Imagine your child being taken away from you – how would you feel? I don’t have a child, but I can imagine the pain of those who have to go through it.
This is not an article about rights, because let’s be honest; it’s nothing most of us are experts of... therefore this is an article that focuses on the humane (or in this case, inhumane) side on things.
About a week ago, Astro Awani broke the news of Malaysian parents, Azizul Raheem Awaluddin and Shalwati Nurshal who have been detained by the Swedish authorities for allegedly abusing their children an d has shocked the world. It is not just because it is a lucid injustice (which I will explain later on), but also because it uncovers a bigger (and scarier) truth to the whole matter.
Now, let me explain why taking away children from their parents are a blatant injustice (apart from the obvious reasons). Stereotypical jokes aside, Asian parents are known to be relatively strict when it comes to parenting. But in the setting of an Asian country, it is normal. What is normal in a home in say, Malaysia, is definitely different than what is normal in a home in say, Sweden. Therefore there should be a higher authority that can distinguish of what sorts of hitting are for teaching purposes and what sorts are abusive. For Muslim parents, hitting your children is allowed, but of course, to teach and not to hurt. It should only serve as a mild penalty to educate children on what is right and what is wrong.
For a first world country such as Sweden, to not understand the diversity of cultures – which extends beyond just traditional costumes and dances, but also through to parenting styles and bringing up children – is just extremely bizarre. For the Swedish authority to detain the Malaysian parents based on an assumption of practicing abuse”, is wrong. For the Swedish authority to assume that the foster parents whom the kids are assigned to, to be better parents than their biological parents is also wrong. In fact, on this note, there have been many cases of rapes and abuse by the foster parents towards these children that are under their care. Finally for the Swedish authority to assume that there will not be any negative implications to the children that are being moved around (some moved a few times between a number of foster parents) are unas hamedly wrong. What more, to separate them from their siblings.
What is to become of these children? They will be brought up to become Swedish adults, although they are not. What do I mean by this? For example, the Malaysian-Muslim children who were sent to their Swedish foster parents will not only begin to practice the religious teachings of the foster parents, but also speak the language of the foster parents. Therefore, regardless of the nationality of the kids, they will grow up to become Swedish adults.
And that is just taking the example if the children are sent to foster parents; if they are sent to foster homes; their fates will be equally morbid if not worse.
Moving away from that point, as some of us may have different takes on how the right parenting should be; the more important question here is that how can the Swedish government be so heartless in humanizing something like this and making a business out of it. When these children are taken away from their parents and sent to foster care, those responsible as guardian will get a lot of money; and we’re not talking hundreds, but thousands per month.
An article written by a fellow colleague, Zan Azlee on January 21st shed light on the “black market business” of foster care in Sweden. The thing is, it is a common practice for teachers to ask children below the age of 15 years if their parents ever hit them. And if you have once been a child, you would know that if not always, it has happened at least once; not because your parents hate you or are just abusive, but because they want to teach you.
In plain words, the Swedish authorities took benefit in making money by forsaking other people’s children. This is upfront “kidnapping”, where you see your kids being taken away under your noses, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
There are some people who realize how wrong this brutal practice is, however, the number is not enough to change status quo. Now that we have such an expose to what really goes on, I honestly hope that something can be done to stop this on a global level.
Imagine this happening to you – your children taken away from you. How would you feel?
Izza Izelan
Sat Jan 25 2014
Tesla guna teknologi purba untuk selesai masalah Cybertruck
Rivet ialah teknologi yang telah digunakan oleh manusia sejak Zaman Gangsa lebih 4,000 tahun yang lalu.
Representasi mohon maaf dibuat atas cadangan Peguam Negara - Isham Jalil
Cadangan tersebut dibuat kepada peguam Isham beberapa minggu lalu, sebelum beliau bersetuju memandangkan kos guaman yang agak tinggi.
Gaza Freedom Flotilla: Ada kemungkinan lokasi pelepasan kapal terpaksa ditukar - FFC
Terdapat kemungkinan pelabuhan bagi pelepasan kapal yang terlibat dalam misi Break the Siege of Gaza Freedom Flotilla terpaksa ditukar.
AWANI Ringkas: Semua 10 mayat dihantar ke Hospital Permaisuri Bainun Ipoh
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Pantau Belanjawan: Meningkatkan kecekapan, produktiviti perkhidmatan kesihatan
Pantau Belanjawan membawa perkembangan terkini tentang aplikasi perkhidmatan komunikasi kesihatan, MedPlanner.
Johor laksana sunat istisqa' dan khutbah khas
Kerajaan negeri memandang serius keadaan kemarau yang berlaku di beberapa tempat dalam negara khususnya di negeri Johor.
Jongkong emas bernilai RM585 juta dijual hasil perlombongan di Tawau
Kerajaan Sabah juga telah menerima lima peratus royalti ke atas hasil jualan emas mentah berjumlah RM23.96 juta daripada lombong emas itu.
Pengarah syarikat gagal patuhi syarat lesen cetak al-Quran didenda RM8,000
Sebelum menjatuhkan hukuman, Majistret Farah Azura menasihatkan tertuduh supaya lebih peka dengan sensitiviti berhubung pencetakan al-Quran.
Nahas helikopter Lumut: Jenazah Komander Firdaus dikebumi di Pulau Pinang
Komander Muhammad Firdaus Ramli ,44, akan dikebumikan di kampung halamannya di Sungai Nibong Besar, Pulau Pinang.
Nahas helikopter Lumut: 'Takut tak sempat lepas ni' - Kakak pilu kenang permintaan terakhir arwah
Noryani berkata dia reda dengan pemergian adiknya itu selepas ibu bapa mereka meninggal dunia Januari dan Ogos tahun lalu.
Anak pasangan M'sia ditahan di Sweden ikuti kelas intensif Bahasa Melayu
Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM) telah menghantar dua lagi laporan berkala kepada Wisma Putra mengenai keadaan empat beradik itu, Jumaat lepas.
Kerajaan usaha dapatkan imuniti pegawai pelancongan di Sweden
Timbalan Menteri Luar Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin bagaimanapun berkata kerajaan akan sentiasa memastikan langkah dibuat mengikut perundangan negara berkenaan.
Azizul dan Shalwati tidak bersalah sehingga dibuktikan sebaliknya - Nazri
Kementerian Pelancongan dan Kebudayaan akan menunggu keputusan perbicaraan sebelum membuat sebarang keputusan untuk mengarahkannya kembali ke Malaysia atau sebaliknya.
Kes pukul anak di Sweden: Anak kenalpasti 'kayu yang berikat' sebagai objek memukulnya
Pendakwa raya telah menayangkan video temubual bersama anak bongsu pasangan tersebut yang berumur tujuh tahun, Arif.
Tourism Malaysia lantik peguam pemerhati perbicaraan kes Azizul dan Shalwati
Ketua Pengarah Tourism Malaysia Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab kini berada di Stockholm untuk memerhati perbicaraan kes Azizul dan Shalwati.
Tuduhan dera: Peguam Shalwati mahu buktikan wujud keraguan munasabah
Peguam Shalwati bersedia membuktikan bahawa wujudnya keraguan munasabah di atas kes yang dibentangkan pendakwaraya.
Empat anak pasangan Malaysia ditahan di Sweden terima berita dengan hati terbuka
Anak ketiga Azizul Raheem Awaluddin dan Norshalwati Norshal akui sedih menerima berita bahawa ibu bapa beliau akan didakwa di Mahkamah Deaerah Stolkholm.
Keluarga rakyat Malaysia yang ditahan di Sweden redha dengan pendakwaan
Perbicaraan kes pasangan itu ditetapkan bermula pada 18 Februari ini dan dijangka mengambil masa 10 hari.
Empat anak pasangan Malaysia ditahan di Sweden mohon tidak diganggu
Kempat-empat anak pasangan tersebut dikatakan sedih dengan berita berkenaan dan tidak ke sekolah pada Selasa.
Pasangan Malaysia di Sweden didakwa pukul anak sejak 2010
Azizul Raheem Awaluddin dan Shalwati Norshal didakwa memukul dan mendera keempat-empat anak mereka dalam beberapa insiden sejak September 2010 sehingga Disember tahun lalu.