay with you?”
“Okay,” she replied. Since then she’s been commenting every so often that Mono is her dad and that she is going to the states to live in Mono’s house when her papers are ready.
So yesterday, when Margarita was questioned by the Family Court social worker, “Who is your Dad,” she replied “Mono”, that her dad was a Monkey! Unfortunately I was not in the room which made me quite upset, but yet again I don’t have much control in this whole abandonment adoption process.
The reason why we went to the Family Court in the first place was because I was told the day before by the Social Welfare office that is handling the legal aspect of Margarita’s abandonment issues that the Family Court Social Worker and Judge did not believe that they should issue an abandonment decree for Margarita since she has biological family. This infuriated me and my lawyer, who luckily was with me! I am sure that every child that has been abandoned has biological family SOMEWHERE! Margarita’s mother left her in the hospital! I have an affidavit from The Secretary of Health stating that her mother Maggie rejected her and left her in the hospital after she gave birth. Maggie has given away her other 3 children!
The social welfare office sent an investigator to Roatan (the island where Margarita was born) to investigate Maggie and Nora (the neighbor that cared for her the first few months of her life) and wrote a report and this was handled in with my paperwork. The court did not believe their own government appointed social welfare office investigator! Does this sound as crazy as it is?
The advice of the social welfare office was to get in front of the Family Court social worker so that she could meet me and Margarita and hear first hand from me that NO ONE in her biological family ever cared for her, sent money for her care nor ever called. Thank God Chris came with me as a witness because she testified as well that while Margarita lived at her project for 1.5 years that no one ever came to see her or called even when she was thought to be HIV positive.
The disturbing thing was is that the Family Court social worker came up to me, did not even introduce herself and said can I talk to Margarita. I then held out my hand and told her I was her mom, Monica, and then she took her away!
Oscar, my lawyer was with me and while we were waiting he ran into an acquaintance who is a judge at the Family Court. He then told Oscar that he would be handling Margarita’s case and not to worry about anything. He told Oscar that as a Judge he does not have to take into consideration the social worker’s opinion. A secretary then briefly interviewed me and I signed a written statement saying when I met Margarita, when she came to live with me and where we are living now.
The bad news is that the same morning I phoned Nora to try to confirm what she told the social welfare office investigator in case I needed to reinforce what she said and I spoke to Nora’s daughter who told me that Nora had died. Nora cared for one of Margarita’s brother’s, Alberto, who is about 11, but they aren’t sure because he doesn’t have a birth certificate.
Now I have to call Nora’s daughter and get a death certificate, because Nora registered herself as Margarita’s mother. So legally, Margarita’s mother has died and there is no Father listed on the birth certificate.
My friend and co-worker Shannon (video journalist) suggested we go to Roatan and film a mini documentary about the people involved in this case; to support the urgency that they act to finally give justice to this little girl and let her have an identity and a home. If they don’t then we have a story and footage to give to the press.
If you believe in prayer (or sending good energy) please direct it our way over these next weeks as we see what develops with the abandonment issue. Forgot to mention that I cannot apply for adoption unless I have the abandonment decree.
Hugs,
Monica
