Campaign to return Emily Machado back home

My name is Michael and this is my story of how I met Nigia (Emily's mother), how the abduction occurred, and my efforts to get Emily back. Nigia and I met in English class in high school in 2002, in Berwyn, IL, about the same time that my mom died. By then, my dad had already abandoned me. Although we didn't speak much to each other when I first met her, I saw something special in her. I didn't know what it was at first, but as the weeks went on, we started talking more and finally exchanged phone numbers. The months went on and we started dating all though high school until we graduated in 2004. While in high school, I always felt the desire to do special things for Nigia - especially for her birthday and Valentine's day. My favorite gifts to her were a dozen red roses, a teddy bear and chocolate with a note saying, "I love you". In our senior year, I moved in with Nigia and her family. Things were going great.
 
We always got along and loved being together with each other no matter what time it was. A few months later, Nigia became pregnant. Her parents were extremely upset about the pregnancy and things started to go downhill. About a month before Emily was born, I moved in with my cousin. When Emily was born, Nigia didn't even tell me that she was going to the hospital. She only called me an hour after she had Emily. I immediately went to the hospital with my two sisters. When I arrived at the hospital in Berwyn, I had mixed emotions. At the same time that I was heartbroken that Nigia hadn't called me to see Emily come into the world, I was overjoyed to hold Emily and know she was now a part of my life.
 
I was especially happy when I found out that it was a girl. I have always wanted a daughter and felt like Nigia had given me the greatest gift of all. After holding Emily for about 30 minutes with her hands wrapped around my finger, I left the hospital. The next day, Emily and Nigia went home. When I went to see Emily, I was a little uncomfortable and still upset about what Nigia did (something I will never forget). When I went there, Emily was sleeping. I picked her up and just held her until she woke up. When Emily woke up, she blinked, yawned and smiled at me, then went back to sleep. I wanted to see Emily everyday and be an active father, but Nigia and her parents refused to let me see her as much as I wanted to. A few months passed and I decided that I needed to hire a lawyer to assure my rights as a father. In December, 2005, I hired a lawyer. Not only had Nigia not listed me as Emily's father on her birth certificate, but she refused to allow Emily to participate in a paternity test.

In court, the judge ordered a DNA paternity test. Based on the results of the DNA test, the judge ordered her to put my name on Emily's birth certificate. On January 4, 2007, after nearly 2 frustrating years of negotiations, we were finally able to agree on terms for a parenting agreement. One year after the parenting agreement, everything seemed to be going well. On March 27, 2008, however, Nigia wrote a letter to me explaining her frustration with the courts and decided to leave, apparently never to come back. The letter explained how she felt threatened by the courts, and that she was afraid she was going to lose custody of Emily sooner rather then later. She was also angry that I knew she was not a legal U.S. citizen and scared that she was going to be deported. Nigia was upset that I alway took everything to court, but I didn't know what else I can do. 

As soon as I finished reading the letter, I went to the Berwyn Police Department to explain what had just possibly happened. I asked to file a missing person report. For the next six months, I hit nothing but bumps, calling everyone from the Illinois State Police to the F.B.I. On September 25th, 2008, Emily was listed with NCMEC. Shortly afterwards, the police removed her listing without notice or explanation to me. On February 16, 2009, Emily was to be in Brazil but her exact location is still unknown. My frustrations vary from day to day. I often get upset when someone promises me something about the case and doesn't do it. Often, when I see a picture of Emily, I want to cry. I think of how long it has been since she was abducted and how little has been accomplished in my efforts to bring her back

I feel that this is just going to get harder and the worst is yet to happen to me. Already, I have accumulated $14,000 in legal fees and have very little money to continue my fight. I have done everything I can think of to tell people about Emily's abduction. I even created a website and YouTube tribute videos for Emily and have dedicated my MySpace page to her. On March 20, 2009, I submitted my petition for Emily's return under the Hague Convention. Despite all of the difficulties that I may still face, I will continue to fight for Emilyuntil she is back home.

As of January 10, 2010 Emily's location in Brazil is still unknown. Emily's father has applied for the return of the child under the (Hague Convention on the civil aspects of International parental abduction) Emily's father has come a long way since the first day of the abdcution on March 27, 2008. We shall and continue to fight for Michael and his daughter Intel both are reunited once again.