A cab driver from New Jersey has finally been reunited with his son. After eight long years, the child custody battle for the 46-year-old man who lives in East Orange, New Jersey is over.

The 10-year-old boy arrived at an airport where his father was waiting for him. He had been in the Ivory Coast where his mother had sent him to live with her family in 2003. According to her, the boy’s father knew what was going on at the time. However, he says that he only expected the boy’s absence to last for six months, but the boy’s mother had apparently asked her sister to raise the child.

Since his departure, the 46-year-old has been fighting for his return. He had spent many years trying to convince the boy’s mother and her family to return the child, but had not managed to gain any ground. Then, last spring, he went to the State Department.

There, a case was opened, but since the Ivory Coast is not part of The Hague Convention on International Parental Child Abduction, there wasn’t much that the government could do. This happens all too often in international custody cases. Due to this, it can be exceptionally hard for a parent to have their child returned to them.

The State Department warned the man about going there with an American custody order. The agency said that most foreign courts do not recognize these. In some cases, this has worked against parents trying to have their child returned.

Before a New Jersey Supreme Court hearing on the case in December, the 46-year-old met an activist working against this sort of abduction. This activist managed to create an agreement that saw to the child’s return.

The 46-year-old father is happy his son is finally home again. The 10-year-old will be living with his father and his 6-year-old sister, but his mother will have joint custody.

Source: New York Daily News, “Cabbie Eugene Pothy reunited with son stuck in international custody fight,” Erica Pearson, Jan. 17, 2012