A Norwegian couple, Marius and Ruth Bodnariu, whose five children were seized by the country’s child welfare services (Barnevernet) last November, were reunited with their infant son Ezekiel in April.
The family has been fighting for the past five months for the return of the children and, in early April, a judge decided that baby Ezekiel should be with his parents. The judge also ruled that Marius and Ruth be allowed to see their two older sons twice a week for two hours at a time. There has been no news as to their daughters.
Without justification
Marius and Ruth Bodnariu will continue to seek the return of their four other children, as protests continue in various locations throughout the globe.
Norway is widely regarded as one of the world’s most progressive societies, yet it is at the centre of an international storm over its child protection policies, a BBC documentary on YouTube says.
Campaigners say social workers remove children from their parents without justification, permanently erasing family bonds. A number of them are from immigrant backgrounds.
