THOSE present in the courtroom of the Springlands Magistrate’s Court were moved to tears on Tuesday, as Senior Magistrate, Alex Moore, helped to rekindle an estranged relationship between a father and his 18-year-old daughter.
The father and daughter have not spoken to each other for the past three years following a separation between the parents. The family was before the courts as the mother was seeking an increase in the weekly child support of a $1000 more for her two daughters, taking the amount from $3000 to $4000 per week for each child.
The father, who said he was medically unfit for the past two years, claimed he could not afford the $2,000 more per week while the mother was adamant he could.
After hearing the case as put forward by both parties, the daughter started to sob in court. The magistrate pointed to the young woman who had recently turned 18 and asked the father, “Do you see how you are making her suffer for a measly $2,000 more for herself and younger sister?”
However, before the father could answer the young woman, who is a student at the GuySuco Training School, asked if she could say something. She explained amid sobs that she has not spoken to her father for three years and wanted to know if he was okay and wanted to give him a hug. The young lady explained that after the separation, she became suicidal since they had shared a good relationship that had abruptly ended.
The magistrate enquired from the father if indeed what she is saying is true and the father replied in the affirmative. The magistrate then questioned what has the young woman done to deserve this treatment but the father could only come up with scenarios where the mother and her friends led to the relationship being strained and ultimately separation.
The magistrate pointed out to the father that his daughters have not done anything to deserve his alienation, and by doing so, he has missed three very important years of their lives. The father agreed and said when they separated she was just a little girl and now she is a young woman and he apologised with tears streaming down his face.
At that moment, the magistrate told the father to go over to his daughter and apologise to her directly. On the instruction, the young woman ran to her father’s arm and they hugged and cried for over a minute as the entire courtroom started sniffing and wiping tears of their own.
Eventually, the magistrate allowed the increase to be paid directly to the young woman since she was an adult and urged the father to take her phone number and take the two girls out to bond and help regain each other’s trust.
The young lady wants to pursue a career in engineering and the increase the mother sought was to help facilitate this, the court heard. The magistrate concluded by letting the father knows he has set the ball rolling and it is now up to him to keep it moving and re-establish a relationship with his two beautiful daughters to which the father promised to ensure happens.
Both the mother and father agreed to the terms which were relaxed and will check in with the senior magistrate in two months’ time to see if the commitment is being honoured.
The magistrate commended the young woman for her strength and wished her all the best in her future endeavors.
