My Frustration with Norwegian Journalists ~ John Voloşen

I decided to publish the conversation thread between me (John V.) and a Norwegian journalist which I will refer to simply as “Journalist”. Journalist response is in italics.

From: John V.

(… original request to provide coverage for international protests …)

From: Journalist

We have covered the story with three articles. Two of them are translated into English since the case has gained international interest:

• http://www.vl.no/meninger/kommentar/do-not-use-the-word-persecution-lightly-1.668127

• http://www.vl.no/nyhet/world-wide-protests-after-claims-of-religious-persecution-1.672326

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From: John V.

Dear Journalist, please STOP spreading wrong information about the international protests against Barnevernet.

• We are protesting against the abusive practices of Barnevernet!
• We are protesting against the decision to take the 5 Bodnariu children and split them in 3 separate foster homes, 2-3 hours away.
• We are protesting against removing a 3 month old baby from the mother’s breast!
• We are protesting against Barnevernet’s refusal to place the children with close relatives (families).
• We are protesting against the corruption in the Barnevernet organization where psychologist write bogus reports.

How about you make some journalistic investigations into this? What a shame that you keep throwing out the Christian Indoctrination charge. Stop it, be a real journalist. If you have any journalistic integrity you would stop changing the purpose of our protests. People go out in the streets because it hurts them seeing 2 parents whose children have been ripped apart.

This is why we are protesting:

• https://vaisamar.wordpress.com/2016…

• https://www.facebook.com/notes/ionu…

From: Journalist

Dear Sir, it is not me that is throwing the «Christian indoctrination» claims. The supporters do, and they still do. Take a look on the FB-page and the petition. That claim is the first that meets people who are liking or signing. The Romanian MPs (Members of Parliament) who visited Norway last week lifted up that claim, so don’t blame me.

It is also a fact that the main group of supporters are Christians, so that claim it is an essential factor in boosting the protests. As a Christian Newspaper, we are obliged to follow up such claims. And if they were true, we would have printed that as well. There are a lot of information circulating in this case, and I find a lot of false information. That make me very skeptic towards any claims. I don’t write hear say, I only write what I can verify. We have granted the Bodnarius the opportunity several times to tell their story, but they refuse. They won’t open their file to us or release the Barnevernet from confidentiality, and their lawyer won’t comment.

It feels brutal to remove children from their parents, but what if the suspicion the Barnevernet have are right? Isn’t it brutal to live with parents who are hitting them? I hope that the Barnevernet are wrong and thus the Bodnarius can be reunited.

And one final thing: Do you really think people would listen to you when you are comparing them with Nazis and orcs?

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From: John V.

Mr. Journalist, first of all I want to thank you for your response. I have written letters to almost 100 Norwegian journalists, yet you are the only one that took the time to reply. I also want to apologize for my harsh tone, but is out of desperation that I am witting. I would like to reply to some of your points.

1. If you had taken the time to read the official press release regarding the protests in over 23 countries and over 30 cities, you would have realized that the „Christian indoctrination” charge is just one item on the list. (https://www.facebook.com/notes/norw…)

2. If you had been to any of these protests you would have realized that the most revolting thing for protesters was the removal of the 3 month old baby from his mother’s breast, the separation of the children form the parents. How can you claim you know what the people are thinking at these protests without interviewing a single protester? The atrocity of the breastfed baby’s separation from the mother, the separation of the kids in 3 different foster homes and the refusal to place the children with close relative family is what got people in the streets. This cause is so grave that it managed to unite even the Orthodox Church together with the Pentecostals and Baptists, and if you knew anything about Romanian politics you would have known that nobody ever thought this would be possible.

3. Yes the Romanian MPs (Members of Parliament) clarified the „religious liberty” charge, and based on their investigation they considered it had merit. But those same MPs had a press conference after their return to Romania in which they stated that during their trip to Norway they gave extensive interviews to the press, yet when they came back home they were astonished to realize that almost none of the arguments they brought to the press were published. Why is this Mr. Journalist? Why did the Norwegian press refuse to publish any of the arguments brought up by the Romanian MPs? Why is the Norwegian press silent when it comes to investigating Barnevernet corruption? Do you know that there are hundreds of families, leaving in fear, whose children have been taken by Barnevernet on baseless allegations? I am sad to inform you but the majority opinion in countries affected by the Barnevernet scandals (such as Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Czech Republic, etc.) is that the Norwegian press refuses to do any investigations because they are dependent on the government subsidies. But if you need a head start, here is my research based on as much as I could gather using google translate: (https://www.facebook.com/notes/ionu…)

4. If you had done any research regarding the „religious liberty” aspect of case, you would have found that Barnevernet had previously raised issues with the Bodnariu parents as it pertains to their theological teachings, and that the first documents they were given after their arrests, included the charge of “Christian indoctrination” (accusation which was later not included in the final charges). The Norwegian’s press attempt to discredit the thousands of people protesting internationally (in its attempt to hide the Barnevernet corruption) is not fooling anybody. We are not that stupid not to see behind your blush. Were the protests before the Bodnariu case in Samnanger, Oslo, Czech Republic, Lithuania, India, etc. related to „religious liberty” as well? Clearly no. Did the Norwegian press do anything to investigate? With a few exceptions (such as Aftenposten) nobody has done much investigation into these cases. I am sure you understand why the lawyer of the Bodnariu family does not want to reveal too much (in case you don’t, ask any lawyer). But when a source is closed, what do you do? You stop investigating? Any self-respecting journalist knows there are other ways of getting information (I can list them, but I am sure as a professional you know better than me).

5. You state that „what if the suspicion the Barnevernet have are right? Isn’t it brutal to live with parents who are hitting them?” Well by normal deductive reasoning it is pretty easy to find out if the physical abuse charges are valid and if they merit such abusive response by Barnevernet:

• The entire case rests on the interrogation of the girls. Based on previous cases and statements from the girl we have suspicions that these interrogations were done improperly (I am giving you just one example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPj…)
• the medical exams showed zero evidence of physical or psychological harm (even thou they put the 3 month old baby thru dangerous levels of radiation)
• all neighbors and people that knew the Bodnariu family closely (including living in the house) said they never saw the parents abuse the children

But the whole essence of our protests is that even if the allegations are true, the way in which Barnevernet reacted is insane. They never attempted to work with the parents and help them improve. Their decision to put the children with foreign families and to split then in 3 separate foster homes goes against any psychological recommendation. Do you even comprehend the irreversible trauma that these children are going thru? Do you understand that it is exponentially worse than any physical abuse they might have suffered? What level of insanity is required to not understand this basic concept? I never called Barnevernet Nazis, but we Romanians experienced the oppression of the communist regime for many years, yet in all these years not even the worst of the communists had such abusive practices of stealing the children from their parents. So please forgive us if we are revolted.

Thank you again for giving me a chance to respond and I hope that as a Christian you find it in your heart to realize that even if the charges were true, the abusive way in which Barnevernet agents reacted surpasses all reasoning. And I ask that if you have any regard for the ethics of journalism, you stop discrediting the international protests based solely on the „Christian Indoctrination” aspect, and rather document yourself and see that our protests as about much more than that. Or you could join us at our protests and interview the people directly.

From: Journalist

Hi. I try to answer everybody that contacts me, but I don’t have time to go into polemics, therefor this is unfortunate my last response, but I will try to explain some more

The BIG questions is why did the Barnevernet need to go to such acute measures, and was it proportional. I am very interested in getting answers here. But the government bodies handling the case are bound by confidentiality. The police have charged the parents for family violence. The question is how severe?

Let’s say, and this is a rumor circulating, that one of the girls told Barnevernet that Marius shock the baby like a ragged doll. If this is true the Barnevernet had no other option. Have you heard about the shaken baby syndrome? Like I wrote in my last email, I hope they are wrong.

Most of your concerns are against consequences from the first move – removing the children.

1. Separation of the siblings: The emergency homes are mostly not capable of taking in five children. It is regular families trained and vetted for the purpose, and were one of the adults have it as a full time job to be stand by for Barnevernet. In contrary to what many believes, it is not lucrative to be a foster parent or emergency home. Therefor it could be some distance between them, especially in rural areas as Sogn og Fjordane.

2. If there is suspicion of violence, is it right to put the children with relatives who probably would give the parents access to the children? It could also interfere with the investigation, because both the relatives and the parents could influence on what the children tell Barnevernet/police.

3. Information from the MPs (Members of Parliament) is second or third hand, we cannot verify it because we can’t get the file from the Bodnarius. And they won’t let themselves be interviewed by Norwegian press. Why?

4. By calling the Barnevernet system for Gestapo, the MPs are making themselves irrelevant. If that was true there would be massive demonstrations here in Norway as well. Here it was 40.

5. Yes, the press get subsidies from the state, Vårt Land as well, but that is based on objective criteria. The state doesn’t interfere with was the press writes. And there is a lots and lots of examples were the press strongly criticizes the state and its institutions.

I could write more, but I’m out of time…

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From: John V.

Mr. Journalist, thank you again for your answer. I tried to be respectful and give you the last word, but 12 hours after reading your response I could hold back no more. You write that:

1. „...homes are mostly not capable of taking in five children…” Are you telling me that the hundreds of millions in Barnevernet’s budget are not enough to find a place to house 5 siblings? Are you saying that it is OK to inflict lifelong trauma (as a result of sibling separation) because Barnevernet was incapable to find a solution to keep them together? It is like having a child with a minor scrape on his foot, and instead of cleaning the wound and applying a Band-Aid you decide to amputate his entire foot? Do you not understand the gravity of the situation? Norwegians might consider themselves the smartest people in the world, but this level of reasoning requires either dishonesty or complete ignorance.(By the way, if Barnevernet agents were concerned that the parents will not stop beating their children, it would have been cheaper and more effective to just pay for 24 hour police protection in Bodnariu’s house)

2. „…is it right to put the children with relatives who probably would give the parents access to the children? …”. Are you Mr. Journalist insinuating that the relatives would be incapable of protecting the children from the „violent” parents? Are you insinuating that the relatives would let the parents come to their house and abuse the children? Do you think things thru before writing them down? You also say that „It could also interfere with the investigation …„! Are you saying that almost 3 months have passed and Barnevernet didn’t have time to finish their investigation? Why were the children removed from the family if the investigation was not completed? How many years will it take Barnevernet to finish their reports? Are you not aware that this is in fact a strategy used by Barnevernet to never return the children to the parents? Are you not aware that there are many cases in which the parents were finally cleared of all charges, yet Barnevernet refused to give the children back to their parents because they claimed they are too attached to the foster parents? If the Bodnariu parents are cleared of the charges, who will pay for the irreversible trauma suffered by the children and parents? Let me tell you who: nobody!

3. „Information from the MPs are second or third hand” are you insinuating that the MPs (Members of Parliament) failed to document themselves properly, or that they are lying? Are you saying that everything the MPs talked to the press about is irrelevant? Why did the Norwegian media censor almost everything the MPs said?

4. „By calling the Barnevernet system for Gestapo, the MPs are making themselves irrelevant…” You see Mr. Journalist, this is where the Norwegian media loses all credibility. Norwegians might consider themselves of superior intelligence, but if you cannot comprehend the gravity of the pain and suffering resulting from the separation of a 3 month old baby from his mother’s breast, the separation of the other children from their loving parents and the placement of the siblings in 3 different foster homes (3.5 hours away), then you are inhumane. If you cannot see an issue with Barnevernet’s refusal to allow the parents to see their daughters even in the presence of police agents, then you are a cruel person. If you cannot see an issue with the fact that Barnevernet coerced the mother (Ruth) to lie and declare that the father (Marius) is abusive by promising to return the children to her, then you are unjust. If you cannot see an issue with Barnevernet threatening Marius that he will never see his children again if he goes public with this case, then you are heartless. If you cannot see an issue with the manipulation of the children with leading questions designed to inculpate the parents, then you are prejudiced. Yes Mr. Journalist, this is how Gestapo behaved. And you wonder why „... they won’t let themselves be interviewed by Norwegian press…„?

5. „if that (Barnevernet’s abusive practices ) was true there would be massive demonstrations here in Norway as well.” Are you insinuating that if the number of protesters is smaller, it means there is no oppression? Have you documented yourself about Barnevernet’s practice of forcing parents to sign forms prohibiting them to talk to anybody about the case? Are you aware of the threatening methods used to stop the victimized parents from asking for help? Are you aware of lawyers, professors and Barnevernet agents that have raised alarms regarding the corrupt practices? Are you calling the people that protested in May 2015 in Oslo irrelevant (https://www.rt.com/news/263625-norw…)?

6. „The state doesn’t interfere with was the press writes. And there is a lots and lots of examples were the press strongly criticizes the state and its institutions„. Please illuminate us then, why for years and years the Norwegian press has refused to investigate Barnevernet’s practices, even thou there have been high level officials such as lawyers and professors that have raised alarms again and again. Are Norwegian journalists so void of compassion as not to care for the broken families?

As I already said, thank you Mr. Journalist for at least caring enough to respond, and I know there will come a time when the unnecessary pain and suffering produced by Barnevernet will come to light. Too bad that until then, the lives of many more children and parents will be destroyed.