Toelsi walks the Dutch border for his daughter and sends a strong message

Toelsi is 44 years old, a Dutch citizen of Suriname descent. With a backpack on the back she decided to walk along her border for a single purpose: To be able to see his 10-year-old today but also to send a strong message that children should have both parents in their lives even if they are not together. He lives in the same city of Holland as his daughter, yet he has never seen her since the day he was born. “My goal is to walk the Dutch border to attract media attention on children’s rights and interests in divorce or divorce cases. My journey is about 2,000 kilometers and I estimate it to last almost 100 days.” Toelsi began his trip on February 22, 2024, on the day of his daughter’s birthday – symbolic for him day – and the journey will be completed around the end of May. I ask him about the difficulties of traveling and as the older one tells me, sleep is. Since March, however, things have been looking deeper for him since camping is open and his stay will become somewhat easier. Walking on the Dutch border seeks the boundaries between children’s rights and physical health, after fighting a rare muscle disease. At the same time he wants to be a good example for his daughter. “I want to show my daughter that no matter what others think of you or how they characterize you, I do not allow anyone to limit me and my potential. I get up and walk the whole world if I want to. But let’s start with the… Dutch border”. Toelsi sees this journey as a personal challenge. His companion in all this, even from a distance, is his girlfriend but also Amor’s cat, which gives him a lot of strength. His friends and family follow him on and on Instagram (barbapapa loopt) so he doesn’t feel so lonely in the fight he’s fighting. “During the trip you and a backpack. You have a chance to think and analyze: Did I do something wrong? What didn’t go well these ten years? What could I have done differently?”. I ask him, in an attempt not to pry, what went wrong with his child’s mother. He admits to raising his voice once and wanted to take some pictures of his newborn daughter. “From the first ultrasound mother didn’t want me involved. I was not allowed to buy clothes for the baby, to think of names or even recognize her as my child.” In the last 7 years Toelsi has been legally identified as her father. Every year he goes to court but unfortunately communication with his child has not been facilitated. She says his daughter has a negative image of him, of her father, who is not real. “Children need both parents’ attention and love, whether they are together or divorced. It is important for their later evolution.” What if something doesn’t come out of this? He answers me with disarming honesty: “What do I have to lose? It’s my personal bet to focus attention on my case and generally on the children of divorced parents. If this is happening to me, there’s definitely more out there in my place. Why not fight for our children? In my opinion the child, especially at such an early age, does not have the freedom to shape his own opinion.” Toelsi wants to have time with his daughter. He’s proud of her and happy to exist. Mr. Ioannis Krekis informs us that in the legislative system of Greece and the Netherlands, there is protection of the parent who does not live with the child. “Since the recognition of the child has been made by the father (either judicial or notary), because then only a parent of a child is considered, he has, of course, the right to communicate with his child,” says John Crekis in newsit.gr and continues: ‘If the right to communicate with the parent who does not reside with the child is hindered by the other parent, and the possibility of extrajudicial resolution of the dispute has been exhausted, the judicial path is one way. The parent facing the problem may apply for interim measures and action on request to regulate his communication with his child. Cases of interim measures shall be heard immediately.” ‘Regarding Article 1520(1) CC, which was recently amended by Law 4800/2021 (better known as the Consistency Act), under which a parent who does not reside with the child is entitled to a minimum of 1/3 of the total year of a year, which is a combative presumption (may be changed as appropriate)’. In Dutch law, things are similar, Mr. I. Crekiss explains: “In court disputes, a parent who does not live with the child usually has through live communication every other weekend (and a daily week as appropriate). It also has a living communication with the child half the holiday period (Christmas/new year, Easter, summer, as in Greece). Any breach of the agreement may lead to the side affected by injunctions and lawsuits. Similarly shares communication time in case of consensual divorces” concludes. The interview is closed with a message from Toelsi to his daughter. How could it be otherwise… “On February 24, 2014 I first held you in my arms. You were sleeping so quietly. Feeling the heartbeats and your breathing was something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I feel so complete, happy and blessed that you are part of my life. Every time you need me, my hug will always be open to you.”