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Mona and her three children are in war-torn Lebanon.
But she does not intend to return to Sweden – the children are taken care of according to LVU.
And Mona herself is a criminal suspect for withholding the children from social services.
– I refuse to leave the children away from me. They are best with their mother, she says.
Over 3,800 people have been killed in the war between Hezbollah and Israel and during the autumn bombings in large parts of Lebanon and fighting in the border area have forced many to flee.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has long urged all Swedes to leave Lebanon.
Over a crackly WhatsApp line, the woman we call Mona describes how she and her children move from place to place.
– Right now we are in a safe place, the children are fine. But we have heard rockets everywhere. It is acquaintances and relatives who die. It is difficult to experience war, says Mona.
But despite that, Mona does not intend to return to Sweden with the children.
There is a decision here that the children must be cared for according to the LVU.
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full screenMona and her children. Photo: Private
“Thought he would change his mind”
In the spring of 2022, the police are alerted after Mona’s ex is suspected of having been violent and threatening.
According to Mona, it is not the first time he has been violent towards her.
– Ever since we got engaged, he has been violent, but I loved him so much. I thought he would change his mind, that he would become a good father and a good man, but it didn’t happen that way, she says.
Mona and the children move to sheltered housing.
– But I was terrified. After we broke up he threatened to kill me so no one else could have me. And when you experience a lot of violence from someone, you believe what he says.
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full screenMona says that she and the children move from place to place, to be in as safe places as possible. Photo: Bilal Hussein / AP
Describes a terrible time
When Mona later wants to move away from there, not back to her husband but to the city where she lives and has her family and friends, the social service opposes it.
They judge that it is dangerous for the children and that Mona and the children should move to an investigation accommodation instead.
For Mona, it’s a terrible time. She describes how she and the children live in a large house by the forest, together with other families to be investigated, where many are unwell, crying and screaming. How she gets an upset stomach and almost becomes apathetic just being there, without her social network and employment. She feels constantly being judged and that life there means that they cannot have their usual routines.
– At any time the staff could enter the room, it didn’t matter if you were sitting on the toilet or standing in the shower, you had no privacy.
The children must be taken care of
Mona feels that the children are not doing well either, she says that her eldest daughter sleeps badly and wakes up at night crying. According to Mona, the children have now started to be intimidated by threatening social services.
– My youngest child has become afraid of the police, she says.
Mona wants to leave the investigation home with the children, but social services assess that the children have a great need for care and that they still need to be placed in an investigation home. Because Mona was ambivalent and had previously left sheltered accommodation, the social services believe that an LVU is necessary.
Social services consider, among other things, that it is serious that Mona has remained or returned to the home environment with the father. The staff at the investigation accommodation also felt that Mona had difficulty setting boundaries for the children, had a lack of supervision over them and did not manage their routines correctly.
– I asked them to assess my contribution as a mother in our home instead of where we could live our normal lives, because it is very difficult to live as you normally do, in a home like that.
The administrative court approves the social welfare board’s application and decides that the children should be taken into care.
Mona opposes the decision.
“Didn’t hear anything”
In a judgment from the administrative court, it is stated that Mona illegally left the residence with the children and that social services reported it to the police.
Because it is a crime to remove a child who is cared for according to the LVU from their placement without the approval of social services.
Mona is suspected of arbitrariness with children.
She does not want to go into any details about how it happened when the children left the residence.
– At the beginning of the year, I was interviewed by the police. I just said: “I have no comment”.
Mona is afraid that the children will not be allowed to be together if they are taken into care. And she thinks the children should be with her, their mother.
– I have heard very bad things about placements with children who smoke, are exposed and addicted to drugs. Why should my children have to go through that? No, I don’t want to lose my children, but I want to raise children I can be proud of.
But given the situation in Lebanon, wouldn’t it be safer for the children to come to Sweden even if they are taken into care?
– No, because here they are with me and in Sweden they wouldn’t be.
But what do you think is best for the children?
– Of course Sweden, but we still have a good time here. We have our own home, there is good care, they go to school and have friends so it works well here.
Mona is still in contact with the social service, but says that her trust in the Swedish authorities is gone.
– As long as the LVU remains, I will stay here. I really want to come to Sweden where I lived for almost 20 years and I feel sad that I can’t be there with the children. But from my perspective, I have no choice.
FACT Care of young people, LVU
Children who are at risk of harm can be cared for according to the LVU, the law with special provisions on the care of young people.
LVU care may become relevant when the guardians do not want to agree to the care plan proposed by social services. LVU can also be relevant if the young person is over 15 and does not accept voluntary solutions themselves.
In order for LVU to become relevant, there must be great risks that the child’s health or development will be damaged. It can be given either because the guardians cannot give the child what it needs, for example due to a lack of care, the child is exploited or abused or something else in the home that risks harming the child’s health or development. It can also be given if the young person is at risk of harming himself, through, for example, substance abuse or crime.
It is the administrative court that decides whether care should be provided or not, after an application for LVU has been sent from the municipality’s social welfare committee.
Source: Sweden’s courts
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