Silje Garmo is a Norwegian woman who fled her country to Poland after Barnevernet wanted to take her child away. The high-profile case was to end on June 22, when it was to receive an official asylum permit from the Office for Foreigners. However, this did not happen - the decision was postponed. What's next?
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The drama has been going on for a long time
The drama of Silje has three daughters. The first of them, thirteen-year-old Froya, was collected from her in 2016. The child's father was involved, who testified that Silje abused painkillers while she was still pregnant. For this reason, Barnevernet decided to monitor the course of the second pregnancy. Although no irregularities were found, the Office decided to initiate proceedings aimed at the removal of her younger child. This was argued by the facts found during the investigation of the older daughter.
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Escape to Poland
For the duration of the proceedings, Silje Garmo she stayed in a special Barnevernet center. She managed to escape from there. In May 2017, she fled to Poland, where she is seeking asylum. She is assisted in this by lawyers from the Ordo Iuris Association. In their opinion, the Norwegian government violated Art. 8. Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
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The date has been postponed many times
The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave the initial deadline for examining the application as the period of six months. Since then, the issued decisions have been postponed many times. The last known date was June 22, 2018. On that day, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to postpone the case again. This happened despite the fact that in January the Office for Foreigners issued a decision that the basic rights of the Norwegian woman had been violated as a result of the Barnevernet proceedings, which decided to take the child away. This is one of the two conditions that must be met in order to grant asylum to a person of foreign origin in Poland.
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Silje Garmo: The Fall of the Polish State
As Silje Garmo said in an interview with iTVP, the lack of a decision on granting asylum will have a negative impact on the image of the pro-family policy that is being pushed for by the Polish government. She also added that she had received disturbing information that the Storting had offered the Polish government a large sum of money to silence her case. "If this is true, Poles should be aware of it," he adds.
What's next in this case?
The case of Silje Garmo is not typical. Barnevernet, as a rule, conducts proceedings in poor families in which there are real problems with ensuring proper care conditions. However, the Norwegian woman is not bad financially, and her ex-husband even sat in the Norwegian parliament. Lawyers from the Ordo Iuris Association - as reported by DoRzeczypl - are concerned that granting Silje asylum will adversely affect Poland's economic interests. On the other hand, a negative decision will have a negative impact on the image of the pro-family government, which not only cares so much for the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland - Mateusz Morawiecki - but for the entire ruling majority in general. We look forward to the finalization of this case.
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In this context, it is worth recalling the recent scandal, which was highlighted, among others, by NPortal.no. It is related to the forced removal of the Polish consul - Sławomir Kowalski - from the seat of Barnevernet. The incident took place after the consul was refused a visit to a minor Pole accompanied by a psychologist. When Sławomir Nowak referred to the provisions of the Vienna Convention, Barnevernet officials were to call the police and forcibly remove the Polish official from the seat of the Office.
The Polish government is silent about Poles
The controversy is added by the fact that the case practically went unnoticed in the Polish media. However, in the light of the publicity of the case related to Silje Garmo, this puts not only Polish media in a bad light. It has a negative impact on the image of the Polish government in general, which did not take any consequences against Barnevernet officials. In accordance with international law, as well as taking into account the tasks of the Republic of Poland in the matter of defending its own citizens, the Polish government is obliged to defend the rights of Poles - also those staying and living abroad. Meanwhile, the only official reaction was a note made by the Polish ambassador - Iwona Woicka - Żuławska - to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the other hand, all representatives of the Polish government - headed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki - remain silent on this matter and it is in vain to look for any official positions on government websites.
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