Tor Åge Berglid is a man on a mission with a team of other like-minded people making protests all over the world. He is a Norwegian who has been very active in the attempt to publicize the horrible actions of his country’s “Child Protection Service.” Called the Barnevernet, the Norwegian CPS is government funded (like those of most countries), and it can be very cruel. It is not unusual for the Barnevernet to steal children from their parents in Norway.
Tor’s main goal is to unite people and he believes that “the focus is to lift other people up and tell them that their voices are important, to join into this question about what constitutes family life. Is God’s idea of family life better than the state’s attempt to do a better job?”
Recently, Tor and others represented those who are sick and tired of families being destroyed by the Barnevernet. In a national T.V. debate, he went head to head with the Norwegian Minister for Children and two other “important” Norwegian officials. Many, including me, were pleased with his effort.
Here is a short clip in Norwegian where one can get a sense of Tor’s passion:
Unfortunately, too many people in Norway are afraid to speak out. The percentage of those unaware of the problem is hard to figure since the government propaganda machine constantly spews out words of wonder about its child care system among other things. Advertisements encouraging people to become foster parents make the job look easy and lucrative. The propaganda drowns out the voices attempting to share the reality of the situation.
After having the recent privilege of speaking to and messaging Tor, I informed him that I would do my best to share my views on these developments as a Christian. John 1:5 states: “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” In this verse, the light is referring to Jesus Christ. According to the Bible (the book of Acts) “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Knowing these truths, and that Christianity once held great influence in Norway, it is sad to “hear” mostly silence from “Christian” leaders and pastors in response to such tragic human rights offences.
God is a righteous entity who loves his creation. He is an advocate for the helpless and hurting. One day, all the cruelty that man has dished out will be exposed. Those who have asked for forgiveness will have been forgiven. Those who “did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind..” (Romans 1:28)
Tor’s statement is evidence that there are people in Norway who know what is happening and still care. They want transparency. I am in contact with others like him. They are still in the fight. They have not given up in spite of the fact that the current against them is strong.
Norway’s recent record at the The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR) is not good. They have been spanked more than once for human rights violations. More cases are currently pending at the court in Strasbourg, France.
What is Norway’s response? It appears that a new batch of laws dealing with “the Welfare of Children” is being worked on. My current understanding (from what I believe to be very good sources) is that the new laws will only make things worse.
I have come to the same conclusion as Steven Bennett, the British writer who published “Stolen Childhood: The truth about Norway’s child welfare system.” Steven, a Christian, believes that the system needs to be completely dismantled and restarted with new founding principles that really stand for the rights of every child.
See book description HERE.
It can be argued that the first institution created by God was the family. Norway, though a recent focus for very good reason, is a reflection of what is happening to the family in much of the world. It appears that evil forces are out to destroy that which God has created. One need look no further than recent laws passed by the Supreme Court of the country where this blog originates, America. The family has been redefined to mean just about whatever someone wants it to be. Sadly, this problem is increasing throughout Europe and the current beachhead there is now in Strasbourg, France at the EHRC, where the cases brought forward will test humanity in the consideration of how much power the state should have in family life.
I agree with Tor and Gro Hillestad Thune (who wrote the forward to Steven Bennett’s book) that the state should let the parents do the parenting unless intervention is absolutely necessary, and even then with caution.
I admire people who are willing to stand up for those suffering at the hands of those with unbridled power. May God bless Tor and those like him who have invested in the lives of families.
Please pray for those who are involved in organizing and raising awareness that the family is in crisis in much of the world. You may not be able to make it to an event but your prayers can be very powerful. We saw evidence of that in the Worldwide protests that took place in 2016.
“…let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24)
Chris Reimers
This video is only the tip of the iceberg:
Posted by Chris 
In Norway, if one of your children tells one lie there is a chance the police will arrive with a “Child Protection” agent, the children will be taken, and the entire family will be broken up indefinitely
January 15, 2020American children Nikita (10), Elizabeth (7) and Brigita (11) were forcefully removed from their loving parents Natalya Shutakova and Zygys Aleksandavicius on May, 20th 2019. The evil will of the Barnevernet (Norway’s “Child Welfare Service”) has been accomplished. The children are now split between three different foster parents.
My understanding is that Brigita complained about her parents at school. She was unhappy about a disagreement she had with her parents. The authorities were contacted and the children were removed from their parents. Since the incident, Brigita has stated that she lied because she was upset with her parents. Her admission is not good enough to make a difference in Norway. She and her siblings are indefinitely separated from their parents and each other except for a few visits of a few hours each year.
“There was no court proceeding, no investigation, no due process, or assistance given to the family prior to the taking of the children. The children desperately want to come home but the Norwegian authorities won’t release them. Their main concern is the family is perceived to have not a good enough routine. No violence, no abuse, no drugs, just a subjective assessment that the family didn’t reach the standard expected of them.”
This is all standard procedure in Norway.
A fairly recent article asks: “Should your kid be taken away if they don’t like fish-balls? Norway says so” (Click on this title to see the article.)
The article starts with this family’s story and provides additional details of the horrific problem in Norway.
The article also references Marianne Skanland’s (a linguistics professor who has appeared in a few cases as a child language expert) compiled list of 71 reasons that child welfare services have used to make its case. (Click here to see it.)
I believe Marianne to be one of the best educated Norwegians on this subject. I’ve been fortunate to have her comment here from time to time. Here is one grouping of Marianne’s comments which have been translated into English on her website. (Click Here)
Nothing has changed in Norway. Worldwide protests against such behavior have made a difference in only one case that I’m aware of. Foreign government complaints have gone unheeded and some foreign governments haven’t done enough to address the problem. (The U.S. is one of these.) Reprimands of human rights violations at the European Court of Human Rights have been hopeful but have caused no real positive change within the country. The hope is that the number of cases being presented to the ECHR will eventually cause Norwegian officials to see the tragic error of their ways and force them to create an entirely new system built on common sense child rearing instead of “psycho-babble” (as Marianne would call it.)
I have hope for Norway because I know that prayer is powerful. I have hope for Norway because of some of the wonderful people I’ve met through my advocacy.
Chris Reimers
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