Nice to meet you. My name is Philip Harding and I have two gorgeous children that I rarely see, have no custody over, and due to their mother often hate me. I am an American father and my children were stolen from me in clear violation of both their and my inalienable human rights by the Japanese government.
While I admire the tireless work being done on the various forums, I say it is not enough. We will be dead and gone or at least very old before we see any changes. We must follow the principles of Ghandi and King if we are going to get anywhere at all in our struggle. I propose marches, demonstration, and non-cooperation as weapons in our struggle. We should picket Family Court buildings and Immigration Departments. We must shout slogans that cut to the heart of the injustice being done. Ultimately, we should march from Osaka to Tokyo, passing as many family court buildings as possible along the way. We should be willing to be arrested for disturbing the peace or for whatever charges that may be trumped up against us. We need to reach out to the Japanese community, and step by step unite our organizations under one Japanese umbrella organization. The more Japanese we can get to participate, the greater our chances for success. We need liberal lawyers, judges on our side, and good fund raising. We need aggressive and provocative demonstrating that also emotionally appeals to the hearts of the public and leaves a clear and stinging message of the courts' violation of human rights. Above all, we must doggedly persist in arousing the media to cover our cause.
Ultimately we need to sue the Japanese Courts for violation of human rights in the matters of family law. Our charges will need to be backed by hundreds if not thousands of suits. Only after the fundamental violation- that of sole custody- has been overturned may we move on to the particular problems regarding foreigners such as visas, etc.
A dream? Perhaps. But it's the only route we've got and we've seen these methods to be successful in past history. Will foreigners like myself be deported for chumped up crimes? Perhaps- one must be brave in our non-violent agitation. And frankly, what have I got to lose? If deported, I will sue through the Japanese embassies that I be permitted to return to Japan based on the paternal relationship I share with my children. I will not give up. I will organize in America and I will come back to Japan on tourist visa leading to work visas.
Our organization is called 'Free Our Children' and the e-mail address is philipharding@yahoo.com
We do not have a web site yet. We are new.
Please share with me any views or useful information you have.
Thank you,
Philip Harding, deprived father |
