News
The pain of abduction
By
Australian Cyclist : 01-Jul-2010
When Ken Thompson decided to quit his job as a deputy fire commissioner in NSWand cycle through Europe this summer, it was for more than a love of cycling. His only child, a son called Andrew, was abducted by his mother two years ago and Ken has vowed to find him. He is using the power of the pedal to highlight the plight of parents like himself who are victims of International Parental Child Abduction.
He joined Kate McCann, mother of Madeleine who disappeared three years ago from the family's holiday apartment in Portugal, and other parents at the National Theatre in London to mark International Missing Children's Day at the end of May. His story has been aired on a number of British TV programs, including ITV's Good Morning Show, which is the highest rating TV show in the UK. The story of how his son, now five, was stolen from his life so touched an English police officer who had fined him for cycling on the footpath that the constable offered to donate the £30 fine to the campaign to find Andrew. The last time Ken saw his son was on April 22, 2008, two days before his former wife, Melinda Margaret Thompson (aka Melinda Stratton), boarded a flight bound for Frankfurt with her child. The subsequent search for the boy has involved Interpol, the Australian Federal Police, missing children organisations in the UK, US, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia as well as an extensive international multimedia campaign that includes mainstream media and the Internet. Ken's living nightmare persuaded him to quit his job and embark on a quest through Europe to either find his son or highlight the plight of parents in his situation. He will cycle through the UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany before arriving in the Netherlands where he will deliver a letter from parents all over the world raising concerns about the ineffectiveness of The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
"The Hague Convention, which was written 30 years ago, is the only legal mechanism available to parents of abducted children to have their children returned, but it has not kept pace with international changes that now make it much easier for one parent to abduct children and keep them in hiding," he explained. As he cycles in hope, Ken carries photos of his missing son emblazoned on his shirt. His greatest fear is that his son will not recognise him and that is why he carries Bernie Crisp, the only toy belonging to the child that was left behind, on his handlebars. He hopes Andrew may remember the toy.