WE ARE NOT ALONE / Part 426 / For Love and For Justice / Zabeth and Paul Bayne

When on Wednesday the 19^th, Paul and Zabeth were informed that they would not hear the ruling for another month, they worked through their own disappointment with human emotion followed by reflective faith which has characterized their travel and travail.

To grasp how this works for them I am sharing the note that Paul and Zabeth sent to some people. Paul wrote, “Well this was supposed to be the DAY. The day when we would receive the news either one way or the other. God had other plans. God said no, it’s not today. Be patient. We won’t know the decision until the end of February now. Our children will be one month older, Josiah is due at the end of February. God what are You doing this time? Will this be another perfect timing thing again? I will hope in God even if I don’t understand. Thank you for your dedication and love toward our battle weary family. Thank God we are not alone.” 

This explains how they survive. Now you may not want to so readily attribute the delay to God but rather lay it at the doorstep of the judge or more generally the entire child welfare system with its liberal latitude of powers. The difference is fundamental. Their approach permits them to look forward with some optimism and confidence and I would say objectivity. Others might call it naivety. The other approach tends to result in persistent anger and a dark pessimism. At least that's the way I perceive it. And I don't know how one can possibly hope to work toward changing the inadequacies and failings within the child welfare system when one cannot speak without detonating.

So, what if at the end of February, not only does the MCFD win this court order for continuing care of their three children but also makes the move to apprehend a newly born baby boy against whom these parents have lavished only mother's milk and parental love? Will Paul and Zabeth come unglued then? Will their faith in God erode overnight? I can answer neither question with certainty.

Based upon their track record of stalwart management of continuous disappointment for over three years, I can venture a guess that they will not cave. And if the worst of all possible outcomes occurred, that these children remained in Ministry care and then inevitably in adoptive families, you would find Paul and Zabeth at the forefront for child protection changes in this country. They would champion parental rights. They would articulate the transparency and services and provisions and protections that the CFCSA was technically written to achieve but which lazy people compromised, alleging insufficient funds and programs.

And whereas some of you may take issue with me for being too easy on the Ministry and Judiciary because I have not personally had a child removed, Zabeth and Paul will understand totally, the agonies of parents and still demonstrate a control that permits them to engage with change-makers who will have to listen to them. My question is, are there any change-makers out there now who are prepared to give something other than lip service to an aggressive plan to make child protection work more graciously yet effectively?

What I think is that Paul and Zabeth are already change makers.

CHANGEMAKERS PLEASE STEP FORWARD / Part 312 / For Love and For Justice / Zabeth and Paul Bayne/

Countdown: It's the 17th. Four days from now, is the final Court Date for the Baynes. 

Yesterday I alluded to the purpose of this particular blog.

I return to this point because there seems some confusion.

The GPS blog began as a personal commentary on life and times and issues filtered through my wide angle lens (wide angle defined by age and experience).

When in September 2009, after years of not being in communication with one another, I learned about my friends Paul and Zabeth Bayne and the distressing life to which they have been subjected, the blog became a daily recital of their pain. I couldn't help myself. Their story needed to be told, frequently.

Familiarizing myself with their case raised concerns about which I had to write - concerns about the operations of child protection in my area. People did read the blog, not many, but a few and they seldom commented.

As everyone knows, exposure to one complaint against child protection services leads rapidly to other cases. The concern intensifies. It was staggering to realize that protests against child removals and unjustified sustained time in care was not exclusive to the Fraser region but existed in all provincial MCFD regions, in all provinces of Canada, and furthermore, in the U.S.A and the U.K, and other countries.

The subject matter for me has remained focused upon this one family's ordeal but it has included numerous side trips to broader issues that pertain to any government's involvement in the care and protection of children.

As I continued to write, readership increased and comments accumulated. I realized there was an audience consisting often of people who have been deeply injured by a government agency and who need an avenue to express their anguish. The comment section of this blog has often been an expression laced with bitterness but it is understandable given the helplessness that contributors feel.

There are many more online blogs and websites where these topics are discussed angrily, even offensively. While I understand the emotion and disgust associated with the issues, I purposed to use this blog to discourse openly, honestly and respectfully the relevant subjects and insisted that comments be added with a comparable courtesy. 

Inherent to my approach is the awareness that society has troubled people, dysfunctional families, adults with addictions, people with histories of abuse, people who did not plan to have children, didn't want children, shouldn't have children. There are children who are angry, maligned, bitter, injured and unhappy. Someone must help all of these people. I accept that one of the first orders of action for our society must be protecting the most vulnerable, and therefore safeguarding children. Who else but our government is in a position to do this?  I don't like that particularly, but the church isn't doing it, and I don't have greater confidence in private institutions. It is not a quantum leap for me to accept that removing a child is sometimes imperative. It is not difficult for me to accept that there are principled and good foster parents who genuinely care for children and youth. I have no difficulty appreciating that many social workers are motivated by a sincere desire to help people. Therefore I welcome the comments of people who can speak from experience as children, parents and workers within the child protection network, can speak to the glaring problems, can speak to the past as well as the future and can make recommendations for change. 

The result has been a readership that is international. Big deal. It doesn't change anything. The change-makers are the people who have gone beyond talking about the problems within the child protection and care programs to organizing concerned people in such a way that help is provided to those victimized by these systems and in such a way that politicians must pay attention.