Santiago Mora sits in his black canvas fold-up chair outside the Fredericton Courthouse. It is the fourth day of the St. Thomas University professor’s hunger strike. On this early November day, the weather is near freezing, but sunny.

Mora says he wants to speak with someone from the court about the money he allegedly has been ordered to pay his ex-wife, Claudia Rocha.

 

Last June, he left for Colombia for a year-long sabbatical from teaching anthropology. He says he was working in the Amazon, and didn’t have access to the Internet. When he finally checked his e-mail, he says, he found three e-mails from his lawyer informing him what the court had ordered.

 

Rocha couldn’t be reached for comment. Her lawyer, Jennifer Donovan, didn’t return repeated calls. The secretary to Mora’s lawyer, J.E. Britt Dysart, said he is on vacation and unavailable for comment.

Legal experts say that judges sometimes order one spouse to pay the legal fees of the other if he or she is viewed to have delayed the case unnecessarily.

 

Last Friday, on the first night of his hunger strike, Mora tried to stay outside, but says the cold forced him indoors. He initially headed for a nearby church, but had to leave when it closed for the night. He finally went home.

His current plan is to sit in front of the courthouse daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the hours the court is open.

“I go home at night,” he said. “Otherwise the cold will be too much.”

 

Mora wears a black wool hat, black pants and a grey sweater underneath a black winter coat. His hands in his pockets hide frayed black gloves.

 

He and Rocha have three children, age 18, 24 and 27. He says they were married for 22 years, from 1986 to 2008.

In an earlier interview, Mora said he had not been in contact with his ex-wife for five years but did have her contact information. He also said he did not know the full name of his wife’s lawyer.

 

Today, however, he provided that lawyer’s complete name. He also said he heard from his ex-wife by email after The Beacon published a story about his hunger strike.

 

He declined to provide contact information for his ex-wife. Through friends, Rocha has said she does not want to be interviewed.

“This thing is not about her,” said Mora. “It’s not a fight between [sic] my ex-wife. It’s about covering my needs.”

Mora said he has received support from friends, including fellow faculty members at St. Thomas University. He has also received criticism.

“I think they are misunderstanding,” he said about the comments. “The problem is with the courts, not against females. From my point of view this is a problem of human rights.”

 

Mora declined to provide a single court document. At the courthouse, a clerk said that records relating to an alimony dispute are not available to the public.

 

Mora says he will continue to sit outside the court until an official speaks to him about his case. He says he drinks lots of water and the occasional coffee, but is becoming dizzy and weak. Sometimes he naps while he waits.

 

Edited by Tamara Gravelle