Giggio's Defense

I opened this GoFundMe project to gather support and raise funds for the unexpected legal costs of defending my 10 year old son and my right to remain in the US. A Spanish court awarded me full custody of Giggio in May 2020, and we made plans to finally move back to the United States, to our hometown in St Charles MO.

I thought I would be focusing on building a home, reclaiming my career and reuniting with family and friends. As it turns out, I am being called to defend our civil liberties, and think long and hard about what Freedom means to me as a Mother and an American.

 

 

 

 

Giggio loves his new school, loves living near his family and friends again and is excited about baseball this spring as well as all of the plans we have for our family farm. In the meantime, my son’s Italian father has filed court actions against me in Spain and the US, including International Child Abduction for simply returning to my home after 10 years of being dislocated in Europe. Although Giggio was born in Italy, we have no ties to Spain and are both US citizens who simply will not have our rights exploited or revoked by a foreign court after waiting so long and working so hard to get here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am seeking your support for two reasons.

First, the obvious, I have poured every financial resource I had into my 3 year custody case in Spain as well as creating a safe home and providing every opportunity possible here for Giggio. I was simply not prepared for the cost of another legal battle.

Second, I feel that in these past years I have been far too quiet, embarrassed and compliant about a legal process that has directly endangered my son, and I would like to use my mistakes and experiences to help other parents and children who are suffering under the same limitations overseas.

 

The funds I need now to get through the process will enable me to defend myself in 4 cases - 3 in Spain and 1 here in the US - set precedence and document proceedings that clearly attempted to restrict the rights and movement of an American mother and her child in Europe. I cannot tell you how many parents I have met over the past 5 years who have been placed in my position... Being denied travel, having their passports revoked, being unable to work or provide for their children while being forced to live in a foreign country at the mercy of a painfully slow court process that has no regard for the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of their children.

Most of us push through and make the best of it, so our children don’t feel the strain and our friends and families will not think poorly of us, but the limitations imposed upon us are not just unfair, they are unjust. I would like to use this humble moment in my personal history to talk about my experiences, and begin a social network for parents like me to provide support, legal advice and financial resources to those who are also lost in this process.

I hope that everyone who supports me in this path will continue to engage in my journey forward. I have no doubt that justice will prevail, and I will be able to share the experience and legal precedence to help others move more gracefully through their own restrictions and court battles.

 

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read a bit about our story today. I thank you so much for your words of encouragement, support, consideration and inspiration.

 

With love and respect,

Erica