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By Nomalanga Tshuma 
1 hour ago
Cape Town – A Tafelsig activist has started a fundraising campaign to help appeal a court ruling against a South African mother of three in favor of her British-born husband who lives in Thailand.
The lawyer who has been handling the case yesterday sent a communication to the mother, asking her to pay R60,000 and settle her old account before they return to court.
This as the appeal hearing has already been set for Monday.
Last Tuesday, Judge Sieraj Desai ordered: “(the children) shall be returned to the Kingdom of Thailand in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (“ the Convention ” ) and incorporated into the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 … “
Joanie Fredericks, who launched the fundraising campaign, said: “I am concerned about what this means for the children, however I am hopeful that something good will happen.
“I have friends from all over the world who are working hard to support the initiative. At this point, I pray for a miracle to happen.”
“I am a humanitarian and I believe that children deserve to be with their mother. They are young and scared and need our support.
“The eldest son is threatening to hurt himself if he is forced to return.
“My goal is to help children and defend them regardless of what the law says, which I think is wrong in this case: children should be with their mother,” added Fredericks.
The children, an 11-year-old boy and twins, a boy and a girl, aged eight, currently live in the countryside with their mother.
The family has lived in South Africa for less than a year.
The mother, who did not want to be named to protect the identity of her children, said the court’s ruling came as a surprise to her and her children, who have expressed how much they do not want to return to Thailand.
“My children and I do not want to go back to Thailand. We weren’t happy there and we preferred to live in South Africa, ”he said.
* Additional reporting by Nathan Adams.
Cape Argus
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