A DUBLIN-BASED Moldovan dad has been left devastated after his Irish son, who he had raised almost singlehandedly for over four years, was removed from a Dublin primary school and taken to Moldova by his mother.
Sports student Sergiu Musteata (30), who is the sole legal custodian of his five-year old son Andrian under an order of Dublin District Court, told Metro Éireann he is “stressed” over the whereabouts of his son, who he describes as “a little star”. He has applied to the Department of Justice to investigate the matter under the Hague Convention on child abduction.
Musteata said that on the morning of 4 April, Andrian was collected from his south Dublin primary school without his permission. He believes his son is now with his mother in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau. Musteata said they had argued over custody of Andrian the previous day.
Musteata’s former partner lived with him in Ireland until their son was 12 months old, he explained, at which stage she left for England to study for over four years. She visited them several times each year, and they also went to see her, according to Musteata. Last summer, however, the couple broke up, and she allegedly told Musteata she wanted custody.
“She came and stayed in the apartment for a few days. She said, ‘I am finished university now, I have a new boyfriend, this is life, what can you do, I’d like to take my son with me to England, to London.’ Of course I didn’t agree with that, and that’s when it all started. “I said, ‘You can visit my son whenever you want, you are his mum,’” added Musteata. “The next day, I left him to school in the morning; I go to college. I felt like something is going to happen but I forgot to tell the teacher not to give him to her. I didn’t know she was going to do it that morning.”
The custody issue came to court the following June, during which Musteata was accorded sole custody of Andrian at a hearing not attended by his former partner. At this point, Musteata believes his son was already in Moldova.
He said it remains unclear how Irish citizen Andrian entered Moldova, as his Irish passport is still at home. Musteata also claims he has subsequently received a threatening message through another party warning him not to come looking for his son in Moldova.
He applied to Ireland’s Department of Justice to investigate the matter under the Hague Convention on child abduction on 22 July. He is still awaiting word on whether the relevant documents have reached authorities in Moldova.
Friends of the Moldovan, who has been heavily involved in the Dublin soccer scene, have rallied around him. “He has been working as a volunteer with Sari (Sport Against Racism Ireland) since the child was born,” said Sari’s chief executive Frank Buckley. “His girlfriend at the time went to study in England and he brought [his son] up – he’s been brought up by his dad… My heart goes out to him.” Buckley urged the authorities to address the matter quickly.
The turn-of-events has left the Moldovan devastated, and he recounted to Metro Éireann his experience of being a single father. “To be honest, I loved children ever since I was a young boy,” he explained. “For me, it was hard mentally because his mum was not around, but I had friends I could take him to see. He always had a regime and was well and healthy. It was hard for me but not impossible because I loved him very much, and I knew I had to do my best for him to grow strong, physically and mentally.”
He added: “And as a sportsman I was always trying to involve him in games. So, for me it was hard, but something new and interesting, to grow a child. He was a little star everywhere… everyone knew his mum was somewhere away.”
Musteata said his last contact with his son’s mother was in May, and he can no longer reach her by phone. He insists that he will leave his life in Ireland, where he has spent six years, if it means he can be with his son.
“I miss my son. For him, I can throw everything away… I’m confused, confused and stressed. I’m seeing lots of dreams, bad and good. But I have to be positive, optimistic. At least I know he’s somewhere, alive.”
Metro Éireann was unable to reach Musteata’s former partner for comment.
The purpose of the Hague Convention is to facilitate the return of children who have been wrongfully removed from one contracting state where they are usually resident to another contracting state. Ireland and Moldova are both signatories.
The Department of Justice’s Central Authority for Child Abduction assists applicants under the convention in attempting to discover the whereabouts of the child, where appropriate. In 2007, some 99 cases involving 155 children were received. These were divided between abductions into the State from other countries (60 incoming cases) and abductions from the State to other countries (39 outgoing cases).
The authority processed a total of 142 cases in 2007, including 43 cases (28 incoming and 15 outgoing) carried forward from 2006.
