Piano di Sorrento. Claudia Ciampa can't contain her joy as she packs her bags: little Ethan, 6 months old, taken from her arms by her ex-American partner Eric Howard Nichols last August 30th during a vacation in Puglia, has just been found in California and she is ready to leave for Los Angeles for that hug she has long dreamed of.
81 interminable days, to be precise, made up of waiting, tears, tension, stress, anxiety, worry not only for her but also for her family, her brothers, her grandmother Luciana, and the entire community that was close to her.
“I am so happy and I can't wait to hug him again and hold him tight again. Last night a nightmare ended: I was contacted by our embassy in America and they told me that my son had been found, in California, in Orange County.
They were stopped while the father was putting him in the car after leaving a mobile home owned by two sick seventy-year-old friends of the father. The American police stopped him, pointing out that the car seat was not properly secured, took the child, handing him over to social services and asking him to go to the police station to hand over both of their passports, an operation that Eric did not do.
I'm now leaving for America with my eldest daughter, where we'll have to stay for I don't know how long while we wait for the judge's ruling on final custody of the child.
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Ethan has currently been taken away from his father and is in the care of social services, and a first judge has already decided to give him temporary custody to his mother, while a second judge makes a final decision on the application of the International Convention of The Hague and who will be entitled to keep him permanently.Until then, the father will only be able to see him during protected meetings.
"This story has left an entire nation in suspense," commented Gian Ettore Gassani, Claudia Ciampa's lawyer and president of AMI, the Association of Italian Matrimonial Lawyers, with emotion.
However, I have always cherished the certainty that sooner or later there would be a happy ending to this story, which has once again brought to light a terrible phenomenon affecting fathers and mothers. The weight of our political and diplomatic authorities has once again been decisive.
After this first judge ruled in our favor yesterday, we're optimistic about the outcome of the case. Now the real legal battle begins."
"I, like Mrs. Ciampa, thank Minister Antonio Tajani and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Justice, as well as the diplomatic authorities in the United States, for having succeeded in what seemed like a hopeless undertaking. International child abductions are skyrocketing. Now all we can do is wait for Mrs. Ciampa to return to her beautiful Piano di Sorrento with her child in her arms. In a few days, I too will be leaving for Los Angeles to resolve all the other issues," added Gassani.
Comments (1)
It's an incredible story and it makes me think about how difficult it is for families in situations like this. I hope everything works out well and Ethan can come home. It's important that children are with their parents and that there is help for these situations.