VOA标准英语2010年-International Child Abduction a Growin

In many cases, parents abduct¹ their own children when marriages fail and return home where local laws protect them. In some cases the abducted² children never see the other parent again.

MacKenzie Babb | Washington 21 January 2010

Child abduction is one of a parent's worst fears, and for a growing number of parents around the world, this fear is being realized and compounded by international custody³ disputes.  In many cases, parents abduct their own children when marriages fail and return home where local laws protect them. In some cases the abducted children never see the other parent again. 

On July 13, 2003, U.S. Navy Commander Paul Toland returned home to discover his wife had moved out and taken their 9-month-old daughter Erika with her.

At the time, Toland was stationed at a U.S. naval⁴ base in Yokohama, Japan.  His wife Etsuko, a native of Japan who had become a U.S. citizen during their marriage, took Erika and their belongings⁵ from the family's home in Negishi Navy family housing to Tokyo and told her husband she wanted a divorce.  To settle the matter, Toland says they went to a Japanese court.

"The big issue that I wanted to discuss, the most important one, was visitation with Erika.  When can I see my daughter?   When I said I wanted to see Erika on weekends, the judge and the attorneys in the room laughed, and when I asked to see Erika to give her gifts on her birthday, I was told to mail the gifts to my wife's attorney," he said.

Japan is one of several countries that do not recognize joint⁶ custody of a child.  The parent who does not win custody in a divorce may apply for visitation, but Toland says such rights are rarely awarded in Japan.  He says even when the courts grant visitation, the parent with custody has total discretion⁷ to decide whether the child can see the other parent.
  
After several months in court, Etsuko received full custody of Erika.  Soon after, Toland was transferred back to the United States, where he continued fighting to see his daughter.  The situation took a tragic⁸ turn in late 2007, when Toland learned his ex-wife had passed away.
 
Toland says Etsuko's death was devastating⁹, but gave him renewed hope that, finally, he would be able to see his daughter.  However, Erika was sent to live with her grandmother in Tokyo.  Toland says even now, as her only living parent and after spending more than $200,000 in attorney fees, he has no access to his daughter.
 
International family lawyer Jeremy Morley is based in the U.S. and has handled custody cases in Japan for more than a decade.  He says Toland's case is not unique.
 
"There are several cases in which the parent who took the child to a country such as Japan has actually passed away, and the child has been kept by that parent's family in the foreign country.  So, the problem is that when the child is kept in a country such as Japan by the family of the taking parent, there's really no way that works to get the child back, even in such unusual circumstances.  The family law system in Japan and in many other Asian countries is just not developed," said Morley.

Japanese family law attorney Satoru Kawamoto agrees, adding Japan has rightfully earned a reputation as an international haven¹⁰ for child abduction, a distinction he says the country will keep until it signs the world's main treaty to prevent cases like Toland's.
 
"Currently there is no physical enforcement to bring back the child to the United States, because Japan hasn't ratified¹¹ Hague Convention, so I think Japan should ratify¹² the Hague Convention," said Kawamoto.

The Hague Convention on International Child Abduction has now been ratified by 81 countries.  Attorney Jeremy Morley says that by signing and complying with the convention, countries will both combat and bring attention to this major worldwide concern.   

"International child abduction is a huge problem, it's growing and it's underreported.  People don't recognize the existence of the problem, they don't recognize how terribly serious it is," said Morley.

Commander Toland says he hopes no more parents have to experience what he has been going through.  And, despite years of disappointment, he says he will never give up his fight for Erika. 

"I love her and I want to get to know her.  I want to get to know my own daughter.  I missed a lot of years with her, but I don't want to miss any more.  I want to be there for her," he said.

Legal analysts¹³ say Toland's case will be an uphill battle and under current Japanese law there is little he can do. 

 

1 abduct   

vt.诱拐，拐带，绑架

参考例句：

• The police caught the man who tried to abduct the boy for ransom.警察抓住了那个企图拐走这男孩以便勒索赎金的家伙。
• The news that we see those use network abduct children sometimes filled with apprehension.我们有时看到那些利用网络诱拐儿童的新闻都心惊肉跳。

2 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

3 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

4 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

5 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

8 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

11 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

12 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。