Chasing the Cyclone author Peter Thomas Senese: Overcoming International Parental Child Abduction
Peter Thomas Senese is an author who has created a very impressive collection of historical fiction thrillers that range in subject matter to include theology, science and genomics, international banking, and geopolitics. However, nothing could have prepared the rising writer to stare down a nightmare most parents (or grandparents) would care not to think about. But that's exactly what the Mr. Senese did: he stared down a destructive cyclone and stood until its storm faded.
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| Chasing The Cyclone |
According to the United States Department of State and the Canadian Ministry of Attorney General, in 2006, best-selling writer Peter Thomas Senese had his child criminally internationally abducted by the child's other parent and taken to the other side of the world. After nearly two year of expensive international litigation that took place in multiple countries, Peter Senese did something that few parents targeted for abduction accomplish: he reunited with his child. Today, the father and child live a happy existence free of the storms that once covered their lives. According to court documents, the abduction scheme Senese encountered would shock even the most knowledgeable of legal professionals.
Chasing The Cyclone
Peter Thomas Senese, child activist and author of the novel inspired by his experience as a left behind parent, titled "Chasing The Cyclone" shares in a spectacular and thrilling detail the emotional agony any parent faces when trying to reunite with an abducted child. In his own words, Senese went through "A living hell to get my child back, a hell that thousands of other caring parents tragically experience each year."
One of the many things that differentiates this story is Peter Senese's commitment to raise awareness of IPCA after the fact he reunited with his child. In the aftermath of a nightmare most of us cannot imagine, Senese has become a vocal advocate acting to raise awareness of child abduction while also creating a vast arsenal of information and resources, including a series of widely published treatises, and an educational documentary film series on IPCA, that will help others facing the challenges of abduction.
Peter Senese's overwhelming success before the international courts during his child's abduction combined with the substantial advocacy for children tells a story of a unique, caring individual who wears his heart on his sleeve, and who is willing to stand for issues he believes in.
Tragically, the vast majority of international abduction stories end with children never returning home. Thousands of cases occur in parental child abduction in the United States alone each year. Unthinkably, there is very little support for parents who have their child abducted by another parent even though current laws criminalizing this behavior can be found on both the state and federal levels. And to add grief to the grave, the entire financial burden for recovery is placed on the shoulders of the targeted parent. As easily imagined, this is a serious issue.
The Abductor's Defense: Slander The Left Behind Parent Under Article 13(b) Of The Hague.
One additional distinct problem is the use of slander and defamation of their character by the abducting parent. This is done typically so that the crime-committing abductor can take advantage of a loophole in international law found under Section 13(b) of the Hague Convention On The Civil Aspects Of International Parental Child Abduction. Under 13(b) the international courts bound by the Hague Convention can deny a child's return to the other parent if they believe that the child would be put in grave risk. In fact, Section 13(b) is known as the 'grave risk clause', and Peter Thomas Senese was not immune to having his character falsely attacked during the time of his child's abduction by the abducting parent.
It is not, nor should it be viewed lightly that in the middle of a substantial legal battle that is seldom won by a Chasing Parent, one that included defamatory and slanderous attacks on his character, the international courts fully sided with Peter Thomas Senese and cited that the abducting party had wrongfully attempted to smear the author's name in order to gain favor before the court. Senese commented, "It was awful to have untruthful comments appear out of nowhere and from sources I did not know. Ironically, we traced the vast majority of the negative comments back to the abduction litigation. Fortunately, and with undeniable evidence, the international court and its judges realized that the slander was an attempt to sanction the wrongful act of abduction. I am very thankful that the court realized what had occurred against me and acted accordingly." Apparently, attacks by an abducting parent against left-behind parents are common.
Alarmingly, a child of abduction is a victim of abuse and neglect, as reported by leading researches who specialize in IPCA. When a parent uses a child to hurt the other parent, or when that same parent manipulates a child into thinking that the other parent does not care about them or denies access and communication, then that parent is denying the child their inalienable right to know and love the other parent.
It would be of no shock to share that most targeted parents who have reunited with their child desire not to have the abducting parent actively part of the child's life. However, as Senese points out, "It is my child's right to know and feel the love of both of his parents. And it is my responsibility, to the best of my ability, to make sure that happens for him ... Sometimes it is understandably easy for a targeted parent to forget what they were really fighting for, and that is their child's rights, then their rights, too."
International Parental Child Abduction
There are several things that are clear about IPCA, including the existence of a very severe problem in this country. Additionally, it many laws created to protect our nation's children are outdated or not enforced, leading to an increase in abductions. Fortunately, new abduction prevention laws such as the Florida Child Abduction Prevention Act that Senese advocated for are being created, as too is new research in this area. In fact, Peter Thomas Senese and Carolyn Vlk recently published two revealing reports: 'Crisis In America: International Parental Child Abduction Today In America' and 'International Child Abduction and Human Trafficking in the Western Hemisphere'. 'Crisis In America' appears to be the most accurate overview on IPCA, and respectively, 'International Child Abduction and Human Trafficking' is an jaw-dropping expose on the administration's policy black hole for U.S. abduction. Peter Thomas Senese commented, "Hopefully with the findings of the recent report Ms. Vlk and I released, we will be able to amend existing laws that may facilitate child abduction." Supporting his activism in child abuction prevention, Senese wrote, narrated, and produced a ten-segment long educational documentary titled 'Chasing Parents' that offers both practical advise for all concerned with child abduction while also making it clear what changes are mandatory in order to assist children from such a terrifying ordeal.
With dedicated and committed individuals like Peter Thomas Senese trying to make a difference in the IPCA arena, there is optimism that change is at hand, and perhaps one day soon the number of criminal child abductions that occur each year will be dramatically reduced. Surely, our child-citizens have a right to be safe.
Chasing The Cyclone
Peter Thomas Senese, child activist and author of the novel inspired by his experience as a left behind parent, titled "Chasing The Cyclone" shares in a spectacular and thrilling detail the emotional agony any parent faces when trying to reunite with an abducted child. In his own words, Senese went through "A living hell to get my child back, a hell that thousands of other caring parents tragically experience each year."
One of the many things that differentiates this story is Peter Senese's commitment to raise awareness of IPCA after the fact he reunited with his child. In the aftermath of a nightmare most of us cannot imagine, Senese has become a vocal advocate acting to raise awareness of child abduction while also creating a vast arsenal of information and resources, including a series of widely published treatises, and an educational documentary film series on IPCA, that will help others facing the challenges of abduction.
Peter Senese's overwhelming success before the international courts during his child's abduction combined with the substantial advocacy for children tells a story of a unique, caring individual who wears his heart on his sleeve, and who is willing to stand for issues he believes in.
Tragically, the vast majority of international abduction stories end with children never returning home. Thousands of cases occur in parental child abduction in the United States alone each year. Unthinkably, there is very little support for parents who have their child abducted by another parent even though current laws criminalizing this behavior can be found on both the state and federal levels. And to add grief to the grave, the entire financial burden for recovery is placed on the shoulders of the targeted parent. As easily imagined, this is a serious issue.
The Abductor's Defense: Slander The Left Behind Parent Under Article 13(b) Of The Hague.
One additional distinct problem is the use of slander and defamation of their character by the abducting parent. This is done typically so that the crime-committing abductor can take advantage of a loophole in international law found under Section 13(b) of the Hague Convention On The Civil Aspects Of International Parental Child Abduction. Under 13(b) the international courts bound by the Hague Convention can deny a child's return to the other parent if they believe that the child would be put in grave risk. In fact, Section 13(b) is known as the 'grave risk clause', and Peter Thomas Senese was not immune to having his character falsely attacked during the time of his child's abduction by the abducting parent.
It is not, nor should it be viewed lightly that in the middle of a substantial legal battle that is seldom won by a Chasing Parent, one that included defamatory and slanderous attacks on his character, the international courts fully sided with Peter Thomas Senese and cited that the abducting party had wrongfully attempted to smear the author's name in order to gain favor before the court. Senese commented, "It was awful to have untruthful comments appear out of nowhere and from sources I did not know. Ironically, we traced the vast majority of the negative comments back to the abduction litigation. Fortunately, and with undeniable evidence, the international court and its judges realized that the slander was an attempt to sanction the wrongful act of abduction. I am very thankful that the court realized what had occurred against me and acted accordingly." Apparently, attacks by an abducting parent against left-behind parents are common.
Alarmingly, a child of abduction is a victim of abuse and neglect, as reported by leading researches who specialize in IPCA. When a parent uses a child to hurt the other parent, or when that same parent manipulates a child into thinking that the other parent does not care about them or denies access and communication, then that parent is denying the child their inalienable right to know and love the other parent.
It would be of no shock to share that most targeted parents who have reunited with their child desire not to have the abducting parent actively part of the child's life. However, as Senese points out, "It is my child's right to know and feel the love of both of his parents. And it is my responsibility, to the best of my ability, to make sure that happens for him ... Sometimes it is understandably easy for a targeted parent to forget what they were really fighting for, and that is their child's rights, then their rights, too."
International Parental Child Abduction
There are several things that are clear about IPCA, including the existence of a very severe problem in this country. Additionally, it many laws created to protect our nation's children are outdated or not enforced, leading to an increase in abductions. Fortunately, new abduction prevention laws such as the Florida Child Abduction Prevention Act that Senese advocated for are being created, as too is new research in this area. In fact, Peter Thomas Senese and Carolyn Vlk recently published two revealing reports: 'Crisis In America: International Parental Child Abduction Today In America' and 'International Child Abduction and Human Trafficking in the Western Hemisphere'. 'Crisis In America' appears to be the most accurate overview on IPCA, and respectively, 'International Child Abduction and Human Trafficking' is an jaw-dropping expose on the administration's policy black hole for U.S. abduction. Peter Thomas Senese commented, "Hopefully with the findings of the recent report Ms. Vlk and I released, we will be able to amend existing laws that may facilitate child abduction." Supporting his activism in child abuction prevention, Senese wrote, narrated, and produced a ten-segment long educational documentary titled 'Chasing Parents' that offers both practical advise for all concerned with child abduction while also making it clear what changes are mandatory in order to assist children from such a terrifying ordeal.
With dedicated and committed individuals like Peter Thomas Senese trying to make a difference in the IPCA arena, there is optimism that change is at hand, and perhaps one day soon the number of criminal child abductions that occur each year will be dramatically reduced. Surely, our child-citizens have a right to be safe.
Peter Thomas Senese is the author of such hit thrillers including 'Cloning Christ', 'The Den Of The Assassin', and the upcoming powerfully gripping 'Chasing The Cyclone'.
For more information on Peter Senese, please visit www.petersenese.com or www.chasingthecyclone.com
For more information on Peter Senese, please visit www.petersenese.com or www.chasingthecyclone.com
