My name is Dr Chris Prunean. I am a Christian, a husband, a father of 4 barn and a physician, and I am here to protest the cruel actions of the Norwegian Child Protective Service and to call for the immediate reunification of the Bodnariu family and the other families whose children have been confiscated because of trivial matters.
Listen to the heartbreaking testimony given by Marius and Ruth Bodnariu to the BBC:
“I was waiting for the girls to come home from school, I was waiting for the school bus… After 10-15 minutes when they didn’t show up I started to get worried… I saw two black cars, in one of them was a child protection officer… She said I had to come to the police station for an interrogation… I was shocked and I said I was waiting for my girls… She answered that she had them… She insisted on taking the boys with her…
The second day in the evening we saw two black cars again, and I remember I said: I think they brought the kids home… But then I saw a policeman coming out of the car… And I told Marius: I think they are going to take the baby, and there was nothing I could do…”
Ladies and gentlemen, this sounds like a scene out of communist Romania not modern Norway. This is a regular occurrence in Norway where Barnevernet removes children from good families for trivial matters without a court order and without due process.
Because of this I am here to issue a challenge to the good people of Norway, especially the Christians of Norway, the majority of whom have been indifferent and silent with respect to the human rights violations perpetrated by Barnevernet.
Fellow Norwegian Christians who believe in God and the Bible as the Word of God, you live in a country where 40% of the population identifies itself as atheist, and less than 5% attends church.
In such an arid spiritual environment you must rise up and fight injustice!
You must take a stand for the family!
Do not turn a blind eye when three-month-old Ezekiel is taken from his mom and his older siblings are secretly stolen at school in black unmarked cars!
Do not be indifferent when baby Aria is removed from her parents right after birth!
Norwegian Christians, do not remain silent when twins are confiscated from the hospital nursery after they are born under the pretext that the mom is not smart enough to care for them!
Norwegian Pentecostal leaders, why do you say that you do not want to comment on the Bodnariu case?
Why do you choose to remain silent when the Bodnariu family was harassed at school for singing Christian songs? Is it because the church is financed by the government? Is it because Norway has a fund of 840 million USD allocated to churches?
Remember the words of Psalm 82 “Give justice to the poor and the orphan; [and] uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.”
Norway, you used to be a beacon of hope in Europe. A beacon for human rights.
In 1965 a group of Norwegian Christians ransomed pastor Richard Wurmbrand when he was dying in a Communist prison in Romania. They bought him for the price of $10,000 (80,000 in today’s money). This was 5 times the amount normally paid for the average political prisoner. Because of that Richard Wurmbrand had the opportunity to expose the gross human rights violations happening under communism when he testified in front of the US Congress.
But now, only 50 years later we have a reversal of roles. It is Norway who violates human rights, and due process. It is Norway who destroys families based on trivial reasons.
Norwegian Christians, please hold your government accountable for what it has done to the Bodnariu family and the other families.
A Barnevernet psychological evaluation was conducted on the Bodnariu parents and the report gave them “positive and favorable” marks. Despite this, 4 Bodnariu children remain confiscated.
Now, after intense international protest, Norway has returned baby Ezekiel to the family. But it is not right to return just one child. All children must be returned.
If Norway thinks that the family is safe for baby Ezekiel, (and we know it has always been safe), than the other 4 children must be returned immediately!
To the shame of Norway, our protests will continue and our campaign will intensify.
We will not give up, we will not tire and we will not stop until the Bodnariu children are returned home and Barnevernet is reformed!
Thank you all for coming. Thank you for bringing your children, they will never forget this event. Thank you to the media what came out to cover this protest.
Delight in Truth 