Germany: Interview with an Icon of Germanys fathers movement

Feckless · #1 18th-August-2008

Quote:

"A child is not a sack of potatoes"
The grand coalition bickers over the alimony law. Children of divorce, should be the absolute priority for parents in the future. For years, the actor Mathieu Carrière is the most prominent critic of the existing legislation. In his opinion, the women should financialy emancipate herself of her mother role - and work.
An interview by Thorsten Denkler
Carriere, paternity, ddp

In a sensational action in June 2006 Matthieu Carrière was bind on a cross in front of the Justice Ministry to demonstrate for equal rights for fathers
Photo: ddp

We have reached the actor Mathieu Carrière in Venice, where he regularly visited his daughter. Carrière has been fighting a long time - even publicly - to have contact with his child. During this time he became an icon of German fathers movement.

sueddeutsche.de: Mr. Carrière when parents split up, then there are two questions: Who gets the children, who should pay? What is your experience?

Mathieu Carrière: In Germany the child is the possesion like a sack of potatoes of the parent with custody. He decides about visiting hours and the alimony. It would need escrow accounts for alimony payments for the children. Then the parents can not buy Prada-bags of the money that the children deserve.

sueddeutsche.de: Many women are dependent on the money. Without this, they can not care for the children.

Carrière: The question of the money is a false debate. It is good that the burden of separation should be shared equally. But the real scandal is that almost 90 percent of childs of divorce in Germany become possession of the woman who let the other parent pay. Women are, after all adult people. After getting children they do not get unemployable.

sueddeutsche.de: The law requires that mothers from a certain age should work.

Carrière: They don´t have to, they should. This regressive rule is also assuming that women must be protected like a shrinking violet. In practice, no alimony payer can prove whether his ex-lovers has a rich lover or a new job.

sueddeutsche.de: The CDU wants to prevent that the new alimony law forces young mothers, to go to work.

Carrière: For God's sake! Young mothers! These are particularly weak. Mothers under the protection of species. With equal rights this has nothing to do. I can only respond with Alice Schwarzer (German feminist) who has been preaching for 30 years: women, emancipate from the mother role. A child does not care by whom it is taken care of and loved. It has since no gender related needs. And a single father must also work. Paternity rights, alimony obligation.

sueddeutsche.de: Did paying alimony to two of your three children make you poor?

Carrière: Poor, but not broken down. Here I am paying a lot of money to the mothers and for my children. But I know many, many fathers whose shops were destroyed, which had gone bankrupt, whose careers were ruined. The money prevents women from emancipating. If there are children, both parents should take equal care to their education and also to the financing. If parents believe that they could educate them alone, then they should also pay them alone.

sueddeutsche.de: But many fathers are just happy that they have to take no responsibility for their children.

Carrière: Those need to be forced to care for their children, too. But the case is much rarer than you think. A large part of the separation takes place at the initiative of women. Why not introduce a simple formula: Who's going, has to pay more. Why is "equality" always understood that the men pay?

sueddeutsche.de: What has to be changed for the purpose of the children?

Carrière: First of all, separated parents must cooperate. Everyone in our society is free to leave their partner. But because of this freedom there is a responsibility to act in the interests of the child and not to turn the child into a gold mine.

sueddeutsche.de: Should the state meddle?

Carrière: He must. Separated parents are often advice-resistant. Everything is always done to protect the interests of children. But today in Germany the parent with custody is encouraged, to foil the contact of the child with the ex-partners. Penaltie payments are not enforced because the youth welfare office shows women that they get more money if they stoke the conflict. Especially children suffer because of that. And the disposed parent pays for the fact that he does not see his children.

Mathieu Carrière

Translated from German by google and me.

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/,tt1m4/de...el/489/106383/

**Percy** · #2 18th-August-2008

Any man who has himself put on a Cross infront of the Justice Ministry to protest rights for fathers gets my complete attention.

He is a HERO on a similar rank, up there, with F4J fathers.

Any photos, Stefan?

I agree, of course, with much of what he says.

Feckless · #3 18th-August-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Percy

Any man who has himself put on a Cross infront of the Justice Ministry to protest rights for fathers gets my complete attention.

He is a HERO on a similar rank, up there, with F4J fathers.

Any photos, Stefan?

I agree, of course, with much of what he says.

Fotos are up there....ah wait the source links to bigger versions

On the poster behind the cross "to strengthen fathers rights means to strengthen families" on the left it says sth like "custordy from birth onwards" (the beginning is missing)

On the sign on the back "Ministry of Justice"

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
UK Fatherhood Leader Calls US Fathers' Movement the 'United States of Eunuchs'	frostyboy	Fathers Forum	5	12th-September-2008 12:08 AM
Interview: Fathers 4 Justice	outdoors	Activism / Media / Campaigns	1	18th-August-2008 03:10 AM
Fathers know best: the men's rights movement is gaining momentum in the nineties	frostyboy	Chit chat (MAIN)	0	10th-April-2008 03:45 PM
Femcunts are Attacking the Fathers Rights Movement	LukeSkywalker	Fathers Forum	2	30th-November-2007 10:00 PM
Women Who Have Helped the Men's and Fathers' Movement	Blackmanxxx	Chit chat (MAIN)	3	27th-January-2007 09:44 PM

Germany: Interview with an Icon of Germanys fathers movement

Germany: Interview with an Icon of Germanys fathers movement

Similar Threads