Imran*, PakistanLippu
This system is broken and it is very difficult for people with foreign backgrounds. I never received any translation services. My kids were taken after her mother and I separated. We had joint custody and the mother wanted the children, but I refused. A child welfare worker came and took the children away without any prior notification – no calls or letters.
I was only able to meet the officials one month after the incident and didn’t see my child for four months. When my daughter asked me to take her home after school one day the social workers called the police and I was arrested for kidnapping.
Prosecutors later dismissed the charges. Local officials even apologised. I am in poor health and could not fight the heavy bureaucracy so I agreed to give up custody under constant harassment. Officials don’t listen to the children, either.
My daughter complained about her mother and was taken into care but returned two months later, only to be placed in care again. She is now in permanent care in an institution that is not a home but more like a prison.
This process has destroyed my family and families are being destroyed with false accusations. The courts listen only to social workers, who don’t even conduct investigations into claims. Too much power is being given to social workers and they do what they want. I have appealed to the Administrative Court but it has been nine months with no answer. Finnish children are also suffering in this system.
http://yle.fi/uutiset/finnish_child_welfare_child_protection_or_for_profit_foster_care/8725326
