Arizona protesters demand Norway return children to Christian Bodnariu family
Arizona protesters are demanding Norway to return the five children of the Bodnariu family who were seized from their Christian parents last year.
The demonstration was led by Trent Franks, who is an Arizona Representative advocating child welfare issues. He was joined by a group of community and religious leaders, businesspeople, and civic leaders who believe in the same cause. Members of the Romanian-Americans for Reunification of Bodnariu Family Coalition were also present to express their support for the Christian couple.
Hundreds of residents in Arizona marched outside the Superior Court Building in central Phoenix to exert pressure on the Norwegian government. Moreover, people from twenty countries in four continents have also participated in peaceful marches to show their full support for the Bodnariu family.
The Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C. is being contacted by the activists in the United States to express their concerns and stand on this situation.
The Barnevernet, which is Norway’s child protection service, took the children of Marius and Ruth Bodnariu, two daughters and three sons, with claims of parental child abuse and religious indoctrination. The Bodnariu family has been separated for four months now.
This happened after the school principal of one of the daughters of Marius and Ruth notified the government authorities regarding her “concerns about how the girls were disciplined at home because the parents were ‘very Christian.'” Schools are obliged to report any form of corporal punishment because it is illegal in Norway.
“Norway has a great desire to maintain a good image, especially with the United States. Your efforts can help Norway realize that this kind of behavior can cause that image to be tarnished,” the Home School Legal Defence Association (HSLDA) said in an announcement. The HSLDA is a Canada-based nonprofit organization that supports the reunion of the Bodnariu family.
The nonprofit organization believes that the Bodnariu couple is in a situation considered as “every caring parent’s worst nightmare: having their children taken by state authorities.”
