Christian Newswire and
reason magazine report on creeping fascism in Scandanavia, as home schoolers and ethnic Indians are both judged to be unfit parents.
reason's Shikha Dalmia reports that Sweden has decided ethnic Indians are unfit parents:
India’s NDTV
reports that Norway’s protective services have taken away an Indian couple’s children for…Beating them? Nahin. Molesting them? Ikke. OK, then, some serious neglect must be involved? Ne.
The couple’s crime is that they hand-fed their one- and three-year-olds, a practice that is common in their country. As the father explained, “when the mother is feeding with a spoon there could be phases when she is overfeeding the child.” But apparently the authorities determined that what they were doing was force-feeding and took away the children (who do not look over weight in the picture). Another rap against the parents was that their children slept in the bed with them, another common practice in their culture.
The parents have not been allowed to see their kids for eight months.
Norway’s protective services have a history of excesses. A 2005 UN report criticized Norway for taking too many children in public care. "The amount was 12,500 children and Norway is a small country," notes Svein Kjetil Lode Svendsen, a lawyer.
H/T: Geeta Sood.
and Christian Newswire reports that the Swedish state doesn't like homeschoolers:
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Sweden Crushing Homeschoolers: Exorbitant Fines as Politicians Call for Gov't to Seize Home-schooled Children
HSLDA, ADF say changes would violate int'l legal standards on human rights STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan. 17, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- A leader ofSweden's Liberal Party last week called for a change in the country's social services law so that the government can take children away from home-schooling families more easily by allowing social workers to do so.
The call for the change comes amidst already stringent penalties in Sweden for home schooling. The Home School Legal Defense Association and Alliance Defense Fund and have applied to the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of one family whose child was abducted by the government in 2009 and have filed a brief in a Swedish appellate court on behalf of another family fined an amount equivalent to $26,000.
"The right of parents to choose the kind of education their children receive is a fundamental human right recognized in international legal documents including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sweden has lost its way and is ignoring basic human rights joining Germany in repressing educational freedom. It's important that free people stand up to governments who persecute their own people," said Donnelly
"Parents have the right and authority to make decisions regarding their children's education without government interference," said ADF Legal Counsel Roger Kiska. "Swedish policy on home education is at odds with recognized international legal standards that uphold the right of parents to direct the education of their children."
Liberal Party politician Lotta Edholm called for the change to the country's social services law in a Jan. 10 column in Aftonbladet, a prominent Swedish newspaper. Edholm then wrote on her blog: "Today I write with Ann-Katrin Aslund onAftonbladet's debate page that the social services law should be amended so that social services are able to intervene when children are kept away from school by their parents -- often for religious or ideological reasons."
The statement is the most direct and serious threat to date for home-schooling families in the Nordic country, where the climate for home-schooling has continued to deteriorate. The Swedish Court of Appeal has agreed to review three different cases in which government officials denied permission to home-school.
"ADF and HSLDA will continue to defend home-schooling families in Sweden and other European countries until we win," Donnelly said.
Pronunciation guide: Kiska (KISH'-kuh), Donnelly (DAHN'-uh-lee)
HSLDA is an international advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the right of parents to educate their own children at home. Since 1983 HSLDA has been defending homeschooling parents and represents tens of thousands around the globe. |
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