LONDON 

Norway may have a reputation of a country that stands for human rights and fundamental freedoms, but its image has been tarnished in recent years as it continues to face allegations of unfairly taking away immigrant children, a move many have branded as “state kidnaping.”

The country stands accused of cultural insensitivity as an increasing number of children with immigrant backgrounds are taken away and handed over to Norwegian foster families by the powerful Child Welfare Services, locally known as the Barnevernet.

Immigrant children are more than three times likely to be removed from their families than native Norwegians, according to statistics cited in local media reports.

These reports say almost 3% of the entire population of children with immigrant backgrounds in Norway are believed to be in foster care.

Once in foster care, children are only allowed to see their parents for as little as few hours a year on supervised visits.

The Norwegian authorities claim that they are acting in the best interests of the children, denying that they are taken away from their families over cultural differences.

Marius Reikeras, a former lawyer and Norwegian activist, told Anadolu that the European Court of Human Rights has passed 24 judgements against the Nordic nation in child welfare cases since 2018, more than the rest of Europe combined.

According to Reikeras, thousands of families are made to suffer because of this “unjust system.”

“Norway is actually committing crimes against humanity towards these families,” and is “illegally” taking children away from families on false accusations, he added.

In 2018, the Council of Europe issued a resolution criticizing Norway for removing children from their parents, while the European Court of Human Rights stated that Norway violates fundamental rights that are given to protect families.

The Scandinavian country has also faced diplomatic disputes with India and some Eastern European countries over the issue.

In 2015, then-Czech President Milos Zeman likened the Barnevernet to the Lebensborn centers set up by the Nazis to boost up the Aryan race.

Mother battles nation

Sagarika Chakraborty, an Indian mother decided to take things in her own hands when she started a fight against the Norwegian state after her two children were taken away from her and her then-husband. ​​​​​​​

At the time, a diplomatic rift broke out between Norway and India after Barnevernet cited cultural practices, such as children eating with their hands or sleeping in bed with their parents, as the reason for taking the children away from the young couple, who were in the country on a work visa.

Chakraborty’s custody war for her two children made headlines in India and Norway in 2012, and in March this year, a movie called Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway, was based on her real-life story.

Barnevernet officers took away her children, a two-year-old boy and a four-month-old girl, with the intention to keep them in the foster care until they are 18.

Chakraborty was deemed by the welfare services as mentally unfit to look after her toddlers and the long custody battle began.

“They branded me unfit and took away my children purely because they don’t take into consideration cultural differences when it comes to raising kids,” she told Anadolu.

Chakraborty approached human rights groups in India, who eventually contacted the Indian government.

Due to the pressure from the Indian government and the diplomatic storm between the two countries, the Barnevernet eventually agreed to send the toddlers to India in April 2012.

However, for Chakraborty the fight was not over, as the children were given to their uncle instead.

She eventually got her children back through courts in India in 2013.

Chakraborty emphasized that her case was an exception as usually it is “impossible to get children back once they are placed in care.”

“Norway is illegally taking children away from their parents,” added Chakraborty, who has also authored a book, Journey of a Mother.

Parents escaping

A growing number of families are escaping Norway and seeking refuge in Poland and other Eastern European countries to save their children from the child protection services.

One such case was of a Palestinian mother featured in a BBC documentary.

Her daughter Leen was taken away by social services when she was 13 after another child in school made allegations about being physically abused by their parents, according to the BBC.

The 13-year-old was initially placed in a foster home, but she became depressed there and began self-harming.

She was taken to another care institution, put on anti-psychotic drugs which made her ill, and eventually ended up in hospital.

When she turned 14, the teenager met up with her mother and they both escaped to Poland, while her father, brother and sister stayed in Norway.

The family said that the authorities made false abuse allegations against them and acted swiftly against them only because they were immigrants, according to the BBC.

Child pornography scandal

In 2018, Jo Erik Broyn, a child psychiatrist and top child protection expert, was sentenced to nearly two years in prison under Norwegian child pornography laws.

Broyn, who became a single father to two Indian surrogate babies in 2010, was caught downloading child pornography.

He was found guilty of possessing and sharing more than 205,500 files showing sexual abuse of children, according to local media.

Norwegian authorities, however, did not undertake a general review of any of the cases that Broyn was involved in.

A commission, after looking into only a few of the cases, concluded there was no evidence that he was unfair in his judgments against parents.

In 2015, over 140 professionals including lawyers, psychologists and social workers wrote to the government warning that children “are exposed to serious failures of understanding and infringements of their rights.”

Suranya Aiyar, an Indian lawyer who was involved in the Chakraborty case, told Anadolu that typically most children taken from their parents are under the age of one.

“They can’t speak for themselves anyway. And even when older children are taken, they’re not allowed to come and give evidence in court to present their case. So, neither parents nor the child has a voice,” she said.

According to the lawyer, this leads to “incompetent, sometimes corrupt, unfair decisions.”