A 13-year-old doesn't want to live with her mother in Brazil, but with her father in Switzerland. That's why she goes into hiding. Then she falls into the clutches of the Swiss justice system. She has to spend several days in prison and is ultimately supposed to be deported against her will.
Observer 15/07
deportation
Text: Thomas Buomberger
Image: Georgios Kefalas
Sandra (name changed) appears open and self-confident when talking to the observer. The past traumatic weeks have left their mark on her, but the girl tries not to let it show.
Sandra lived in Switzerland until she was eleven. Completely unexpectedly, her mother, a naturalized Brazilian, returned to Brazil with her and her younger brother two years ago. Sandra says: “I was with a colleague. Then my mother came and said we were going back to South America. When I asked when, she replied, 'Today.' I couldn't even say goodbye to my father." For Sandra, her world collapsed. She had difficulty finding new contacts in Vittoria, Brazil, lived in a dangerous area, was afraid of being attacked, was unable to attend school for months, and fell into a depressive mood.
In December 2006, Sandra went on vacation to Switzerland with her mother. It was clear to her that she no longer wanted to go back to Brazil. Some time after her arrival, she made a plan. «I told my father that I wanted to go down to the town of Rheinfelden. Beforehand I had packed a few things in a backpack. I took the train to Zurich, called a certain number, and then someone picked me up. A friend offered the 13-year-old shelter.
Then Sandra came to a foster family in Münchwilen TG and also went to school there. She really enjoyed it, but her happiness didn't last long. Her mother had filed a lawsuit for child abduction - the father, Helmut Baldauf, was described by the court as a child abductor. In March 2007, the Rheinfelden AG district court ruled that Sandra had to be returned to Brazil. Baldauf filed an appeal against this ruling. Sandra says: “I had nightmares when I thought about returning.”
The fact that Sandra wanted to stay in Switzerland obviously played no role in the verdict. The girl was not heard either (see side article “SOS Observer: A lawyer was important for Sandra”). On the contrary: the authorities were serious. They wanted to carry out the sentence on May 9th.
“That day I wanted to go home at half past four. About 100 meters from the house, a man and a woman came towards me. They introduced themselves as police officers and wanted to know my name and where I lived. Then I fainted." When Sandra woke up, she was lying in a police car. “I didn’t think the police officer was nice at all. He asked me if I fainted on purpose."
The officers first took Sandra to the Münchwilen police station, then to Frauenfeld and finally to Basel, where she was taken to the closed youth center “Foyer in den Ziegelhöfen”. It was only at half past ten at night that Helmut Baldauf found out from Peter Uebelhart, who had been appointed by the Rheinfelden guardianship authority, that Sandra was doing well. The father did not know where his daughter was.
The pilot refuses to take off
“I had to give away everything,” says Sandra, “including my clothes. I was locked in a room at night, was very scared and couldn't sleep. I kept demanding that I be allowed to talk to my father and the foster parents on the phone, but they wouldn't allow that. It wasn't until a week later that I was able to talk to my father." Uebelhart had planned the return for the following day.
Sandra experienced bad moments: “Mr Uebelhart and a police officer and a female police officer came to me. They said we would go to the airport in Zurich. I started to cry. The companions had fun together. There was a report on the radio about my arrest. When we arrived I was ordered to get out. I refused. The policewoman tried to pull me out of the car, but she couldn't. A man at the airport told her she wasn't allowed to do that." Support Uebelhart: “At no time was violence used against Sandra.”
The companions led Sandra to the airport police station, where she spent about two hours. “Afterwards we drove to the plane in a car with blacked-out windows,” she remembers. “Mr Uebelhart and the police officers walked with me down the aisle to the plane. Then I said that I wouldn't go any further. The companions tried to persuade me. Mr. Uebelhart said I would help my father when I got on the plane. He tried to pull my arm and I lashed out." Supported Uebelhart: "I reached out and asked if we wanted to go on the plane together, but she withdrew hers."
There were 230 passengers on the plane waiting for departure. The pilot, who does not want to be named, describes the situation: “I was informed by a colleague that a girl was fighting with her hands and feet and screaming and didn't want to get on the plane. I didn't want to risk getting into trouble with the girl during the twelve-hour flight and maybe even having to make an emergency landing." That's why he refused to start.
Helpless in front of closed doors
After consulting with the pilot, a security officer left the aircraft. Sandra: “I just walked back down the aisle after him. Then we drove back to Basel. I felt really satisfied and was able to sleep well that night.” Uebelhart says: “It was my decision that Sandra should turn back.” The lawyer saw his role as an assistant to the court, which had described Sandra's disappearance as a kidnapping. Sandra's foster family in Münchwilen filed a criminal complaint against him for deprivation of liberty.
Sandra was sent back to the youth prison in Basel. Her only “crime”: She wanted to stay with her father. She was questioned there by two police officers. But while every adult has the right to legal representation, she has been denied this. “I requested that at least the director of the home could be there, and that was allowed.” She was only allowed to speak to her father on the phone a few times; she didn't get to see him. “Once my father and his partner came, but I was only allowed to wave to them from the window.” Sandra's father still tears up today when he remembers how he stood helplessly in front of closed doors. The mother's lawyer was allowed to see Sandra. "I said to him: I won't talk to you until I've seen my father."
The Aargau Higher Court heard Sandra and decided on June 6th that she did not have to return to Brazil. The decision is now legally binding. Sandra currently lives with a foster family in the canton of Aargau. The Rheinfelden guardianship authority is now clarifying whether Sandra can definitely go to her father.
© 2007 The Swiss Observer – All rights reserved