Round-the-clock services protect asylum seekers

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — For more than a month, a rotating roster of preachers has been leading a non-stop, round-the-clock service at a small Protestant chapel in The Hague in an attempt to shield a family of Armenian asylum seekers from deportation.

Under a centuries-old tradition, authorities in the Netherlands don’t enter a church while a service is under way. That means that for now the Tamrazyan family — parents, their two daughters and son — are safe from Dutch immigration authorities who want to send them back to Armenia.

“There was only one thing you could do and that was starting a church service to save the life of this family, but also call attention for the fate of so many children in similar circumstances,” said Theo Hettema, chair of the General Council of the Protestant Church of The Hague. “It’s heartbreaking. We had compassion and we had good reasons and we thought it was the mission of our church to act like this.”

The church service shines a light on a problem facing authorities in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe: what to do with families who have been fighting legal battles for asylum for so long that their children have become deeply integrated into society, going to school, learning the language and making friends.

The Tamrazyan family has been living in the Netherlands for nearly nine years, as their asylum application and various appeals proceeded slowly through the courts. Now the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, has ruled they must return to their home country, which is considered safe by the Dutch government.

The Associated Press was not given access to the family. “The father was politically active and fled to the Netherlands because of threats,” Hettema said.

Over the years, sisters Hayarpi, 21, and Warduhi, 19, and their 15-year-old brother Seyran have laid down roots, attended school and made friends.

While the round-the-clock service continues, the family sometimes listens to the sermon, cooks or receives visits from friends.

“It’s very stressful for them,” Hettema said. “Sometimes they are sad and nervous and sometimes they are hopeful and give us hope in return.”

Hettema said that after initially using local preachers to deliver the service, the church has now reached out to others and has received offers of help from some 500 people from different churches as far away as Belgium.

Mike Corder is an Associated Press writer.

Niels Wenstedt / AFP / Getty Images Seyran (right) and his sister Warduhi were born in Armenia. The family has taken shelter in the Bethel church in The Hague, which is holding non-stop services to prevent deportation.