Re: Meeting
with the mayor of Wilhelmshaven Eberhard Menzel
Dear Mr Duin,
As I mentioned to you when we met on the 25 February in Emden the child
Welfare Department (Jugendamt) of the City of Wilhelmshaven has from the
very first day of the abduction of my children to Germany played a crucial
role together with Dr. Uwe Biester MdL (CDU) in making it possible for the
German abducting parent to prevent me access to my children.
All of the dealings of the Jugendamt with me have been extremely biased
against me the foreign victim parent and towards the German abducting parent,
all of their reports to the court have been extremely biased towards the
German abducting parent. From the very first day they without cause or reason
made recommendations to the court that recommended that I not have access
to my children on the grounds that I would abduct them to South Africa and
would negatively influence them against their German abducting parent. Later
as I persisted in my efforts to gain access to my children the Jugendamt
in October 1999 resorted to intimidation and terror tactics against me in
collaboration with a local police officer Mr. Dieter Has to frighten me,
I was to forget that I had children in German and should leave the German
abducting parent and the children in peace, that I should remain in South
Africa were I belonged. A few months later when I again returned to Germany
in defiance of their threats in April 2000 they resorted to laying bogus
criminal charges against me when they saw that their attempt at intimidation
had failed and that I had reported the matter to the South African government.
Since arriving here in Germany in July 2001 the Jugendamt has waged an
unrelenting battle to ensure that I gain no access to my children.
They have constantly refused to meet with me to discuss the matter of my
children as well as to discuss ways to defuse the tension, purposely created
by them and certain other individuals to ensure that I did not gain legal
access to my children. They have constantly refused meeting with me although
it is their duty to assist me and the children to gain the co-operation of
the German abducting parent. They have as I described to you treated me
in a very hostile and nationalistic manner. They have again repeatedly recommended
to the court that I have no access to my children, the latest being in December
2003 where Dieter Viering (who had laid the criminal charges against me in
April 2000) that I should have no access whatsoever until they are both adults.
This is totally inhuman of the individual concerned and stinks of the past.
My latest effort to gain co-operation from the Jugendamt and to be informed
as to exactly what they intend to do to ease the situation were two letters
to Mr Klaus Jürjens dated the 20.02.04 and the 27.02.04 both of which
I have attached for reference.
There is also the issue of my children having been brainwashed by psychiatrists
of the Klinik für Kinder und jugendpsychiatrie und psychotherapie
of the city owned Reinhard-Nieter-Krankenhaus. They refuse to discuss the
matter with me or the treatment that my children received or to allow me
access to the file. It was at this same institution where I first saw my children
after they were abducted to Germany. When I arrived I was locked into an
small upstairs room of about twelve square metres, guarded by two men. Once
I was locked up like a criminal which in fact was a criminal act committed
against me under the German criminal code ( Freiheitsberaubung) the mother
was telephoned, some fifteen to twenty minutes later she arrived with the
two young children 6 and 2 years of age. The door was opened they were lead
in by a number of individuals the door was then again locked. I spent one
hour with my children under these most disgusting inhuman conditions. The
children were terrified, every word I said to them was taken note of. At
the end of the one hour the children were taken out of the room and I was
again locked up for fifteen to twenty minutes until the German abducting parent
had safely left the premises. This happened on every occasion. When I travelled
to Germany in April 2000 I was accompanied by my mother who also experienced
the inhuman treatment at the hands of the psychiatrist Mrs Terlinden.
For my own knowledge and to prove my case in court against the Jugendamt
I have repeatedly requested access to my file at the Jugendamt, which has
been constantly denied to me by Mr. Jürjens.
The second problem that I have is with the immigration authority who have
to date refused me permission to be allowed to travel to Brussels to report
on the my situation and the way in that I have been treated by officials
of the City of Wilhelmshaven.
Since I arrived in German I have tried without success to arrange a meeting
with the mayor Eberhard Menzel to discuss these issues he has constantly
either ignored by requests or has refused.
As you are the chairman of the SPD for the Weser-Ems region and seeing
that the mayor Eberhard Menzel is still on the executive committee as noted
from the article and photos in the Wilhelmshavener Zeitung of the 1 March
2004 I request that you use your influence to arrange a urgent meeting between
me and mayor Menzel.
Wilhelmshavener Zeitung of the 1 March 2004
Garrelt Duin in the middle mayor Eberhard Menzel on
the right
Secondly I request of the mayor Eberhard Menzel that I be allowed access
to both the files of the Jugendamt as well, as those of the Klinik für
Kinder und jugendpsychiatrie und psychotherapie of the city owned Reinhard-Nieter-hospital.
Thirdly Í request the mayor’s full and unbiased assistance in putting
an end to the biased racist (ausländerfeindlich) and nationalistic behaviour
of the Jugendamt against me and to order their full and unbiased co-operation
with me in finding an acceptable solution to the problems being faced
in regards to access to my children who were illegally abducted to Germany.
I would like you to point out to him that the duty of the Jugendamt is to
protect the children from abuse not for them to be instruments of abuse
against the traumatised children.
Surely I do not need to tell him that parental child abduction is child
abuse, surely I do not need to tell him that children of parental child
abduction go through considerable trauma which has lasting consequences
for the children concerned and the sooner that the children come to a state
of equilibrium where they have access to both parents both grandparents
and extended families irrespective of their nationality the better for the
children concerned.
Lastly I request that the mayor Eberhard Menzel take an objectively look
into the situation regarding my residence in Germany on the grounds of the
fact that I have two children living here and in particular due to their
part and behaviour towards me which has deprived my children of a father for
the last eight years. Hopefully I do not need to make it known to him that
the German basic law and the Ausländergesetz as well as two recent legal
decisions made by German courts, which make ample provision for me to gain
permanent residence in Germany on the grounds of me being the legitimate biological
father of the children John-Michael and Sebastian Richard Hickman.
Yours faithfully
Michael Hickman
cc.
Mr. Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament
Mrs Mary Banotti, the presidents mediator for transnationally abducted
children
Mr. Klaus Jürjens, Child Welfare Department (Jugendamt) of the city
of Wilhelmshaven
Mayor Eberhard Menzel, Mayor of the city of Wilhelmshaven
President Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa
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