Displaying items by tag: non stop church service

Preachers at the Bethel Church in the Hague have been holding a round-the-clock service for over a month to stop a family of Armenian asylum seekers being deported. The family has lived in the Netherlands for nine years, integrated into the community, and made friends. But a court ruled on 25 October that they must return to Armenia. A centuries-old tradition states that authorities cannot enter a church while a service is taking place, so a service has continued since 26 October. The Tamrazyan family - mother, father, two daughters and a son - are staying inside the church, and therefore avoiding immigration authorities. The family’s asylum issue is still unresolved. The Dutch ‘children's pardon’ grants asylum to children who have lived there for over five years while their asylum application is processed. This action also calls attention to the fate of 400 children in similar circumstances.