January 9, 2024
By Brandy Birmingham
What if your 19-month old son was taken away from you for being ½ a pound underweight (Hasan, 2019)? What if your 5-year old daughter was taken from you for telling her teacher about a dream she had about the Hulk (TRT World, 2018)? Sounds unbelievable right, but not if you live in Norway.
Barnevernet is completely ludicrous in how they handle the removal of children from their parents. Of 10.1 percent of children removed from their parents, 71 percent of those are removed without parental consent (Misic, 2023). In Norway, at least three to four children are removed from their parents per day (Delight In Truth, 2016). This is compared to 1.5 children being removed a month in the state of Washington, which is similar in size to Norway (Shapiro, 2021). According to an account, “one person shared that they were called into the kindergarten to discuss whether their child was being abused at home because he was too well behaved, seemingly more intelligent than his peers albeit reserved” (E, 2019). Evidently a child being well behaved and smart are grounds for having that child taken from you!
In 2016, Barnevernet removed two children from their mom. Their mom had limited visits, but at one of these visits her daughter proceeded to tell her she was being sexually assaulted while in the state’s custody. The mom told Barnevernet, but how they handled the situation was to fine the mom for $47,000 and sentence her to jail for 10 months(Misic, 2023). In another situation Barnevernet removed three children from their parents. Their parents only got to see them every six months. The oldest daughter was so traumatized by the experience that she committed suicide while in the state’s custody.
One of the more outrageous accounts is of a psychologist that worked for Barnevernet who was a convicted pedophile. He was involved in some of the bogus removals of children from their parents. He was found to have more that 12,000 videos, and 200,000 downloaded pictures of child exploitation and sexual abuse (Misic, 2023). Some of the videos included men raping infants, and 10 to 14 year old boys raping infants and performing oral sex on men and each other. He was only sentenced to two years in prison, and he was allowed to go home to his children after serving his sentence. Barnevernet should take his children from him, and it would have been completely justifiable. Instead, Barnevernet stated he was “an honored specialist” and an “outstanding scientist” (Sputnik, 2022).
These accounts can’t be real, you say, but they are. Share with your friends and families about these atrocities happening in Norway. Let it serve as a warning to pay attention and guard against this type of thing happening in our own communities. We can – and must- make a difference in our own little sphere of influence.
