A Turkish German family hailed Germany's decision to scrap the decision to allow the placement of their baby with gay parents following Türkiye's intervention in the case supporting the family's opposition.
In May, the 10-month-old boy was handed over to the Jugendamt, the German child welfare office, on the grounds that the mother, allegedly suffering from psychological problems, was unfit to parent and the infant was underdeveloped.
Despite the parents’ protests, the office did not retract its decision and the case was soon widely covered in Turkish media.
The family, who lives in Duisburg, said their child was placed with a gay couple living near Cologne. They claimed that it was not an isolated case and that many other Turkish families had the same problem. A.K., the mother, has claimed she was allowed to see her son only once a month and called upon Turkish authorities to help her.
A.K. said after the decision that the Jugendamt apparently “felt the pressure” after media coverage of her case. “(Türkiye’s) Family, Labor and Social Services Ministry attache’s office in Düsseldorf found us a lawyer and Family and Social Services Minister Derya Yanık personally took interest in the case,” she said, expressing her gratitude. A.K. stated that she also received many messages of support on social media. “We hope Jugendamt does not make another mistake and places my son at least with a Turkish family so he would not be deprived of the opportunity to learn Turkish culture and language,” she said.
Türkiye’s Family, Labor and Social Services Ministry had suggested two Turkish volunteer foster parents for E. earlier. The ministry said in a recent statement that it hoped the request would be considered. The ministry also said it asks host countries to consider lifestyle choices based on cultural and moral norms in such cases while assessing the foster care process for Turkish children.
The ministry, whose work was largely confined to Türkiye, has expanded its activities abroad in recent years. It seeks to promote the adoption of Turkish children in expat communities abroad by Turkish foster parents. Minister Yanık recently announced that some 200 Turkish children have been returned to their biological parents since 2015 in Germany thanks to the work of their attache offices in the European countries. First lady Emine Erdoğan also spearheads efforts to promote the foster parenting process among Turkish families abroad. Her campaign has seen 599 families volunteering to be foster parents in European countries.
In force since 1924, the Jugendamt was established to protect children but has become notorious for targeting the children of immigrant families. It gets paid by the German state according to the number of children it takes care of, and some foster parents manipulate child care issues for their own economic interests. Such factors undermine the operation of the institution, which was originally founded with goodwill. Immigrant families in the country are scared to take their children to the hospital or psychologists because sharing their problems may mean they will inform the Jugendamt, which takes custody of the children from their families. For instance, the child of a Turkish family with the surname of Toprak was forcibly taken when they took him to a hospital after he had chips stuck in his throat, while other families’ children were taken away because they allegedly spoiled their children and gave them "excessive attention." Germany currently hosts a large number of Turkish immigrants, mostly descendants of "guest workers."
