What's to fear from homeschoolers? The German government thinks a child that is homeschooled and exhibits obedience to parents needs to be under psychiatric evaluation. Read the outrageous story plus video report here. An excerpt:
CBNNews.com - ERLANGEN, Germany - In the Bavarian town of Erlangen, a girl is missing. She was taken from her parents in a SWAT-style police raid last month that some are calling an abduction.
She was taken because German officials consider her family to be dangerous. Their name is Busekros.
This story began when 15-year-old Melissa Busekros began to have a bad experience in public school and fell behind in some classes. So her parents, Hubert and Gudrun, decided to homeschool her.
But in Germany, homeschooling is treated like a crime. Some German homeschoolers have been accused
of treason, and they have been persecuted without mercy by the state.
.. .Melissa was taken twice. The first time to a psychiatrist and given a psychiatric evaluation, after which she was diagnosed with something officials called "school phobia."
She was returned home. But the police came a second time and took her into state custody.
So Melissa was taken from her parents in Erlangen, brought to Nuremberg, and placed in a mental hospital -- with real mental patients.
She was housed with teens that were severely depressed and had attempted suicide. . .
And in fact, the agency's psychiatric evaluation of the girl, mentions something else: her devotion and obedience to her father Hubert, which is portrayed as a mental disorder.
The evaluation says that Melissa is "a highly disturbed girl who obediently and faithfully obeys the idealistic statements of her father and who describes the State as being despotic and 'fascist-like'."
It adds, with a concerned tone, that "Melissa demonstrates loyalty towards her father and unconditional solidarity with her family."
"They say I am influencing the children too much…," said Hubert. "They want to stop any influence of the father."
Joerg said, "If you have a good relationship to your children -- a very close relationship like in the Busekros case, it seems to be in the eyes of the officials, something which is dangerous."
The Busekros' attorney Gabriela Eckermann told a judge in the case, "For the Erlangen Youth Welfare Office, 15 year olds only seem to be "normal" if they live according to their own wishes…if they do not love their parents…but…rebel against them cooperate with…the police, court, youth welfare office and experts…against their own parents."
Gudrun said, "…that our daughter is loyal to us or has the same convictions we have? This is not normal for them."
"For us, it's very important to be able to bring our children up without being directed by the state or government officials, because it's the right of the parent alone to bring up their children," said Hubert.
The German Youth Welfare Office, or Jugendamt, has an unfortunate history. It was used by the Nazis to subvert the authority of parents and take state control of children.
Germany's anti-homeschooling laws also have their roots in Adolf Hitler.
Today's laws still read like the Nazi compulsory education law.
Melissa is now with a foster family at a secret location while a court fight continues. . .