The case of Marius and Ruth Bodnariu, whose children were taken by the Norwegian authorities in November last year, has captured the public and media attention. However, it seems that the number of Romanian children separated from their families by Norway's Child Welfare Service (Barnevernet) is much higher.

At present, there are seven families, in which at least one of the parents is Romanian, who have been going through similar situations. In total, 16 children have been taken by the Norwegian Barnevernet from these families, according to information from the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cited by local Digi24.

In the last five years, the Romanian Ministry has managed six other similar cases. Fortunately, all of them have been solved. In five of the cases, the authorities solved the situation by repatriating eight minors, and in one case the children have been given back to their family.

The authorities in Bucharest have taken several measures all this time, including the onset of parallel social surveys at the parents’ homes in Romania. In most cases, following these investigations, the Romanian authorities decided to ask the Norwegian side to repatriate the children.

The case of Marius and Ruth Bodnariu is the best-known case of a Romanian family whose children were taken by the Norwegian authorities. The case triggered many reactions and protests in Romania and abroad as thousands rallied in front of Norway's embassies in Romania and abroad asking that the children be returned to their family.

The media also covered another case recently: Mihaela and Dumitru Nan, another Romanian family living in Norway whose children had been taken away by the local social services.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com