BoereworsExpress Sep 2021

EXPAT CHILD BATTLE
In a case that illustrates the difficulties of divorce and minor
children in expat situations, a South African mother who abducted
her three children from Thailand had until 20 August 2021 to send
them back after the Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa
rejected her last-ditch bid to keep them in Cape Town. The Cape
Town High Court had previously ordered her to return the children
to Thailand, with or without her. She refused and appealed the
decision, invoking the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction exception clause – according to
which the children’s lives would be in danger if they returned.
She spent two years trying to keep her 12-year-old daughter and 8-
year-old twins, a boy and a girl, away from their British father who
lives in Thailand. Five appeal judges confirmed the High Court
ruling that the children must return to Thailand. The judges agreed
with the High Court ruling that she failed to substantiate her
allegations that her ex-husband molested the eldest daughter. She
also claimed domestic violence and economic abuse, which left the
children fearful of their father and reluctant to have contact with
him. The father denied all allegations.
The couple were married in the USA in 2007 and lived in South
Africa, the UK and Singapore before moving to Thailand in 2016.
They were divorced in June 2018, in accordance with Thai law. In
terms of the divorce agreement, both parents agreed to have joint
custody of the children, with the children residing with the mother
while the father had visitation rights. After the divorce, the mother
moved to a remote location in Thailand and the father encountered
problems visiting his children. After being summonsed to appear in
the Bangkok family court, she fled with the children to Cape Town
in December 2019.
The High Court order said the children could live with their mother
in Thailand, and provided for psychologists and therapists, as well
as ensured financial support by their father. The custody,
maintenance and visiting rights agreed to when the parents divorced
would continue in terms of the High Court ruling. The mother was
advised that, upon her return to Thailand, she could ask Thai
authorities to investigate her allegations and that she could ask a
Thai court for a protection order pending such an investigation. The
High Court noted that the ex-husband undertook not institute or
support any criminal proceedings against the mother relating to the
children's abduction. No further information is known at this stage.
DURBAN TO PARIS, RUGBY
TO SOCCER
Tanushree Pillay (40), who was the rugby Springbok
physiotherapist, joined the medical team at Lionel Messi's new club,
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), in July 2021. She grew up in
Asherville, Durban, and got involved in
sport when she assisted the Western
Cape Sports Academy as a volunteer
more than 15 years ago. She also
worked with the South African
Olympic and Commonwealth teams.
Tanushree settled in Paris, her husband
Gilles Mège's hometown, three years
ago. They have a one-year-old son,
Étienne. The process to get her South
African qualifications accredited in
France took about nine months before
she started a private practice. She got the job at PSG after seeing the
club’s medical academy at a health summit. Her job involves
reviewing injuries, strapping, warm-up massages and getting
players ready for training, followed by admin and the long-term
rehab of injured players. She credits her career success to lessons
learnt from her grandmother, who was a single mother working at a
market in Chatsworth selling samoosas and raising seven children.
LEARN WITH TREVOR
South African comedian Trevor Noah has teamed up with the
language app Duolingo to make Zulu and Xhosa lessons available
in early 2022. The popular app has more than 100,000 teachers
worldwide and more than 40 million monthly active users. The
Trevor Noah Foundation will use the South African non-profit,
Nal’ibali, which promotes multilingual reading, to create the
courses.
Inspired by his mother Patricia, who speaks nine languages, Trevor
speaks five fluently – English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Tswana and Tsonga
– and bits of German (his father is Swiss-German) and Xhosa. He’s
currently learning Spanish, and plans to learn French next.
Trevor’s tips for learning a new language: "The key is to jump in,
enjoy the sounds, realise you’re going to be an idiot… humble
yourself."
GO LIVE ANYWHERE
Twelve individuals from nine countries have been selected from
over 314,000 applicants from around the world to Live Anywhere on
Airbnb. They will share their experiences as they go along from
July 2021 to July 2022, 10 months of which will include traveling
to and living in listings on Airbnb. Participants will choose their
own adventure – whether that’s staying close and rediscovering
their hometown or criss-crossing the globe.
The South African participant is Peta. Her partner, Ben, is from
France. They've been nomads for the last 14 years after raising their
four sons in Chicago. They are hoping to explore developing
countries and towns off the beaten path around the world to further
Ben’s eco-focused work and get inspiration for Peta’s art.
http://SouthAfricanResearcher.blogspot.com/
Boerewors Express ● September 2021 5