Disappointed with the Social Service Authority on Åland

A never ending struggle to gain smooth access to my biracial son

When ever I listen to the Kenyan-Swedish rapper Ken Ring’s popular song bryter tystnaden, it reminds me of my struggle to gain access to my son, who was born in the city of Mariehamn on the 25th January 2009.
Her mum is seemingly bent on alienating him from his father. The most annoying part of my struggle is the lack of sufficient commitment from the island’s social service authority in finding an end to all these crises.
When my son was born and her mum decided to keep me out of it, I contacted the social service authority and to my utmost surprise they declined to intervene. According to the United Nations Convention on the Right’s of the Child, which came into effect in Finland in 1991, the interest of the child should always be taken into consideration and prioritized in all official decisions with bearing on children either as individuals or collectively.
The social workers should be very much aware that when a mother tries to prevent an innocent child from not seeing his or her father, that mother is committing a crime of the highest order. In an article I read, when a child is separated from one of his or her parents that child is also unknowingly being separated from the children’s world. This child will have to face massive emotional problems! Children need both parents without which they cannot grow up as normal human beings with their own individuality.
What have I done or what have my child done for us to be separated? I am not a criminal, I am not mentally retarded and I am not a reckless father. I don’t drink alcohol, smoke or take drugs. Since I started seeing my son, I have never failed in my duties as a father. I have provided him with some of his basic needs and have never failed to pay for his maintenance.
Like I told the social workers, my son is very lucky that he has a father who wants to be part of his life. There are thousands of biracial children in Europe (some of them living on the island) who have no clue about their black parents. As a journalist I have met some of them and I know how bitter they are about it and how it continues to affect their personality.
My son is now 7 months old and interestingly the social service authority cannot still come up with a concrete plan to ensure that I have a smooth access to him.
My son, like every other child, as enshrined in all child rights conventions has the right for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality. It’s very important for him to grow up in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding. My previous problems with the mum, is no reason for him to be alienated from me.
I have made it very clear to the social workers that I will never give up in my struggle to be part of my son’s life. I am giving them few more chances to mediate and if nothing good comes out of it, then I have no option than taking the matter to the district court. I am sure with no doubt that the law will not be blind to the rights that every child and parent enjoys as written in the Finnish National Constitution.
I want to use my struggle to inspire immigrants all over the world, to value the importance of being part of their biracial children’s life. My story, to gain access to my son, in an island where not many black people live, would be told!