Radio România Internațional

Tag: social services

  • Details on Bodnariu Case

    Details on Bodnariu Case

    The case of the Romanian — Norwegian family, settled in Norway, whose five children were taken by the local social services over alleged physical punishments from their parents, continues to generate emotional responses. Concurrently with street protests both in Romania and in the Romanian communities abroad, and with extensive media coverage, the Romanian authorities carry on, within the limits of their powers, to help the family get their children back. Romanian officials are constantly in touch with the Bodnarius, and referred them to two Norwegian lawyers who have dealt with similar cases before.



    Meanwhile, the Romanian Ambassador to Oslo, Adrian Davidoiu, had talks at the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, where he emphasised that this is a social issue with a very significant media impact and suggested political cooperation in addressing it. Moreover, Ambassador Davidoiu also called for the integration of the children, aged between 3 months and 10 years, in the father’s extended family in Romania, requested permission for the parents to visit their children who are currently in foster care, and asked that the minors should not be separated. Raluca Lunculescu, spokesperson for the Romanian Foreign Ministry, provided further details on the case:



    “The Romanian Ambassador requested access for the Romanian consul as an observer in the current stages of the proceedings. In this respect, the Norwegian party stressed that this request should also come from the family. He asked for support to allow the consul to see the children while in care. The Norwegian party answered that this is possible, provided that the best interests of the minors are not affected.”



    Although the children in question also have Romanian citizenship, there are legal constraints restricting the involvement of the diplomats in Bucharest in the investigation taking place in Norway. Nonetheless, a delegation of the Romanian Parliament is to travel to Oslo.



    On the other hand, in Bucharest, the Embassy of Norway announced having contacted the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the Parliament and the Prime Minister’s Office, in order to provide them with information on the Norwegian Child Welfare Service and the principles that it fosters. This Service, the Embassy explains, works for all children in Norway, regardless of their nationality and residence history, and its main concern is with the best interests of the child. According to data from the Romanian Foreign Ministry, so far 16 children from seven Romanian families have been taken by the Norwegian authorities. In five of the cases the proceedings ended with the repatriation of 8 minors, while 2 children were returned to Romanian citizens residing in Norway.



    (Translated by Ana Maria Popescu)

  • International Support for Bodnariu Family

    International Support for Bodnariu Family

    Late last week, thousands of Romanians took to the streets, both in the country and abroad, to voice their solidarity with a mixed Romanian-Norwegian family whose children were taken two months ago by the Norwegian social services and placed in foster care. An international adoption procedure has also been started for the five children of Ruth and Marius Bodnariu, a nurse and an IT engineer respectively. Aged between four months and nine years, the children were taken from their parents after the principal of the school attended by the older daughters reported that the couple subjected their children to physical punishments. Moreover, as members of the Pentecostal faith, the Bodnarius are suspected of what Norway defines as religious indoctrination of children.



    For Romanians, a mostly Orthodox nation with strong religious sensibilities and a firm commitment to traditional values, which include minor physical punishments as part of the common education methods, such accusations are absurd. And the idea of a new-born being taken from his mother and from a functional family to be placed in an institution, together with his siblings, is completely unacceptable. The participants in the support rallies held in Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara and Constanta described the Norwegian legislation in this respect as ridiculous, outrageous, or even Nazi-like.



    Soundbite: “This is unacceptable. No other state has legislation of this kind. The children belong in their families, they dont belong to the state.



    Outside Romanian borders, in Rome, Madrid, Brussels or The Hague, thousands of people demanded the involvement of the Government and Presidency in the Bodnariu case. Here is the president of the Federation of Romanian Associations in Spain, Daniel Tecu:



    Daniel Tecu: “I have a direct message for the President: we are the ones who get presidents elected, and we are also the ones who bring them down if they fail to protect our interests. And I also have a message for all politicians in Romania: the diaspora has awoken.



    This is an emotional response, and one that has no grounds, because the Romanian authorities have already reacted to the case. The Foreign Ministry and the Ambassador of Norway to Bucharest, Tove Bruvik Westberg, have agreed to work together to resolve the issue. Also at the initiative of the Romanian diplomacy, the Child Welfare Authority sent a proposal to the corresponding body in Norway regarding the integration of the five children in their uncles family in Romania, and an answer is expected within days. A delegation of Parliaments Committee on Romanian communities abroad will travel to Norway next week. In turn, the Bodnariu family challenged in court the measures taken by the Norwegian authorities.


    (translation by: Ana Maria Popescu)