UPDATE: Home-schooled Norwegian boy back with his family

By Jonathon Van Maren

Many of you read my column earlier this week on the state abduction in Norway of a 12-year-old boy, who was taken from his parents in response to their decision to home-school him (I also wrote a column on the incident for LifeSiteNews.) Moments ago, I received an email from Caroline Craddock of CitizenGo, which had been circulating a petition on behalf of the parents:

Last week, I wrote to you about Kai Kristiansen, a homeschooled 12-year-old boy who was violently tackled in the snow and taken away by Norway’s child protective services. Kai was being homeschooled by his parents after he had been mercilessly bullied in the local school. The family hoped to make Norway (where Kai‘s father, Leif, was born) their home after moving from Terese’s native Canada. The family released this statement on Facebook:

We are happy to announce that Kai is back in his home with his family. We are thrilled to see him again. We could not have done this without International support from others and helped make this happen for us. We are eternally grateful! Our lawyer advised us to only announce when Kai was home and not comment before. We had to consent to an agreement of which the terms are not complete until May 3rd! This is an exhausting process, but anything to get Kai home.

Leif Kristiansen Terese Kristiansen

This is a miraculous outcome! I think this victory is largely due to the outpouring of international support for the Kristiansen family. Norway’s Barnevernet (their version of CPS) is notoriously stubborn. But Kai‘s family was able to get in contact with the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), who worked with CitizenGO to take immediate action on this injustice. And you responded! Tens of thousands of concerned families from all over the world signed our petition, making contact with Norway’s Barnevernet and embassies in the United States, Canada, and around the world, demanding justice for the family.

This is a wonderful resolution to the situation, and many thanks goes out to those who raised awareness about the situation and signed the petition!