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" The Czech Republic is not a particularly friendly place to live if you want to see your kids after splitting with their mother. On paper everything looks almost perfect \u2014 your kid is entitled to spend time with both parents \u2014 but in a staggering 90 percent of cases, mothers get sole custody of their children. Five percent of the time, sole custody is awarded to the father (which, frankly, really happens only if the mother involved is a junkie, a prostitute, or dead), and the remaining 5 percent is joint custody. So when my wife left me and took our daughter with her, I chose to fight for joint custody, even though I knew that suckers in casinos have better odds than me. Lower court, first trial: The judge sits opposite me. Her face is still and her hair looks like a gray helmet. She wants me to describe the meals that I would cook for my daughter if she were to live alone with me \u2014 breakfast, lunch, and dinner \u2014 for three days. My ex-wife jumps up and runs from her chair to the window, pretending to throw up. Her lawyer is staring at me, moving her lips slowly so I can easily read the word asshole. The judge announces the verdict: &amp;quot;The child is confided to the custody of her mother. Her father is permitted to see her every second weekend and every second Wednesday for a period of three hours.&amp;quot; Then she sets the alimony so that it accounts for half of my salary. I am broke and I&amp;#039;ve lost my child, and when I decide to appeal the verdict, I know that my only chance to get joint custody is a miracle. My ex-wife does not attend the appeal hearing. It is only me, my lawyer, and hers. The presiding judge delivers a shocking and unusual verdict: Anna is entitled to spend time with both parents. Shared custody. My miracle has arrived. But the ink on that verdict hasn&amp;#039;t dried before I receive a letter in my mailbox: &amp;quot;Anna suffers from a rash of psychosomatic origin due to shared custody. We request a retrial.&amp;quot; I raise objections, stating that my daughter does not have a rash and that shared custody has not even begun. But the case goes back to trial, and the court reverses the decision. Now, five years later, I see my daughter only when my ex-wife permits me to. Today, I have a child with my new wife, and when she speaks about our son, she speaks in the plural &amp;quot;we.&amp;quot; She knows very well what a strong weapon a child can be in Czech marriages (and divorces), and I live my life knowing how easily everything can be taken away. \u2014Anonymous contributor to Esquire Czech Republic "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a13129/divorce-rates-in-czech-republic-0412/>