Raid #2 on our children's home

Monday was the first raid on our children's home. That post is below this one. Today's raid was even more brutal than Monday's. On Monday we filed an appeal for the president of the children's court to review our case and to recuse the judge in Chimaltenango from hearing our case because of prejudice. Tuesday there was another appeal filed in Chimaltenango. Tuesday morning we have visits from both the Bienstar Social and the head of human rights for Sacatepequez. Neither offered any advice, nor any help. I still don't know why either group even showed up since they had done their big search on Monday. However, today the PGN came back with a vengeance.

Early this morning I went to the court in Chimaltenango with my attorney. There we found the head of PGN in Chimaltenango practically foaming at the mouth with anxiety and excitement. I saw his face and I knew it was bad. We were told by the courts that he had a court order to remove all of our children. This is not legal since we had filed an appeal and they cannot remove the kids or do anything until our case is heard. But this snake of a man from PGN, Rigoberto Duarte, made sure our appeal was not in the file for the judge to see. While we waited to see the judge my office called and said the PGN was there and they were pounding on the door and screaming to be let in. I flew, 90 miles an hour, back to Antigua to see three large vans, 50+ PGN representatives, a lot of police as well as Press.

So I pulled out my camera and starting taking photos. I invited the press in, did not let the PGN nor the police in. I know enough about Guatemalan law to know they could not come in without a judge and a court order. So I bought a bit more time and spent an hour with the press explaining what had happened, how we were being treated, and introduced them to all the kids.

Then the judge from the juzgado de paz Antigua showed up with the court order to take the kids. I was told to sign the document and without even thinking, I must have been reacting from a very primal mama bear place, I slammed my fist down on the table and yelled, "NO YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY CHILDREN!" I went nuts. The snake from PGN kept trying to get me to sign the paper and then starting whining to the judge that I wouldn't sign it. I threw it at him. The judge, who knows me and my work and I am sure felt awful, made a call to the judge in Chimaltenango. Our lawyer was successful in having the court rescind the court order. Everyone was escorted out of our children's home.

Tomorrow I will go to the Ministerio Publico, with my lawyer to file a criminal complaint against the PGN.

I have posted photos from Monday and from today. I always carry a camera with me and thought I should have some documentation of the harassment. There should be some interesting reports in the Guatemalan news as well as papers. Sure hope they didn't get me on film slamming my fist against the table and screaming at the judge and 50 PGN employees.

One of the reporters asked me today if I was planning on closing our children's home. I told her, "no, that I planned on fighting even harder for the children's rights".