According to Wikipedia, “In the context of human society, a
family is a group if people related either by consanguinity (by recognized
birth), affinity (by marriage or other relationship), or co-residence (as
implied by the etymology of the English word "family") or some
combination of these”.Pascal Molliére
But what does ‘Family’ mean in real terms, and what happens
when family’s, children, mums and dads and brothers and sisters are separated.
In these more modern times, we are all pushed to extremes, with a capitalist
driven society that seems to see now end to infinite economic growth. Profit on
return, return on investment, rising house prices, hedge funds, business,
property, investments, GDP, wages ~ we all expect growth.Pascal Molliére
All of these so commonly and so accepted constructs of our
‘society’ expects and demands this growth, yet growth can be a hollow and
meaningless ideal, and growth as a concept in terms of money and finances
creates greed and growth is blind to its counterpart, loss.To understand how
the problem of growth, can be the major driving force that causes the breakup
of families and togetherness, and a fundamental element of humanity, then we
need to realise that humanity is the victim of this thing we call money.
You simply cannot continue to have infinate growth, with
finite resources, and you cannot continue to drive growth in any of the above
without damaging some of the core fundamental, ancient cultures of humanity ~
the most critical and most sacred, being the Family Unit. As we all take for
granted the endless pressure from tv
programs and magazine articles pulling our focus constantly towards
property, and the growth we can make on our ‘investments’ renovating,
decorating and reinvesting in property, houses apartments and grand designs,
fixing up homes, buying at auction, making profit and gain.
Building and creating and feeding the desire to want more
and more, to have better and better, and to compete almost with those who have
better.‘Very nice’, we all think - to have colour-changing LED’s built-in to
the plinths, or the welsh slate split tiles in the bathroom, and to have the
latest in surround-sound in the spare en-suite. Behind these programs, are
sponsors. Behind the sponsors are banks, and behind the banks are the people
who drive and contort the destiny of humanity.Such is the ‘programming’ and
intensity of focus centred on growth, we
tend to forget there is a more human side to the way our world operates, and
the changes which have come about by the push for growth have happened slowly,
over the last few generations.
Even children now speak of owning and running their own
company, or earning lots of money, and being wealthy. But what is the long-term
effect of less and less family time, or worse still, if that family unit
suffers or is under threat. The digital world is now evolving fast than we
could ever have imagined, and with so much growth, there is demand, and with so
much demand, there always seems to be less and less time for family. Nowadays,
whilst the cost of property pauses for breath, the next wave of ‘growth’ is not
too far away.
But can we really keep up? Not content with the traditional
‘nuclear’ family, where these so traditional ‘stereo-typical’ models of father
taking the train to work, while mum stays home to care for the children, we
find ourselves working overtime, taking part-time work, with both partners
having to work all-hours just to keep up with mortgage repayments. Intimate
growth? There are limits, and at the root of it all, is a planet and a
population mindset that is well and truly entrenched into the blind faith that
there will always be growth.
We cannot continue to have infinite growth on a planet with
finite resources, and the most precious resource of all, are people. Without
them, perhaps the natural world would be a better place, but for who left to
enjoy it? With such pressures on our modern-day ‘family unit’ it’s no wonder
then that some relationships feel the strain. Most relationships struggle with
pressures at some point. And all relationships where children are concerned
require sets of skills and management that many of us struggle to find, at
times when money is the primary focus. With both parents having to work all
hours just to pay the bank, it’s the children who suffer. Add into this, the
problems of trust, love, romance, closeness, comfort and space to enjoy what
the world has to offer, and invariably the family unit comes under threat.
The last thing this fragile and delicate unit needs, is more
fear, more doubt and the threat of break-up. What fragile trust there may have
been once, is trumped by fundamental rules of preservation when the threat of
fragile trust is tested. One of the primary functions of the family involves
providing a framework for the production and reproduction of persons
biologically and socially. Yet if the
basic family unit cannot overcome some of the fundamental basics of function,
through fear of not succeeding, or trying to navigate the infinite obstacles of
trust and love, then who are there to intervene?
The family courts.
It’s hard to imagine, that when two parents find things a
little difficult, and they need some help, that the only route available is
through a court system. We all know why
family courts are shielded from media or public scrutiny. But that lack of
transparency can often lead to abuse of power. Judges in family courts can withhold
information not just for the good of the individuals concerned, but also to
conceal their own verdict. As such, family courts can be sinister places where
cruel decisions are made. An obviously unfair decision will not necessarily
generate a public outcry, because often the public cannot know. Louise Tickle,
an experienced family court reporter, recently described how hard it can be to
write about what goes on at a hearing, even when it becomes clear that mistakes
have been made or the outcome is unjust.
If journalists are allowed in to regular court, the judge
can usually decide what they can or cannot report. ‘Because of reporting
restrictions on saying what really happens in family courts — pretty much the
only place where poor social work practice visibly plays out — it has been impossible
to explain the many failures in all their shocking detail,’ she said.
Social work in the family court is largely carried out by CAFCASS.
So called ‘trained’ officers, often with a back-ground in
social work, are deployed to gather information on behalf of the family court
judge, either during a trial or as part of an application made by one parent or
another. ‘Application’? Already this has a ring of utter madness about it, but
this is a word which is a fundamental part of the family courts. Making an
application to ask a judge to see your children.
For More Information:- Pascal Molliére
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