FORMAL COMPLAINT No.3

To MINISTRY for CHILDREN and FAMILIES

MCF’s Complaint Process Policy Manual IV. Administrative issues viii): COMPLAINTS CONSTITUTING CRIMINAL ACTIVITY MUST BE FORWARDED TO THE POLICE AND TO THE CROWN. THEY SHOULD NOT BE DEALT WITH BY THE COMPLAINT PROCESS.

CRIMINAL CODE: Every official, or every person acting at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of an official, who inflict torture on any other person is guilty of an indictable offence . . .

"Torture means any act or omission by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person

a) for a purpose including

(i) obtaining from the person or from a third person information or statement

(ii) punishing the person for an act that the person or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, and

(iii) intimidating or coercing the person or a third person, or

(b) for any reason based on discrimination of any kind."

Yosef Delis Fisher (DOB 08-03-85)

December 16, 98

PURPOSE of my COMPLAINTS

My family and I have been enduring a terrible torture from social workers for the past eleven months. My assessment which was done in two sessions and in two weeks in August could be done by Ms. Fidler-my school counselor- in January 8 - 21, 98 as she offered, but social workers prohibited it. Alvarez has tortured me for months and police have wanted to lay charges against me for months because of Alvarez’s lying. I have horrible memories and will have them for my whole life from the torture me and my family must endure, and even my family in Cuba has to suffer because social workers have prohibited my vacation there and my dad and Iva lost work and cannot send any money to my family in Cuba as before. Nobody can undo it, but other children and families must be saved from the same torture and Alvarez and others must be stopped from torturing other children and families. My family and I do not feel safe and are afraid to live in Canada after what social workers did to us and we decided to live in Costa Rica because there nobody is torturing children like in Canada.

NARRATIVE

I had been four months in Canada when at the end of November last year until Christmas I touched my sister Jane eight times between legs over clothes and four times under clothes. It was a stupid and immoral acting. My punishment and punishment for all my family and for my family at Cuba lasts forever. Jane told Iva about it on Christmas Eve. I have been so ashamed and sorry and sad as never before in my life. I could not explain this immoral and stupid acting and Dr. Adams believes me. I promised never ever do it again and I apologized to Jane and to my family. They saw how sorry and sad I am and forgave me the next day. They told me that I cannot be with other children in the same room if my dad or Iva are not there. That I will have to see some psychologist who would talk to me. They also told me that many people would have to know, a teacher, a Judo coach, my best friends’ family Lopez. After a few days many social workers started coming to my home, but none of them ever spoke to me or asked me how I feel about it and what I want to do. All the time a phone was ringing and many social workers wanted to know what I did and Iva must explain it to all of them and all the children have been listening and scared. I wanted to tell social workers that I am sorry and I would never ever do something like that again, but nobody has asked me anything. One day I went with my dad to the police. My dad told me to speak the truth, because if I would lie policemen have tests to know when a people lie and everything would be even worse. There were a policeman and a translator and I answered them all the truth. They asked me why I did it, about my life in Cuba and in Canada, about my family at Cuba, and they told me if I do that again I would go to jail. A few days later came one social worker and called me from a kitchen to sign some paper. I did not know what it was, but my dad told me if I, he and Iva do not sign social workers would take away Jane and Thomas and all foster babies. My dad told me that in a three or four days I will be back, that someone will see all documents and someone will speak with me like the police were and return me home. My best friends family Lopez told me I can live with them for a few days until I go home, but social workers prohibited it. Next day some strangers came and took me to their house. My life was broken. At afternoon they took me to Judo and told me that someone else, they did not know who, will bring me to their house. Nobody came, but luckily my dad was there. I was hoping to go home but my dad took me back to Morans’ house. After that social workers prohibited me to go to my school. My dad told me they want to put me into a different school close to Moran’s house, but Iva and my teacher Ms. Lowther fought to keep me in my school. Morans’ tried to be nice to me, but I was so sad not to be with my family and with my friends who live very close to my home. I could not see my friends at all. I had to go everywhere with Morans, and they never let me go outside by myself. I did not know anybody in that part of Vancouver anyway, but I wanted to be alone if not with my family and friends for a while after returning from school. A social worker one day came to my school and Spanish speaking Ms. Fidler counselor told her she would do my assessment in her office. That I would not lose any days in school. A social worker asked about a soccer and judo but nothing else. Next week my Youth Empowerment Group had overnight skiing trip and me and our leader Malcolm wanted me to go there, because I helped fund raising, but social workers prohibited me to go and that was a torture. Social workers prohibited me to go to my home for visits, so my father took me twice a week to the library or to the Pizzeria for two hours because outside was always raining and we could not go home and see Jane and Thomas. I wanted to be home on Saturdays and Sundays with my family, but social workers prohibited it and Morans’ took me to their church. My dad and Iva do not go to church, but sometimes they explain me about Jesus and about God and that Jesus was tortured too and killed because nobody cared. When I came to Morans’ house at school I did not do home work and my teacher told Iva. My father asked me to do my home work as I did before, that I will be home very soon. My teacher spoke often to me telling me I am a good boy and that my dad and Iva love me and are good parents and that in a few days I will go home. I believed it and nothing changed and it was more and more torture every day. Alvarez later started to come to Morans’ house. He was normal first, but later he often called me TONTO which means stupid in Spanish. He would start his sessions by saying: "Your torture is starting". He thinks it was very funny, but it was a real torture for me. Whole my life from Christmas up to the day in November when that sound alarm was taken away from my door was a torture. Now all is better but those social workers can do something at any time. It was a horror living with Morans’ after they lied about me stealing forty dollars. They did not send those $ 40 for my school trip and Morans and my teacher know it. Alvarez was talking and listening to me in Morans’ kitchen whole mornings and at afternoons Morans did not take me to school. I could go by myself by bus, but social workers prohibited me and that was a big shame and a torture. To school always some guard took me and gave me to my teacher and afternoon took me back to Morans’ house by cab. All people and children were so sorry for me except social workers. It was like I was a criminal who has to be guarded all the time. I was very much ashamed in front of my friends at school twice a day. They guarded me at Neighborhood House and from Judo and to and from soccer and it was terrible shame like I was a criminal and that was terrible torture. At Valentine Day I prepared my cards to friends and to Ms. Lowther but Morans’ told me Alvarez will come. Alvarez was there the whole morning until my dad came. My dad told Alvarez I need to be at school at noon to give my Valentine cards. My dad told him that all my family would celebrate together and take pictures. Alvarez later lied and said he did not know it was my father who requested it. We later joked that Alvarez thought the postman came to hug me and invite me to celebrate, but it was no joke but a torture. A cab came before noon and a driver asked many times when I would be ready. Alvarez told him always soon and an angry driver much later went away. Alvarez told me to go sleep that he will guard me. I wanted to give my cards to my teacher and to children, to celebrate with my family and later play with my friends’ Larry and Owen as we planned, but I was afraid of Alvarez and it was a terrible torture for me. I told my dad and next week dad told me we have a lawyer and a some psychologist to do Alvarez’s job in two weeks and I will go home. Another advocate told me I do not have to answer everything anybody asks me if I feel it is wrong. Alvarez was asking me questions and waiting for answers for hours calling me TONTO and telling me if I do not answer as he likes that he would write bad reports and I will go to jail. I was afraid of him and of social workers who let him torture me all the time. Alvarez has been happy torturing me because he always said: "The torture is starting." He told later he was joking, but this is not any joke, this is a torture. I was crying at school a lot it was real torture as Alvarez always said before he started. My teacher told me and my dad that she will write social workers and I will go home. Social workers did not answer her and it was again torture. Later she told my dad and me to live in her home because I was so tortured and sad. That would be very nice but social workers prohibited it. My dad told me that he and Iva would cancel the document we signed in January and social workers must let me go home, but social workers prohibited it and it was again a terrible torture. And when at that time three months ended my dad told me social workers must let me go home but they again prohibited it. A social worker came and told me they do not let me go home and it was a new torture and Alvarez came many times and they let him all the time torture me and not any Doctor ever came who would finish it in two weeks. And later we were going to the court many times and my dad told me Honorable judges will let me go home because social workers are lying and court will know it. Every time we had to go to court again. That was a life like for a criminal. But I was never sent home social workers prohibited it and tortured me and my family. And my dad told me many people wrote nice letters about me and about my family and social workers must let me live in my home, but I was all the time in Morans’ house and every day I felt tortured. And I wanted to go back to Cuba and my teacher told me to stay in Canada that she wrote a letter for the court and I will go home. But social workers prohibited it and it was new and new torture every day and old torture I living as criminal guarded all the time. My dad gave social workers my letter saying I want go back to Cuba if I could not live with my family and social workers prohibited it and it was again a new torture. After that day my visits home were made much shorter to torture me. I could not go visit my home as before and was send with guards everywhere like criminal and back to Morans’ and it was new torture again. We wanted to go at Science World and social workers prohibited it. We wanted to go camping like before but social workers prohibited it. Social workers made changes and I could not be with my family all day but from ten to five and going by buses take too much time so I and my family never could not go for a day to the beach or to some trip and it was again a torture. And then Alvarez wrote a bad report about me as he promised. Social workers gave that report to police and it was new torture because police wanted to put me in jail, I was afraid and I wanted go back to Cuba. But social workers prohibited it. My dad told me they have other psychologist to do my assessment but social workers prohibited it and it was new torture. After that my dad and Iva had second psychologist who wanted to do my assessment next week but it was new torture because social workers again prohibited it. I asked Spanish-speaking Lawyer Ms. Gonzales to help me but social workers prohibited it and it was new torture. Morans did not give me my pocket money. My dad told me they must give me one dollar a day. They did not pay for my school trips and sport activities and it was a shame for me. For an overnight trip with my class I needed a wind breaker. Ms. Moran instead of buying one gave me hers, in a pink color, and I felt ashamed for a whole trip. I returned from the care with less clothes and shoes than my parents gave me there, because I grew a lot, I could not use small things and Morans did not buy what I needed. But they bought something but my dad told me they took from me much more than they spent on me. Social workers never told me what they planned to do to me and that was terrible torture to know they only want put me in jail. They did everything to torture me, never anything what would be right. Social workers never asked me what I think and how I want to live and how I will never do nothing stupid and immoral as last year. They did not ask me why I want to go to Cuba. If they asked, I would tell them I am afraid of them and ask why they torture me and my family. One day Morans could not find the soccer field where I was playing soccer and did not wait for me. When I came by myself to their house and I had to stand in front of their house for hours until my dad came for me. I do not beg for anything, so when Morans told me about some other programs instead of my soccer or judo I did not beg. Only in June, when my soccer club played finals on Sunday and Saturday I told Morans I will not go with them to their religious trip because I wanted to play soccer because without me my team would surely lose. A social worker ordered me to go on that religious trip and I said I want to play soccer and he moved me that day into another foster home. That was not torture that was better because Robin respected me and never said I steal money as Morans had lied. But I wanted all the time to be home with my family and with my friends and social workers prohibited it, they only tortured me. When some social workers told me something, I did not understand it all. In June a translator came to ask who scratched Morans’ house door and later Mr. Sorg was translating for me the social workers’ new torture. Social workers never asked me what I think and what I want. I would tell them I am not bad and why they do it to me and to my family, every day so much suffering. Some old man came to guard me and Morans’ house for all days and nights. My dad was always telling me some day a normal social worker will let me go home. Once they had meeting with one social worker and my dad told me now we will have help because they know her to be a good social worker. After that meeting next morning last foster baby Jonah was taken away. He was taken away instead of helping us by that social worker dad and Iva thought is good and it was a new torture. My dad and Iva lost their work and I felt again so guilty. But not me, social workers were guilty who tortured me and my family for all time. Every day my dad told me that very soon all this will end and I could go home, but social workers always prohibited it. I wanted to go to summer ESL school with my teacher Ms. Lowther but social workers prohibited it and it was again new torture because my friends were going there. And finally I had an assessment done in August which should have been done in January. In two sessions and two weeks it was finished. Social workers sent Dr. Adams Alvarez’s bad report saying I should go to jail but not letters from my teacher and others and that was a terrible torture. I was very afraid it could be like with Alvarez because it was not the doctor my dad and Iva found who would do it, it was a doctor social workers found at least. Doctor Adams was nice to me and wrote the truth about me he did not lay like Alvarez did. My dad told me social workers have to let me go home after that. Instead they wanted to keep me for half year more that was terrible new torture for me and for my family. Every day I hoped they would let me go to my family or to my family in Cuba, but they tortured me not letting me go. And after that my dad told a social worker he would kill her if she took me or other children away again and one month later social workers let my dad go to jail and it was new torture to me and to my family. Social workers finally let me go home, but supervised us like we all are criminals. I am afraid they could do what they want and I wish to be safe in Costa Rica where nobody tortures children. After that my dad had to go at meetings but was prohibited to go to those meetings at the same time. Then we had new social workers. Those new social workers never tortured me and my family like the others and were nice to me and to my family. They listened to me what I want and what I will do and believed me not like other social workers who tortured me and my family for eleven months and helped me first time of all time. I wish those good social workers and Ms. Fidler or Dr. Adams would be there in January to do their work instead of those social workers and Alvarez who tortured me and my family for eleven months. I made already two complaints, long time ago, but social workers do not care and do not send a translator to help me write my complaints as we asked. My support person for the whole complaint process is my dad, but if he would be arrested and jailed again for defending us, children, my support person will be Iva.

My dad teaches me that people must fight for their rights and for justice or people like Alvarez and some social workers would torture everybody. After so much torture and suffering I wish that other children and families cannot be tortured as I and my family have been. That is the reason for my complaints although I would like to be safe in Costa Rica instead of provoking those social workers who torture children and families to do something evil again.

Josef D. Fisher