It is absolutely shocking to know that two Indian kids have been snatched away from their parents by the Norwegian Child Protection Services or CPS. The reasons cited by CPS based at Stavanger in Norway, are that the parents were negligent in raising their kids due to which the kids had no emotional contact with their parents.
The elder son was 2 & ½ years old & the younger daughter barely 5 months when they were sent to different foster homes on 11th of May last year. It is further said that since the kids used to sleep with their parents & were fed without cutlery, they were not properly taken care of. CPS has decided to let the kids remain under Foster care till they are 18 years of age. Just how sensible these observations are?
The geoscientist father Anurup & the mother Sagarika are shattered by such high-handedness of CPS. They are living in Norway since 2007, & they argue that the Norwegian rules for child protection do not take into account the different religious & cultural roots of immigrants. There seems to be a deep cultural divide between the monstrous rules of CPS & the native culture of India where parents often feed their children through their hands & kids sleep with their parents. The inclusive nature of western democracies just falls awfully flat on the face.
This is not just a ham-handed approach of the CPS but also an inhuman way of Child protection. How can the child be protected if they are forcibly separated from their parents under flimsy grounds? CPS only emphasises on caregivers & not parents as if the family ties are not important. This is so unbecoming of a western democracy which is known for providing the best quality of life to its citizens. While Child protection services are meant to offer holistic & emotional support to the children when they are in need, this move by CPS has baffled & shocked many Indians. There is a huge public outcry in India to free the kids & send them to India from the evil clutches of CPS. Ministers & social activists have joined hands to rally support for the kids. The grandparents of the kids have been protesting in front of the Norway embassy in New Delhi since many weeks. TV & the print media in India have played a pivotal role in creating awareness about it. The Parents were recently interviewed by Times Now where they lamented at the fact that their younger daughter Aishwarya can’t recognise them & their son Abhigyaan has forgotten to speak in Bengali. CPS is responsible not just for creating a barrier in the family but also by imprinting a deep scar on the relationship between the husband & wife.
This is not just a one off case in Norway where the CPS has mercilessly destroyed a family by enforcing strict rules at the expense of support & empathy. Even the Russian Media has many a times highlighted the cause of many Russian women in Norway forced to leave their kids under CPS. CPS has denied this, saying it only steps in when the children's safety was at risk.
There is more to it, than meets the eye. A closer look at CPS’s finances reveals dark details. CPS is destroying families to support a child welfare Industry by feeding tens of thousands of Psychologists, Social Workers, Caregivers, Foster parents who do mostly unproductive work. Ironically, one such foster father was found guilty for child pornography and child sexual abuse in Stavanger. So the CPS has snatched away kids from their parents to hand it over to child abusers, just to support their tainted industry. CPS budgets have also correspondingly gone up. In 2010 it spent $1.37 billion, up from $166 million from the previous year. CPS lives by keeping children away from their parents.
In 2005, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child had expressed concern "at the number of children removed from families and put in foster homes in Norway."
It also said Norway must protect the natural family environment and send children to foster homes as a last resort in the best interests of the child. But going by the reports, it is hardly anything but a last resort mechanism by CPS.
Norway takes great pride in being a self-declared champion of reforming prisoners. A former prison governor, Oeyvind Alnaes, believes "The biggest mistake that our societies make is to believe that you must punish hard to change prisoners. Look at this classic hypocrisy. Norway does not believe in punishing the offenders in prison, but does believe in punishing the law abiding parents, by separating them from their kids, just to let an industry thrive. In the dictionary of CPS, words like family & parenting does not exist.
This attempt to peep into & interfere in the private lives of families has grave consequences in the future. CPS can’t expect Anurup & Sagarika to wait for 18 years to meet their children. It is not just inhuman, but illegal. Any sane democracy should vehemently oppose such draconian laws.
At the helm of these affairs is the Minister for Children, Equality and Social Inclusion Audun Lysbakken. Ironically again, the Control and Constitutional Committee of the Norwegian Parliament, or Stortinget, will discuss allegations of corruption in the Child Protection Services. Most newspapers have covered these allegations and readers' polls indicate that around 94 % of the respondents say they have no trust in Mr. Lysbakken and his political staff. So we have a child protection agency that has turned into a demon by being alleged to be engaged in unlawful & corrupt practices.
When the issue erupted beyond control in India, CPS agreed to handover the kids to their Uncle in India. But also said that the courts will have a final say. The visas of Anurup & Sagarika will expire soon & in the absence of any closure on this issue, it is hard to judge what will happen with the kids.
People who project India’s soft power at the drop of a hat have been advising to stress more on the number of impoverished children in India, rather than being excited. Statistics have been shared across the Internet from these custodians about India’s inability to provide quality healthcare, food & housing to millions of people & their children. It is an absurd theory that just because we are not able to help thousands of children with their basic needs; we need not speak against the atrocious CPS. Efficiency should never take precedence over principle.
Cooperation at a diplomatic level has started between the two countries to resolve the crisis. S M Krishna is personally handling the issue with his counterparts at the MEA. But the Indian govt woke up in January, 8 months after the disastrous event happened in Norway. The Indian Embassy in Norway did not do much initially to address the concerns of the Parents. This is however not an unusual behaviour as the govt itself is drowning in a sea of scams & to expect them to do a routine job would be asking for too much.
India has to act tough with Norway. It should be explained categorically lest there be any doubt, that snatching kids away from their parents is nothing short of a state sponsored kidnapping & is condemnable. Ample evidence exists in the public domain to state that Norway is supporting its tainted CPS for thousands of jobs at the cost of separating children from their parents who are mostly good. If Norway persists with its haughtiness, the UN should be brought into the picture. The Indian Ambassador to Norway should be recalled as a symbolic move & also due to his inefficiency.
Norway doesn't figure in India's top ten trading partners and it accounts for only 0.31% in India's total trade as per the data from 2010. India imports more from Norway so it will hamper them more than us . India had a trade deficit of 2860 Crore INR in Year 2010 with Norway. If Trade is discontinued, it will be Norway's loss as India imports more from them than we do. So, if push comes to shove, Trade with Norway should be abandoned immediately.
If that does not work either, I am all support for a covert operation to bring back our kids from the Scandinavian country. Our security forces can surely take a leaf out of Mossad’s capabilities. But that will be like dreaming in broad daylight.
The elder son was 2 & ½ years old & the younger daughter barely 5 months when they were sent to different foster homes on 11th of May last year. It is further said that since the kids used to sleep with their parents & were fed without cutlery, they were not properly taken care of. CPS has decided to let the kids remain under Foster care till they are 18 years of age. Just how sensible these observations are?
The geoscientist father Anurup & the mother Sagarika are shattered by such high-handedness of CPS. They are living in Norway since 2007, & they argue that the Norwegian rules for child protection do not take into account the different religious & cultural roots of immigrants. There seems to be a deep cultural divide between the monstrous rules of CPS & the native culture of India where parents often feed their children through their hands & kids sleep with their parents. The inclusive nature of western democracies just falls awfully flat on the face.
This is not just a ham-handed approach of the CPS but also an inhuman way of Child protection. How can the child be protected if they are forcibly separated from their parents under flimsy grounds? CPS only emphasises on caregivers & not parents as if the family ties are not important. This is so unbecoming of a western democracy which is known for providing the best quality of life to its citizens. While Child protection services are meant to offer holistic & emotional support to the children when they are in need, this move by CPS has baffled & shocked many Indians. There is a huge public outcry in India to free the kids & send them to India from the evil clutches of CPS. Ministers & social activists have joined hands to rally support for the kids. The grandparents of the kids have been protesting in front of the Norway embassy in New Delhi since many weeks. TV & the print media in India have played a pivotal role in creating awareness about it. The Parents were recently interviewed by Times Now where they lamented at the fact that their younger daughter Aishwarya can’t recognise them & their son Abhigyaan has forgotten to speak in Bengali. CPS is responsible not just for creating a barrier in the family but also by imprinting a deep scar on the relationship between the husband & wife.
This is not just a one off case in Norway where the CPS has mercilessly destroyed a family by enforcing strict rules at the expense of support & empathy. Even the Russian Media has many a times highlighted the cause of many Russian women in Norway forced to leave their kids under CPS. CPS has denied this, saying it only steps in when the children's safety was at risk.
There is more to it, than meets the eye. A closer look at CPS’s finances reveals dark details. CPS is destroying families to support a child welfare Industry by feeding tens of thousands of Psychologists, Social Workers, Caregivers, Foster parents who do mostly unproductive work. Ironically, one such foster father was found guilty for child pornography and child sexual abuse in Stavanger. So the CPS has snatched away kids from their parents to hand it over to child abusers, just to support their tainted industry. CPS budgets have also correspondingly gone up. In 2010 it spent $1.37 billion, up from $166 million from the previous year. CPS lives by keeping children away from their parents.
In 2005, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child had expressed concern "at the number of children removed from families and put in foster homes in Norway."
It also said Norway must protect the natural family environment and send children to foster homes as a last resort in the best interests of the child. But going by the reports, it is hardly anything but a last resort mechanism by CPS.
Norway takes great pride in being a self-declared champion of reforming prisoners. A former prison governor, Oeyvind Alnaes, believes "The biggest mistake that our societies make is to believe that you must punish hard to change prisoners. Look at this classic hypocrisy. Norway does not believe in punishing the offenders in prison, but does believe in punishing the law abiding parents, by separating them from their kids, just to let an industry thrive. In the dictionary of CPS, words like family & parenting does not exist.
This attempt to peep into & interfere in the private lives of families has grave consequences in the future. CPS can’t expect Anurup & Sagarika to wait for 18 years to meet their children. It is not just inhuman, but illegal. Any sane democracy should vehemently oppose such draconian laws.
At the helm of these affairs is the Minister for Children, Equality and Social Inclusion Audun Lysbakken. Ironically again, the Control and Constitutional Committee of the Norwegian Parliament, or Stortinget, will discuss allegations of corruption in the Child Protection Services. Most newspapers have covered these allegations and readers' polls indicate that around 94 % of the respondents say they have no trust in Mr. Lysbakken and his political staff. So we have a child protection agency that has turned into a demon by being alleged to be engaged in unlawful & corrupt practices.
When the issue erupted beyond control in India, CPS agreed to handover the kids to their Uncle in India. But also said that the courts will have a final say. The visas of Anurup & Sagarika will expire soon & in the absence of any closure on this issue, it is hard to judge what will happen with the kids.
People who project India’s soft power at the drop of a hat have been advising to stress more on the number of impoverished children in India, rather than being excited. Statistics have been shared across the Internet from these custodians about India’s inability to provide quality healthcare, food & housing to millions of people & their children. It is an absurd theory that just because we are not able to help thousands of children with their basic needs; we need not speak against the atrocious CPS. Efficiency should never take precedence over principle.
Cooperation at a diplomatic level has started between the two countries to resolve the crisis. S M Krishna is personally handling the issue with his counterparts at the MEA. But the Indian govt woke up in January, 8 months after the disastrous event happened in Norway. The Indian Embassy in Norway did not do much initially to address the concerns of the Parents. This is however not an unusual behaviour as the govt itself is drowning in a sea of scams & to expect them to do a routine job would be asking for too much.
India has to act tough with Norway. It should be explained categorically lest there be any doubt, that snatching kids away from their parents is nothing short of a state sponsored kidnapping & is condemnable. Ample evidence exists in the public domain to state that Norway is supporting its tainted CPS for thousands of jobs at the cost of separating children from their parents who are mostly good. If Norway persists with its haughtiness, the UN should be brought into the picture. The Indian Ambassador to Norway should be recalled as a symbolic move & also due to his inefficiency.
Norway doesn't figure in India's top ten trading partners and it accounts for only 0.31% in India's total trade as per the data from 2010. India imports more from Norway so it will hamper them more than us . India had a trade deficit of 2860 Crore INR in Year 2010 with Norway. If Trade is discontinued, it will be Norway's loss as India imports more from them than we do. So, if push comes to shove, Trade with Norway should be abandoned immediately.
If that does not work either, I am all support for a covert operation to bring back our kids from the Scandinavian country. Our security forces can surely take a leaf out of Mossad’s capabilities. But that will be like dreaming in broad daylight.
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