British court lets children return home

The active involvement of Slovak authorities in recent British court trials has benefitted a Slovak family living in Great Britain whose children were taken away by British officials. The latest verdict in the case of Viera Čonková and Miroslav Goroľ will allow them to return home together with their five children, the Sme daily reported on September 22.

“We were nervous, stressed,” said Čonková, as quoted by Sme, when describing how they felt while awaiting the verdict. Yet, she was happy to announce that their family can be reunited.

The family might leave the United Kingdom next week, with the children accompanied by British social workers. Čonková still fears that her five children will have to go to an orphanage, as they will have to remain under the supervision of social workers.

The parents now must persuade the authorities that although they ended up without work and hope in Great Britain, they are now able to take care of their children.

Until now, they had good references in Slovakia.

Čonková especially praised the work of Andrea Císarová, from the Centre for International Protection of Children and Youths, who attended the proceeding and stressed that maintaining relations and contact with siblings is necessary for good child development, Sme wrote.