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Two Armenian Children Allowed To Stay In Netherlands


NETHERLANDS -- Two Armenian teens, Howick (right), 13, and Lili, 12, pose in The Hague, August 13, 2018
NETHERLANDS -- Two Armenian teens, Howick (right), 13, and Lili, 12, pose in The Hague, August 13, 2018

Two Armenian children who went into hiding last week to avoid deportation from the Netherlands will continue to live in the country, an Armenian ombudsman confirmed on Friday.

Arman Tatoyan, according to his office, had a telephone conversation with Dutch Ombudsperson for children Margrite Kalverboer over the matter.

The report quoted Kalverboer as saying that the decision to allow Lili and Howick to stay was taken in the children’s best interest.

Dutch Justice Ministry spokesman Maarten Molenbeek said on September 8 that the two minors went missing from the foster home where they were staying during the night, hours after an Amsterdam court rejected their final bid to stop their deportation.

The children, aged 12 and 13, came to the Netherlands with their mother in 2008.

Their asylum claim was rejected by Dutch courts that ruled Armenia is a safe country.

The children’s mother, Armina Hambartsjumian, was deported to Armenia in 2017.

The case has attracted mass public attention, with the children appearing on national television to plead their case.

The children have never been to Armenia and do not speak Armenian.

Their lawyers argued unsuccessfully that their mother was unable to care for them properly.

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