by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Andy Srougi

Age: 40

Occupation: Fathers4Justice organizer

Bio: This motivated Kirkland stud had been running a large, successful business before an ugly divorce from his wife turned his world to shit. After a profoundly negative experience at the hands of the Quebec family court system, which he argues is corrupt to the core, Andy dropped everything to pursue custody of his two children, eventually hooking up with Fathers4Justice, an arguably “radical” organization devoted to fighting the institutionalized discrimination men face in custody battles. Currently collecting welfare and living in his parents’ basement, Andy, who is confident he will finally win custody of his children later this fall, is in the process of starting up another business. He drives a 2004 Kia Rio. Prior to his nasty divorce and an even nastier $50K legal bill, he drove a ’96 Range Rover.

The approximate number of custody cases settled amicably in Quebec: Eighty per cent. “But what you have to understand about that 80 per cent figure is, sure, there are plenty of women who settle reasonably and work things out, but then there are the cases where the men know that with the system the way it is, they already have a gun to their head—if they go to court they’re going to lose everything anyway—so they decide, ‘What’s the point of fighting?’ and just accept whatever they can get without a struggle.”

What he feels he got for his $50K legal bill. Zero. “Look, it’s obvious, the longer your lawyer drags your case out, the more they make money. Lawyers know how to work together to make money for themselves.” Andy now represents himself.

One unique legal maneuver he’s employed in court: “I’ve jumped up on the table and told these scumbucket judges to fuck themselves. No judge wants me in their courtroom now. And when they threaten me with jail, and they all threaten me with jail, I just tell them, ‘No problem, send me to Bordeaux again, I’ll just visit with all your friends, the Hells Angels, the people who actually control the system.’ And what do you think the Hells do when fathers like me are put in jail? That’s right, they want to make deals with us. And, like, what do you think the Hells want to do with these judges?”

One protest/publicity stunt he pulled on Sept. 19, 2005: Scaling the Jacques Cartier bridge and staying up there for 13 hours to help bring attention to his cause. He’s still facing criminal charges and will be meeting the press next Tuesday, Sept. 19, to talk about it.

What he feels should be done to create a more equitable system: “Divorce must be decriminalized—it has no business being in the courts. It only exists for money. In most cases, joint custody should be automatic.”

Andy’s advice to fathers in similar situations: “Call our help line at 877-F4J-PAPA or go to fathers-4-justice.ca.”

Last book read: The Life of Mahatma Gandhi, by Louis Fischer.

Musical preferences: April Wine, Rush, Enya.

Words of warning: “It’s only a matter of time before a judge gets killed. And I can tell you this is the truth because I went down that path, I considered it myself.”

Comments? dimwit@hdot.net