It is an emotional day for mothers and children who are separated from each other in distance houses such as Mother’s Heil in Breda and Huize in the bend in Goirle. Between 1956 and 1984, at least fifteen thousand young mothers were forced to give up their child in the Netherlands because they were pregnant unmarried. At that time that was a shame. On Thursday a report was published about that dark period.
The mother of Eugénie Smits van Waesberghe also had to give up her daughter. She could not raise her herself. Eugénie has been waiting for ten years for recognition of the suffering that was affected.
Eugénies controls its history of forced distance and adoption. “I feel recognized today, because of what was said by chairman Micha de Winter of Investigation Committee. But I haven’t read everything yet. And I don’t know what all the advice is.”
Peter van Aar from Oss also only knew at the age of 29 who was his biological mother. Together with his twin brother, he was born in Mother’s Heil and handed over to a warm adoptiezin together with his brother. He experienced a very big deep emotion when he listened to the presentation of the report. “I really like that this research has been. My mother has given us off but could never let it go.”
Damage by shame
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives acknowledged the injustice that was done to distance mothers. And the Fiom, the institution where unmarried mothers can go, apologized in December last year. At the request of the government, an independent committee conducted years of research into what happened there and who was responsible for it. The report on this came out on Thursday. It is called ‘Damage due to shame’.
Eugenie wants to know who caused the shame. Because according to her, that is not very clear in the report: “Chairman of the Micha de Winter investigation committee mentions quite a few perpetrators. Not only the government, the child protection, but certainly also the family of the unmarried pregnant girl and even the psychologists and psychiatrists who found young mothers unsuitable for motherhood because they were getting pregnant.”
All -man
Eugénie: “It’s all right, but you don’t really point out to anyone. It will be a everyone’s thing. Then you can still not address anyone. I think our community needs to address someone and say,” Hey, you didn’t do that so well. “
Compensation is also mentioned. But Peter is not about the money: “You can’t convert it into money at all. Open the story and connect people.”
State Secretary Teun Struycken (NSC) of legal protection, who received the report, only comes with conclusions later. He will first read the report. He did say that he joins a motion from the SP in the Lower House in which the injustice is acknowledged that the unmarried mothers and their children are affected. The motion calls for recognition and recovery for those involved because many of them still experience the consequences.