Tiger80 Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 New Delhi: Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya - an Indian couple from Kolkata are living a nightmare in Norway. Their children - a three-year-old son and one-year-old daughter - were taken away from them by Norway's child protective services and placed in foster care eight months ago. The drastic measure was taken because, according to the child protective services, the couple were not bringing the children up properly. What did they do wrong? They fed the children with their hands and the infants slept in the same bed as the parents. "My son was sleeping with my husband. They said he should sleep separately from your son," said Mrs Bhattacharya. "Feeding a child with the hand is normal in Indian tradition and when the mother is feeding with a spoon there could be phases when she was overfeeding the child. They said it was force feeding. These are basically cultural differences," said Mr Bhattacharya. Recently, the Indian Embassy in Oslo stepped in and an officer even met the children, though the parents were not allowed to. Norway's Child Protective Service is a powerful body charged with protecting the rights of children living in difficult family situations. But there are many reports of excesses. "There has been a report in UN in 2005 which criticized Norway for taking too many children in public care. The amount was 12,500 children and Norway is a small country," said Svein Kjetil Lode Svendsen, lawyer. The Bhattacharyas' visas expire in March. If they don't get their children by then, the couple will be forced to stay on. "What we have thought is we are not going to apply for visa for my children. But if the case doesn't get sorted we have to apply because we cannot come back to India without our children," said Mr Bhattacharya. It's a nightmare that, at this moment, seems without end. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/norway-authorities-take-away-indian-couple-s-kids-say-feeding-with-hands-wrong-167660
Nova Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 :facepalm: Is there more to the story coz this is just stupid.
nikred Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 This should be in the WTF news thread. :blink:
yoda Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 The west is notorious for taking kids away from parents. They think every child who sleeps in the same bed as their parent is being sexually molested by them. Retarded for sure. Hope the couple and their kids get their life back together.
DomainK Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 Paranoia is a serious issue in the west. They are overdoing the child protection thing. Taking a child away from parents is far more traumatic for the child than feeding with hands in unhygienic. It's an extreme stem that should be taken in extreme cases. This is getting ridiculous.
Brainfade Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 Welcome to the nanny state. It's a package deal, guys. You want more gov't involvement in your lives, it is only a matter of time before it starts to turn into gov't intrusion into your lives.
Raghav_12 Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 This has been in news for quite some time now. Seriously retarded people. Paranoia of western world regarding child abuse and related things result in such bizzare incidents.
Ram Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 You guys call it over-reaction, I would like to call it a unfortunate exception of a system that is in place to ensure fair and humane treatment of all. Everyone's talking about this one incident where the child may have been taken away under frivilous circumstances. How about the numerous other incidents where the Norwegian child protective service has rescued children who were subjected to actual abuse and ill-treatment? It is impossible to have a system that is flawless. Many innocents get convicted of crimes that they never committed, so what, we just completely abandon the criminal justice system? And us being Indians, I was under the impression that we should especially be sensitive to this issue, given the large-scale institutionalized ill-treatment of children in our society. How much I wish we a organization similar to the one in Norway!
Brainfade Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 You guys call it over-reaction, I would like to call it a unfortunate exception of a system that is in place to ensure fair and humane treatment of all. Everyone's talking about this one incident where the child may have been taken away under frivilous circumstances. How about the numerous other incidents where the Norwegian child protective service has rescued children who were subjected to actual abuse and ill-treatment? It is impossible to have a system that is flawless. Many innocents get convicted of crimes that they never committed, so what, we just completely abandon the criminal justice system? And us being Indians, I was under the impression that we should especially be sensitive to this issue, given the large-scale institutionalized ill-treatment of children in our society. How much I wish we a organization similar to the one in Norway! You're right that we need to strike the right balance. Unfortunately, the pendulum has clearly swung the other way even in the US - be it with the EPA or Social Services or the school systems. Agencies with power keep broadening the definition of what constitutes environmental or social abuse, often in their zeal to justify their own existence or be politically correct. Yesterday, a public school student who wrote an essay about why gay parents should not be allowed to adopt was found guilty of bullying! Why? To appease the gay population who somehow felt victimized by an essay, for crying out loud. When govt agencies bend over backwards, become overzealous, and throw common sense out the window, it's time to step back and rein them in a bit.
Ram Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 You're right that we need to strike the right balance. Unfortunately' date=' the pendulum has clearly swung the other way even in the US - be it with the EPA or Social Services or the school systems. Agencies with power keep broadening the definition of what constitutes environmental or social abuse, often in their zeal to justify their own existence or be politically correct. [b'] Yesterday, a public school student who wrote an essay about why gay parents should not be allowed to adopt was found guilty of bullying! Why? To appease the gay population who somehow felt victimized by an essay, for crying out loud. When govt agencies bend over backwards, become overzealous, and throw common sense out the window, it's time to step back and rein them in a bit. And i am saying that such instances are inevitable. That does not mean it completely de-justifies the presence of such systems and institutions. And I would like to point out that the alternative - having no or toothless institutionalized intevention - will lead to even more disastrous consequences. Case in point - how many child abuse cases are reported in Norway each year? 100? 200? 500? How many child abuse cases go unreported in India? I am guessing in the 10s of 1000s. I am ok with the odd case of over-reaching by agencies of power, as long as it ensures the collective welfare of the citizens. It is IMPOSSIBLE to have a system that is effective and not have it over-reach occasionally. That is just an unfortunate reality of how things work.
Brainfade Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 And i am saying that such instances are inevitable. That does not mean it completely de-justifies the presence of such systems and institutions. And I would like to point out that the alternative - having no or toothless institutionalized intevention - will lead to even more disastrous consequences. Case in point - how many child abuse cases are reported in Norway each year? 100? 200? 500? How many child abuse cases go unreported in India? I am guessing in the 10s of 1000s. I am ok with the odd case of over-reaching by agencies of power, as long as it ensures the collective welfare of the citizens. It is IMPOSSIBLE to have a system that is effective and not have it over-reach occasionally. That is just an unfortunate reality of how things work. When occasional becomes closer to frequent, there is a problem. It's like the medical malpractice lawsuits. You need med mal laws to keep unscrupulous doctors in check. But, it has clearly shifted to the point where frivolous law suits and unnecessary regulations have increased heathcare costs, which we chose to tackle with even more government regulation and control. It's like the rare case of police abusing a suspect. That doesn't mean we should disband the police force, but we should look into the abuse, use common sense and hold people responsible. Or like Abu Ghraib. BTW, no one (but Ron Paul*) is asking for the abolition of these govt agencies. But, their wings must be cut. *- and even if he is elected President, he cannot abolish them willy-nilly. I think (hope) it is posturing on his part to ensure that we start a conversation of how "over" the "over-reach" is.
Malcolm Merlyn Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 If the couples are coming back the children should come back with them.Norway has no right to keep Indian citizens in Norway as the children are Indian they will have to be given to Indians.
DomainK Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 If the couples are coming back the children should come back with them.Norway has no right to keep Indian citizens in Norway as the children are Indian they will have to be given to Indians. If the child has been completely taken out of their custody, I am afraid the parents have lost their right to take decisions on behalf of the minor. Now the government will act as the guardian. And no, the child is Norway's citizen by birth.
Tiger80 Posted January 19, 2012 Author Posted January 19, 2012 You guys call it over-reaction' date=' I would like to call it a unfortunate [b']exception of a system that is in place to ensure fair and humane treatment of all. Everyone's talking about this one incident where the child may have been taken away under frivilous circumstances. How about the numerous other incidents where the Norwegian child protective service has rescued children who were subjected to actual abuse and ill-treatment? It is impossible to have a system that is flawless. Many innocents get convicted of crimes that they never committed, so what, we just completely abandon the criminal justice system? And us being Indians, I was under the impression that we should especially be sensitive to this issue, given the large-scale institutionalized ill-treatment of children in our society. How much I wish we a organization similar to the one in Norway! Unfortunate exception ,Norway is country with 60,000 births per year and 12,500 children are taken by Government ,so this case is not an exception
Malcolm Merlyn Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 If the child has been completely taken out of their custody' date=' I am afraid the parents have lost their right to take decisions on behalf of the minor. Now the government will act as the guardian. And no, [b']the child is Norway's citizen by birth. how do you know that?
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