A judge has given a thumbs down to a family of American missionaries who had sought permission to remain in Germany, where they have been serving a church work in Nurnberg.
The word comes from the International Human Rights Group, which has been working to help the family of Clint Robinson.
"We have been consulting with U.S. government officials in Germany as well as handling the administrative and legal case on behalf of the Robinson family," a statement given by Joel Thornton, the IHRG president, to WND said.
"Yesterday we learned that the court has refused to rule on the Robinsons' behalf. The court's ruling was entirely on a procedural matter; the court refused to deal with the question as to whether the refusal to grant a permit to stay in Germany is ill-founded or not...," he said.
The Home School Legal Defense Association, the world's largest homeschool advocacy organization, earlier had documented the story of Clint Robinson, his wife Susan and their three children, who arrived in Germany in March 2007 after they sold their possessions in the U.S. and took on an assignment as missionaries.
When they arrived, they applied for a residency permit, required by the government. But local authorities immediately reacted to the family's plans to homeschool their own children, noting, "they were already aware that these missionaries refuse to give their children over to the state school system."
"German officials appear to be more determined than ever to rid their country of influences that may contribute to the rise of what they call 'Parallelgesellschaften,' parallel societies," the HSLDA said in a statement at the time. "Never mind that Germany has hundreds of thousands of genuinely truant youth hanging around street corners; school officials have determined that parents diligently educating their children at home are a greater danger to German society."
"The German education system is very hostile to devout Christian faith," Thornton said. "Their health education in public middle schools is very explicit regarding human reproduction. It is often nothing short of pornographic, even in the lower grades. Their science curriculum is very heavily weighted in its discussions of evolution. Also, there is a lot of teaching on occult practices."
Homeschooling has been in illegal in Germany since the days of Hitler, but the crackdowns seem to be tightening. In recent months homeschoolers have been fined the equivalent of thousands of dollars, had custody of their children taken away, had their homes threatened with seizure and in one case, that of Melissa Busekros, had a team of SWAT officers arrive on a doorstep with orders to seize her, "if necessary by force."
The organizations worked with German lawyers before Christmas to obtain a brief extension of a Dec. 20 deadline for deportation for the Robinsons.
Thornton told WND that the latest decision is being appealed immediately.
"We are also meeting with local German officials in an attempt to get them to grant the visa regardless of the court decision," he said. "This is an alternative way to keep the Robinson family in Germany."
The family's original deportation order was handed down in August, with a deadline 45 days out. Then in September, a Germany organization launched by HSLDA filed an appeal on behalf of the Robinson family, against delaying the deportation.
The HSLDA reports that German President Angela Merkel has a website where it is possible to ask questions of her directly, and that the questions that get the most input will be answered.
The organization has set up a link on its website to encourage people to request information about why homeschooling is not allowed in Germany.
The circumstances have gotten so extreme that one family even fled to Iran for its relative freedom of choice in educating their gifted son.
Even advocates for homeschooling have begun to fear for their safety of their families.
"It is very likely that our family [will have] to leave the country this year. Maybe I have to bring my children and my wife to a place of safety within the next weeks or even days," one advocate said in a personal message to the Home School Legal Defense Association, the world's largest homeschool advocacy organization which has been involved in a number of recent cases in Germany.
"The behavior of German authorities against families who homeschool goes against the very fiber of what free and democratic societies stand for – that governments exist to protect the rights of people not to take them away," Mike Donnelly, a staff attorney for the HSLDA, said. "In Germany it appears that the judicial, executive and legislative branches of government do not care to protect the human right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children which includes the right to homeschool – a view shared by nearly all other western civilized countries."
Another family recently fled Germany for England to avoid threatened court action by family court officials. The Landahl family was facing a court case assembled by the mayor of Altenschieg.
"Even the United Nations has called on Germany to reform the way it treats homeschoolers. We appeal to the German people and German leadership to do what is right and to protect rather than attack families who choose to homeschool their children," the HSDLA has noted.
Wolfgang Drautz, consul general for the Federal Republic of Germany, has commented on the issue on a blog, noting the government "has a legitimate interest in countering the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion or motivated by different world views and in integrating minorities into the population as a whole."
Drautz said homeschool students' test results may be as good as for those in school, but "school teaches not only knowledge but also social conduct, encourages dialogue among people of different beliefs and cultures, and helps students to become responsible citizens."
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Missionaries' deportation postponed, for now
Homeschoolers flee to Iran seeking educational freedom
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Parents race to escape before court takes kids
Truancy hearing targets homeschooling mom
Homeschoolers facing $6,300 fine
American missionaries targeted for deportation
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