One week ago, a 12 year old Canadian-born boy was chased down and kidnapped in broad daylight by the infamous Barnevernet, the Norwegian Child Protective Services, the sole reason for this brutal intervention being that the child is homeschooled.
Leif and Terese Kristiansen, together with their son, Kai, had been living in Canada until recently, when they decided to return to Norway, the father's country of origin. Their son was bullied at the public school he attended and seeing that nothing was being done by school officials, the family decided to homeschool the boy. Although homeschooling is explicitly permitted under Norwegian law, the local Child Protective Services, Barnevernet, intervened and obtained a court order turning the boy into state custody.
What happened next is just unbelievable. The boy was hunted down by police and Barnevernet workers, chased down the snowy streets, tackled like a common criminal and abducted.
The video provided by the Kristiansens speaks for itself. Kai can be heard shouting “No!”, while the mother is screaming for help. Probably Norwegian citizens know better than to intervene when they see the police and Barnevernet in action so nobody helped the boy. The protesting father was told to shut up or face a fine. Kai was taken to a secret location and the parents were allowed a two-hours supervised visit per week.
In less than a week, the Kristiansens have been able to mount an impressive support network. The US-based Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) launched a petition addressed to the Norwegian Embassy in the United States, which has already gathered over 6000 signatures.
Homeschoolers around the world can sign the petition here.
Kai's kidnap is a “brutal invasion of the family without sufficient justification”, according to Ray Skorstad, founder of Barnets Beste, an organization working parents whose kids have been legally kidnapped by Barnevernet.
The Kristiansens were to attend a hearing today in Oslo, but according to the HSLDA it would be a miracle if their child would be returned to his family so soon. The HSLDA pointed out to the precedent established by the Bodnariu case, a Romanian family whose children were taken by Barnevernet, who did not approve of the family's Christian values. It took the Romanian family over a year to get their children back, and, as a I wrote some time ago in this post, Barnevernet was not swayed by diplomatic actions, nor by public protests across Europe. The so-called European Court of Human Rights has heard several cases involving Barnevernet and, although there were clear findings indicating abuse, the ECHR sided with Norwegian authorities. A warning issued one year ago by the ECHR amounts to nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
While Kai's fate is being decided, several public figures in Norway used the opportunity to raise awareness to the abuse perpetrated by Barnevernet over the years. And, just as most of us writing under the #familyprotection tag, urge the people NOT to go ask for help to the child welfare services. Ever.
I will update this post if there is any news regarding the hearing today.
