ROTTERDAM
A demonstration was held in Rotterdam on Sunday to protest the situation of children who had been taken from their parents and given to foster families in the Netherlands.
Almost 1,500 people who attended the demonstration in Rotterdam, a city densely populated by non-Dutch people, wanted those children to be given back to their parents.
Along with the Turks whose children were taken from them, Dutch, Moroccan and Jewish families participated in the protest organized by a group of volunteer young people who call themselves "Doves of Peace".
Arnoud van Doorn, an alderman of The Hague City Council who announced he converted to Islam after resigning from Freedom Party (PVV) led by extreme rightist Geert Wilders, supported the families who attended the protest and wanted their children back.
Van Doorn said, he was also a foster parent, and was looking after children who were taken from their families by the Youth Protection Bureau. "I'm here to support you," he told the families attended the protest.
Van Doorn demanded creation of a commission for investigation into the Youth Protection Bureau and called on the families not to cease their fight.
