Preface.
It is a summer evening, it is hot outside and the sun is still shining. The birds are chirping, it is a day like always.
At least, that's what the Smith family (not my real surname) hoped.
The father and mother of 8-month-old Benjamin are sitting at the table, the father busy with finances. The mother is busy eating dinner.
She watches her husband sitting at the table with his hands in his hair.
The peace in the house is suddenly disturbed by the doorbell and the banging on the door.
"Open up, youth care!"
Immediately they both look up, the first thought is; no...not again. Not like with Oliver.
Oliver is their first child, placed out of the home when he was 2, they never saw him again.
The father stands up and tries to stay calm, hoping it's not for that reason. Quietly he opens the door, there are 2 policemen and an employee of youth care.
"I think you know why we are here."
Says the employee and speaks professionally.
And bad feeling goes through the father's underbelly and looks worriedly at his wife who is already immediately looking at the 2 agents with tears in her eyes.
This is the beginning of Benjamin's (not my real name) story.
Benjamin was only 8 months old when he was forcibly removed from the home by child welfare.
There have been around 3 court cases before his 5th year of his life. And has been moved no less than 6 times to another family and 2 times back to his official mom and dad before the same age.
When he was almost 5 he came into a foster family with 2 mothers; Eveline and Shantal. (Not my real foster mothers family).
It was a beginning of hope. But in this interim period his real parents never contacted him.
He just went to school. And everything went well...
Until one day.
