Fernando has left the building

Today Fernando was taken to court and I was not told despite being at La Policia when they took him away.

This week I eventually got a psychologist to see him. She is a friend of my Spanish teacher, highly qualified and experienced in working with street children. She came to meet Fernando for the first time on Monday at La Policia de la Familia. We decided to take him away from the PF and took him to a park so that she could get to know him and make initial observations. The main session was set for Tuesday at her house.

Everything went well and he got on famously with Wilma. He played with some dolls which were for use the next day at the full session. Heidi and I left Wilma at her house and got a taxi back to the PF. I suggested we take him to a cafe for an ice cream as he'd been so good, which he often is. This was a mistake. We asked him not to take the dolls back to the PF as they would get lost or broken. He refused and when we insisted he made a dive for the door to escape. Fortunately he was wearing a big jacket which I was able to grap as I jumped after him. After this everything went down hill rapidly. He basically lost the plot and would not or could not calm down and kept trying to escape. He kicked a table and a couple of chairs over and eventually I had no choice but to hold him on the floor till help arrived. Heidi called the police and one of them came and we took him back to the PF in a taxi, still struggling wildly.

The end result of all this was that the police refused to let him out with me anymore and would not themselves take him to the psychologist. So the meeting on Tuesday with Wilma had to be cancelled. It was a huge disappointment to me and everyone else who has tried to help over past few weeks.

Since then he has calmed down and been a good boy. He apologised to me the next day, so at least he understands that he was out of order. But at the same time I don't think he can help it as he seems to have no control over his behaviour or any idea about the harm he is doing to himself. He definitely has some kind of mental health problem and from her initial observations this is what the psychologist thinks too.

Today I was at the PF in the morning as usual. The police came for him and took him away. We eventually discovered that he had been taken to for a court appearance but the police didn't ask me to go this time. To cut a long story short the court today decided to send him back to Calca to live with his grandparents. When I got back to Maximo Nivel at one o'clock Heidi was looking for me to tell me all about this and also that the guy at the court whom I'd met previously had been trying to get hold of me to accompany Fernando back to Calca, which is about an hour and a bit away. Fernando, had understandably kicked up a fuss about their plans and made sure they knew he was not willing or wanting to go there. They thought that I might help him adjust to the idea of going back. Even though I was not in agreement with their plans I would have gone with him so that he would at least have someone he knew and trusted. But I suspect he would not have had time for me either. Fernando in a fury is no easy matter and like someone once said "is not for turning" until he is ready.

We phoned the court but by then they had taken Fernando away to Calca so I was unable to accompany him anyway. I'm sure the police must have known my whereabouts and could have told the court.

I'm very upset about all this, if only because I was not able to say goodbye to him. I recall same thing happening last time. But not only that he has some serious unresolved health problems. His scabies is the least of them. Heidi from Maximo Nivel, and I took him for further blood tests last week and we are still waiting for the results to come back from Lima.

I'm sure that Fernando will not stay with his grandparents and will escape at the earliest opportunity. He may even have done so as I speak. If so with any luck he will make his way back to Cusco and I will see him again before I leave next week. Lets hope so. Life for him on the streets will be hard. I just hopè he comes to no harm.