I once read a proverb; “You should never think that the worst can not happen.” “It can always be worse.” Our history is clear confirmation of this proverb.

We have already suffered enough. We were cruelly caught they put us in jail, our daughter was about to die without medical help. Our son was left without parents. But at least our son Vladimir still had his nanny Veronica and our dear friends Rolando and Mary. They brought him to visit mom and me. Every day, Vladimir was with someone from our side. That helped him to adapt to his new life.

The change was too hard, the same for Vladimir and for us. Before being captured, I spent all my time with him. He got used to sleep with us since birth. At night he woke up several times and asked for his bottle with milk.

He rose early, at 5 in the morning. Since that time, I was almost all day with him. Breakfast together, then took him to school, and he was at the school for 4 hours, we returned home and after lunch, we used to take him to the gym or pool. To many sporting activities, as he is hyperactive. At night we played, read books. Mom always made him massage before bedtime.

I get tears from thinking, how he changed his life, when all this was over, in an instant.

The director of the school where he studied toddlers grade forbade Vladimir to visit the school on the grounds that our documents were canceled, although everything was paid for one year. When they carried Vladimir to visit me in prison, I tried to explain that I am here working and soon I will return home to live together as before.

After that, judge of the peace on the day January 16th, 2015, gave the custody of Vladimir to Veronica Rolando, Vladimir adapted very well with the family of Rolando. Veronica lived with him, trying to replace as much as possible to Mom and Dad.

The childhood attorney general office inspected twice the  home of Rolando. Obviously they had positive conclusions about the conditions in which Vladimir was living.

On February 10th, Rolando and Veronica with Vladimir, came to the hearing with Judge of the Metropolitan Children Area Maria Belen Reyna Salazar.

No one had any doubt that it was only a technical audience. Just to confirm that Vladimir would stay at the home of Rolando, Custody was up to him and Veronica. But something strange happened.

The judge ordered the police grab Vladimir and take into a separated room. The child began to mourn, but that did not matter to the judge. She never asked Vladimir how he felt, he did not let Veronica or Rolando talk to him. Even us, his parents, neither, nobody ever asked anything, not even allowed to be called.

With a cold voice, the judge gave her decision: Vladimir was going to be sent into an orphanage called “Hogar del Niño” and they immediately prohibited any contact with his parents, legal guardians, to any known being.

“Judge for Children banned Veronica and Roland  to farewell Vladimir, even to hug the boy for the last time, even a kiss, or give him an explanation …”

“She forbade to pass him his clothes, or some products, or his constipation medicine and also she does not allow to pass his bottle with milk …”

The policemen took Vladimir to the patrol and immediately took him to the orphanage, it was practically a state KIDNAPPING a little boy.

Everything was done in 20 minutes. As fast as the kidnappers do, no arguments and adequate explanations. For the reason that our documents were canceled, they forbade us any contact with our son who was just 3 years old and placed in an orphanage.

Cruelty, so inhuman, that is all that happened! Even to Irina in the hospital, or to me in jail, they did not tell us about what have happened, Irina and I called Rolando and Veronica when we could make a phone call to know what happened with the hearing.

They both did not answer …

Veronica later confessed, they were both crying and did not know how tell us this tremendous news, while driving to the hospital to talk to Irina.

She was the first who heard from Rolando, about what have happened. When I could call, shortly thereafter I called Irina. She almost could not speak. Crying, she told me that they had grabbed Vladimir and  he had been sent to the orphanage. On another call my daughter told me that mom cried every day. The whole 42 days. First day when they seized another 40 days, while Vladimir was in the orphanage. The last day when they returned him to us, and there were tears of joy.

I know how to suffer. When I was in the Russian army during the years 1986-1989 for a period I was about to die from stomach ulcer attack. There were no doctors who could save my life, there was no possibility of sending me to the hospital.

The physical pain was tremendous and constant. I could not eat anything because I vomited it all over with blood. I fasted 40 days.

God saved my life at that time for with a wonderful miracle, converting an atheist soldier of the army in a believer.

No doctor could explain how I healed from stomach ulcer without taking a single pill. I can tell that in this period of 40 days, our son was in the orphanage, my suffering was worse than my time in the Red Army.

Imagine how does a father feel, as who lived for his only son, when he was kidnapped and they did not give any information about his father, he was just 3 years old.

Despite the great suffering we understood that only acting we could save our son from this awful trap …

We had only three days to understand what had happened, to mourn, and find new counselor and to appeal to a cruel resolution so senseless, and with me being in prison without possibility of contact, there was not much I could do.

Then everything depended on my wife Irina Bitkova. She again showed her strong character, a woman, so wonderful and so feisty.

Also, our Lord God, as always gave us his overwhelming support, completely and divine. I am sure that our enemies did not expect in any way, that we managed to get out of that trap, so well prepared.

Imagine! What happens to foreigners, who have in Guatemal neither family, or friends That can make very awful being in jail, under pressure and humiliation and deceit by a lawyer? But definitely the good Lord was with us.

Through a friend (an angel that God sent us first), my wife found a new attorney who had many years of experience in children in Guatemala courts

Through my wife Irina Bitkova we found a new expert in childhood lawyer.  He was surprised and angry listening to our story. He said he had never heard, nor expected that something like all this could happen in Guatemala. He immediately began his work preparing an appeal of the decision of Judge Salazar.

Plus, in addition Irina set demands to many national and international organizations of human rights.

From day one we were trying to get some information about our son. We found the phone numbers and addresses of the orphanage “Home of the child”. We called there many times. But it came unpredictable. The director and owner of American orphanage Shyrel Osborne, refused to talk to us and forbade all staff to tell us something about our son.

My wife and I tried to explain how we were suffering, but with no result. It seemed that Osborne has a heart of pure stone.

She said she was not allowed to let Vladimir to have contact with us and for this reason she did not even wanted to tell us, how he was.

Rolando and other friends tried to bring food to Vladimir, bring clothes and medicine for constipation and visit him in the orphanage, but this orphanage appeared more like a military base. The well-armed guards did not allow anyone in and refused to give anything to the child.

My wife and I sponsored several orphanages in Guatemala and often deliver children clothing, food, toys. There was never any problem. But this orphanage is very special. No person can give anything to the children, or go to the orphanage.

By our request, only officials from human rights attorney, managed to visit our son. They found him alone in a corner of the garden, sad, thoughtful, he never took off his hood and was always kneeling.

He did not want to talk to anyone. He answered only one question; “With whom you want to be ..?

He raised his head said with hope … “with my parents”

My they brought me his photos and told this conversation. I cried for the first time after many years. Those 40 days, surely, were the hardst in our lives …

Every time we thought about it. My wife and I felt the same; Vladimir hoped at all times that his parents will come and embrace and Kiss him, and then return him to the house.

Audience with the judges of the Childhood Appeals Chamber was suspended several times. Finally, the resolution was a fact, and was defined; Vladimir immediately had to be returned to his guardians Veronica and Rolando, without the right to appeal this decision.

That same afternoon, Rolando Veronica tried to enter the orphanage, with the decision of the Judge to bring Vladimir to the hospital where Irina and Anastasia were waiting with hope to see him once again soon. Without result.

They were not allowed to enter. Shyrel Osborne told them she would expect  until the resolution reached the orphanage through official channels, although she already knew perfectly the resolution of the judges of childhood room. she was not worried that the parents already had every minute to see his treasure.

How difficult it was to endure all this! she spent three more days until Vladimir was given to Rolando and Veronica. He was taken immediately to the hospital to see Irina. The joy of seeing our little treasure was huge, but once I clarify that the child was tremendously damaged .. at the top eye he had a deep scar, a broken tooth, had strong cough and conjunctivitis, His stomach was full of parasites and amoebas, so he had constant diarrhea. Surely he was very hungry, because he grabbed food and put it in his mouth in large pieces, and some other pieces he put them into his shirt. But worst of all was his emotional state. He stopped talking to people. he was afraid of everyone. Neither wept nor smiled. He stopped being so active and electric as he always was. He lost two pounds, that is a lot for a child who is 3 years old.

When they took him to see me. His eyes, they shone for a moment and then he gave me a look of pain and despair.

I could not say anything, just hugged him and kissed him. I’ll never forget his eyes. It was a time of immense love. He was in my hands and sang the songs, which we always sang before.

So he slept calm and happy. I looked at his face and thought that I will do everything possible to keep us together always.

But an invisible force kept motivating through Vladimir. PGN, presented their defense against the decision of the Appeals Chamber.

In their defense, they asked again to send our son to the orphanage. As an argument saying that our documents were canceled, which they questioned whether we are parents or not. Without any investigation, they concluded that Vladimir is probably not our son. We were sent to do DNA testing Two tests in fact,  one was made in Guatemala and one in Spain, in hospital Nuestra Señora del Pilar where Vladimir was born, fortunately the doctor knew us, and he also was Irina’s gynecologist, he attended her during pregnancy and also when she gave birth, we had several neighbors and friends who knew us since Irina’s pregnancy. And also when Vladimir was born.

Many of these people signed notarial acts, affirming and vouching that are wotnesses that Vladimir was born in Guatemala and is our son. His birth certificate was received in Guatemala and it has never been canceled.

The important thing is that no one can deny that Vladimir is our son, because he looks to me like, we are two drops of water. Childhood Issues Office did not investigate none of that, on the contrary they insisted so hard to send Vladimir again to the orphanage which damaged him so much.

Then also appeared another character who for some reason wanted to get our son back into the orphanage, it was Shyrel Osborne this same orphanage director. She also presented her defense with the same senseless arguments.

All these people never visited or talked with us, but made much effort to separate us from our beloved son. Shyrel Osborne presented several personal exhibitions that forced Rolando, to bring Vladimir to the court and present him to the judge.

Every time he passed that, we all were in great stress and especially in front of Vladimir when he was in front of the judge, Rolando embraced him tight and would not let him down from his hands. And so Vladimir tried to defend himself. He could not forget how they grabbed him last time and sent him to the orphanage

What could a 3 year old child do? It is interesting, who paid for all legal and costly activities that were made? We did notice that all was so well organized against our family, pressure was not coincidence but was a planned and coordinated high power center of action.

It is obvious that Childhood Metropolitan Judge Maria Belen Reyna Salazar, acted with so many illegalities, taking orders and receiving the support of some powerful authorities.

How to explain that in a country where thousands of children have no home, no food and living on the streets, such as Guatemala, attorney of general childhood and the metropolitan childhood judge strive both so hard to separate a three year od kid from his parents who  kept him very well and put him into the orphanage? At that time we did not have the answer to this question, but the pressure was increasing.

Our pursuers were preparing another blow against Anastasia and Irina which were still in hospital without any hearing  of their first statement …

To be continue …

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