A Fair to Remember
Tue, 2007-10-30 17:20 - Kerry
The world’s first divorce fair takes place in Austria this weekend
Starting Your Life Over, a fair that helps the divorced and the separated untie the knot -- happily, begins this weekend in Vienna. (PhotoDisc)
It may not be the most upbeat event on your calendar, but Anton Barz, the organizer of the divorce fair Starting Your Life Over, believes his event helps couples make the best out of a bad situation by helping them untie the knot in the most painless way possible.
Starting Your Life Over, taking place in several cities throughout Austria, kicks off this weekend in Vienna. To avoid any awkward encounters between partners who wish to keep their attendance a secret, Saturday sessions are reserved for men and Sundays for women.
Austria's divorce rate has been growing, peaking at 50 percent in 2006 with the rate in Vienna alone rising to 66 percent.
"I have seen this every year -- the divorce rates get higher and higher," Barz told ABC News. "The fair helps people to find the right way and to start a new life"
Twenty exhibitors will attend, aiming to provide as much information on support networks for couples who are separating or divorced. These include lawyers, mediators, counselors, private investigator firms and companies offering DNA paternity testing.
Also on hand will be government organizations, whose goal is to give support to women in abusive relationships who are fleeing their homes. Services include providing housing and legal support to battered women.
Interestingly, there will also be representation from groups affiliated with the Catholic Church, such as the Austrian Single Parent Organization, whose aim is to highlight the plight of children during a divorce. While the church is strongly opposed to divorce, it recognizes that single-parent families are in need of a support network.
"The most important thing for us is to point out what kind of help or support those families can get," organization spokeswoman Christine Gurtner told ABC News. "Religion does not really matter. It's of utmost importance to let people know what we can do to help and support them when they find themselves in that kind of a situation."
Comments
A new life?
What does it mean to start over one's life? I've heard cat's have nine lifes, but always took that as a hyperbole regarding their ability to survive. I've made important changes in my life and one serious change was made for me, but none I consider to be the start of a new life.
Do Over
It's a clever ploy on paper-work, as far I can see it.
"If at first you don't sucess, try, try again."
Problem is, "first comes love, then comes marriage"... then comes the adoption papers and the bastard in a baby carriage.
Now Divorce Expos? How much buisness do lawyers really need these days?
Build them up, only to rip them apart? That seems far too destructive, especially when children's lives and people's hearts are involved!
When is enough Enough?
Is it any real wonder how or why we have grown to become such a detached society these days?