The case of Iruan Ergui Wu has become a soap opera. Under the direction of his uncle, Wu Huo-yen (吳火眼), the Wu family failed to meet judicial demands and didn't keep appointments, although it at first looked as if they would comply fully.
Since the beginning of last month the Wu family has been saying that they would hand the boy over after the Lunar New Year. When the Lunar New Year holiday came and went, they said they wanted to hand the boy over after Tombsweeping Day. These actions by the Wu family completely ignore judicial procedure, and disregard the psychological impact on the child.
Did the Wu family give serious consideration to whether the explosive situation that resulted from the forceful execution of the law by the police on Monday, amid pushing and shoving, crying and tears, were the actions of those who love children?
In fact, recent news reports said that the teachers in Iruan's school have organized farewell parties, and that the Wu family has arranged a farewell dinner where group pictures were taken. These ceremonies have all told Iruan that he would be leaving. His uncle suggested that Iruan should be given thorough psychological counseling before leaving the country.
What did these capricious acts mean in the eyes of Iruan? What did he learn? Duplicity? He learnt that behavior in public, before television cameras. He was "acting" together with the adults, and "good faith" may in his mind have a skewed meaning.
Our organization, the Child Welfare League Foundation, fully support the idea that Iruan would have been in need of psychological reconstruction before leaving Taiwan in order to deal with separation anxiety. In the middle of last month, the foundation told the Children's Bureau of the Ministry of the Interior and Kaohsiung County's Bureau of Social Affairs that social policy agencies and elected officials had tried to contact the Wu family to discuss possible help. They were, however, rejected by the Wu family. Why did the family propose psychological counseling at such a late stage?
Allowing Iruan's aunt to accompany him to Brazil could help to ease his separation anxiety. If time allows, she could also consider staying with him and his grandmother for one or two weeks, and the Brazilian government should send local child psychology specialists to help Iruan adapt to his new life as soon as possible.
Iruan's is an uncommonly complex international custody case. It also involves many emotions, but we do not want to sacrifice the interests of the child for the sake of the emotional quarrels and angry disputes of the adult world.
At the beginning, Iruan could have been peacefully and rationally handed over, but the recent pushing and shoving has placed fear and darkness in the child's mind, and he may even have a lot of negative emotions when he finally meets his grandmother. This will further delay and prolong his adjustment period.
Wang Meien is director of the Child Welfare League Foundation's research and development department.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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