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3 December 2012
Marianne Haslev Skånland:
New developments in Norway, and the beginning of actions by other countries against Western child protection
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A Norwegian edition of this article was published on 30 November 2012.
In this English version, I have added or substituted some references to articles in English when I found suitable ones reasonably quickly. I have nevertheless kept in some of the links to articles in Norwegian as well. Many of them actually contain further references (links) to articles in English.
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There have been a number of new developments over the last year and recently, of which some are quite interesting.
Negative:
On the home front, child protection services (CPS) and other authorities spend enormous sums on advertising, on invitations to partake of refreshments and 'information' at hotels etc, in order to recruit more foster 'parents'. This activity is probably caused by two factors.
One is that fosterers get tired of the foster children and foster relationships monotonously go down the drain, rather more quickly than CPS fantasies allege. "Attachment" is shaky between foster persons and children placed with them by force, conflicts and unhappiness are frequent – reality is on the whole far from the presented ideal. Money from the state and municipalities for this kind of constructed 'families' is still abundant, though.
The second factor is very likely that our authorities are preparing for the changes in legislation and practice they have planned to be passed and implemented next year. As we know, children and parents are going to be separated even more rigidly at a very early stage. The long and short of it is: there are going to be even far more mandatory child removals and family destructions.
Certainly these trends are extremely negative. But we have known (or ought to have known) for a long time that this is coming, and indeed the child confiscations have already started increasing rather sharply. At the same time, the CPS is, just like before, quite unable to assess children, parents, foster persons and expected developments realistically, and children in real need of help are therefore still given stones for bread by the CPS, who show interest only if they can attack parents.
Positive:
Internationally, several countries have started to take some action.
Some older and newer cases are described here:
Internasjonale konflikter og skade på Norges renommé
(International conflicts and damage to Norway's reputation)
Forum Redd Våre Barn
Section for English speakers
Forum Redd Våre Barn
Currently important are:
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Russia goes against Finnish CPS confiscations of children of Russians living in Finland:
Russia protests against child protection in Finland
And Russians demonstrate against Norway:
Russians too protest Norway’s childcare
OneIndia News, 22 March 2012
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Slovakia protests Britain's actions against Slovak families living in Britain, and apparently Slovakia has already succeeded in getting 5 children back to Slovak territory:
Protests in Britain against the social "services" and the family courts
6 October 2012
Protester i Storbritannia, og Slovakia har suksess
Christopher Booker:
Foreign government may take UK to Europen court over its 'illegal' child-snatching
The Telegraph, 15 September 2012
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People in Sri Lanka have demonstrated against Norwegian CPS outside the Norwegian embassy there:
– Demonstrasjon utenfor den norske ambassaden på Sri Lanka
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In India, a group of citizens, many of them active in women's groups and child rights organisations, some parliamentary members, judges and other jurists, presented a petition to the Indian National Human Rights Commission describing the inappropriate activities of Western CPS, giving as examples details of how two Indian families, the Bhattacharya family in Stavanger, Norway, and the Saha family in New Jersey, USA, have been stricken by CPS actions. The petition asks that the Indian state should place, at all Indian embassies, consulates and other agencies abroad a person who is completely informed about the way Western CPS acts and who actively assists Indians whose children are threatened by child protection agencies. They also want the authorities to issue a travel advisory, information material of the dangers posed by Western CPS, to all Indians who plan to live in or visit Western countries.
There was a press conference at the launch of the petition, at which official representatives of several other countries were present: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bhutan and Russia. Press coverage of the petition has been quite good in India and other countries as well, including in The Telegraph in England, where a senior journalist and a member of parliament are active in bringing out strong criticism of the British CPS.
Petition to the Indian National Human Rights Commission: Indians want their government to guard against western CPS
16 October 2012
Christopher Booker:
Indians join Slovaks in protesting against UK child snatchers
The Telegraph, 27 October 2012
Indian Activists Mobilize against Norwegian Barnevern
The Nordic Page (TNP), 15 October 2012
An earlier article in The Nordic Page comments both on Indian and on Russian concern:
An Unfinished Debate on Barnevernet
The Nordic Page (TNP), 19 February, 2012
A very important development in the Bhattacharya case is the decision of the Child Welfare Committee in Burdwan, the district where the children's mother Sagarika now lives: The children are to be returned to their mother.
Child Welfare Committee's press release on its order
NDTV 8 November 2012
Mor vinner i India
Flere presseoppslag
(More press coverage)
Very wisely, Sagarika refused, when she was in Norway, to let psychologists of the Norwegian CPS harass her with "investigations" of her. Back in India, she has been properly assessed by psychologists and psychiatrists, and apparently Indian psycho-professionals and Indian CPS are still in possession of sense and have their feet planted in reality. They state that she is completely normal and fully capable of taking care of her children. The Burdwan committee also state that the present foster "father" – the brother of the children's father, whom Stavanger CPS instructed for a couple of months and then awarded custody to – has failed in his duties to the children; he probably does not have very much to do with the children and they seem to have been placed with his parents and not with him. The Bhattacharya family behave very antagonistically towards Sagarika. No clear information seems to have been published about why the children's uncle and his family tooth and nail resist releasing the children so that they can come to their mother, or why the children's father is still living in Norway, but it may perhaps be that they have entered into some kind of agreement with Stavanger CPS about keeping the mother away from the children, in the wake of the father's turnabout last spring, when he actually allied himself with Stavanger CPS against his wife? Now, however, Indian child protection authorities have cut through the mess and said clearly what is real and in the children's best interest.
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We should not, of course, over-estimate the importance of this awakening in several countries. They will have to maintain strong pressure, and they will have to cut through all the misleading and incorrect CPS propaganda dished out by Norway and other Western countries, propaganda aimed at derailing criticism and humane action.
Still, the signal from the protesting countries is very good news, especially in that they are several countries and they are beginning to be aware of each other. Poland has expressed upset earlier:
Norwegian CPS attacks an Indian family. The Bhattacharya case in Stavanger
27 January - 1 February 2012
Polish 'Rambo' rescues kid from foster care
The Local 9 November 2011
Norway's child protection services do whatever they want to helpless children
English Pravda 7 July 2011
and must certainly know what happens in Russia and Slovakia. If there could also be communication with Turkey, it would seem a very good thing. The illegal actions of Norway in the face of a Turkish court in the Manavgat case were almost incredible. And centrally placed in these illegalities were Stavanger and its CPS chief Gunnar Toresen, the one who was also in charge of the case against the Indian Bhattacharya family.
The Manavgat "child custody" case in Turkey – Norway is the kidnapper
24 June - 12 July 2006
Stavanger/Tyrkia-saken
27 April 2011 - 20 April 2012
Tyrkia-saken
15 January 2012
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For several years I have been thinking that if anything at all could stop the catastrophe of Norwegian child protection, which is charging ahead like a tsunami, it would have to be if we could get help in the form of publicity abroad and reactions there. Mind you, I do not think there is any hope for the Norwegian population for several decades. CPS propaganda, and the indifferent arrogance to the destiny of CPS victims, are so deeply entrenched in so large sections of the population that it will probably take even more tragedies, for many more families, before it becomes visible to all and the horrors of it understood by a couple of new generations who will then grow up without being hoodwinked. Only then may we hope for clear eyes, an airing out in people's minds, and an honourable reaction which puts a stop to continued child "protection" madness.
But to other nationals in Norway, who are actually hit even more than ethnic Norwegians by the CPS in our country,
Åge Simonsen:
Norwegian child protection hits immigrants hard
Pravasi Today 4 July 2012
the indignation of their homelands brings a hope. If they were to get help from home, it could save many families, make it possible for their families to continue being together, save their peace of mind and health. – If so, maybe they and their countries might even wake a few in the West to face the shame of what we are doing here.
Perhaps we should spend considerably more time trying to communicate all we know about Norwegian, and other Western, child protection to other countries?
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