A boy of seven is to move back to war-torn Iraq after a judge ruled he would have a 'significantly superior lifestyle' than the one he had in the north east of England.
The ruling came after an Iraqi Kurd, who fled to Britain more than a decade ago and claimed asylum, was given the green light to return to his homeland - and take his son with him.
High Court judge Mr Justice Cobb approved the plan after being told the youngster, who speaks English and Kurdish, had 'moderate learning difficulties'.
He then said 'special education provision' in Kurdistan would not be 'materially different'.
Detail of the case emerged in a ruling by Mr Justice Cobb after a hearing at the Family Division of the High Court in Middlesbrough.
Mr Justice Cobb said the man, in his late 20s, had obtained British citizenship after arriving in the UK in 2002 and worked in a fast-food restaurant in a town in the north east of England.
He said the boy’s mother and father had never married and were not together.
Several years ago another family court judge concluded that the boy’s mother had neglected his 'emotional needs' and ruled that he should live with his father.
The man has now married and wants to move to Erbil, Kurdistan, to be with his wife and family who, the judge was told, are 'part of Erbil’s middle class'.
He had applied for permission to take his son with him - permanently removing the youngster from the jurisdiction of England and Wales - and Mr Justice Cobb granted the application.
The judge said no one involved could be identified.
It's grim up North
It's grim up North
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: It's grim up North
The Kurdish part of Iraq has been very successful; the only real success story there. They have been substantially autonomous since 1991 and have not had anything like the sectarian violence between the Sunni and Shiia in the rest of Iraq.
yrs,
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yrs,
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Re: It's grim up North
Yes, I caught that anachronism between the article title and truth, too. Kurdistan is by no stretch of the imagination 'war-torn Iraq'.
The boy's father is lucky he's found family to settle there with - and who wouldn't want to go home to one's homeland, to live among loving family, in preference to staying where one is far from family and doubtless treated by many as 'other', from 'to some degree', to outright racism?
The boy's father is lucky he's found family to settle there with - and who wouldn't want to go home to one's homeland, to live among loving family, in preference to staying where one is far from family and doubtless treated by many as 'other', from 'to some degree', to outright racism?
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: It's grim up North
Anywhere on earth is preferable to Middlesbrough...
Why is it that when Miley Cyrus gets naked and licks a hammer it's 'art' and 'edgy' but when I do it I'm 'drunk' and 'banned from the hardware store'?
Re: It's grim up North
Is this an Elian Gonzalez redux?