Domestic disturbance in the center of Warsaw. Adults stabbed themselves in front of five children. Earlier, for several years, neighbors had reported to various services that things were very bad in this family. The probation officer intervened and the case went to court. Despite this, it was not possible to place the children in other homes. Material “Attention!” TVN.
It was 5:45 a.m. when the residents of one of the tenement houses in the center of Warsaw were awakened by a scream. The neighbor – Mrs. Monika – ran out to the balcony. It turned out that a bloody woman was sitting in the corridor and an injured man was lying outside the door of her apartment. Five children witnessed the drama.
Another resident picked up a one-year-old boy, he was covered in blood and crying a lot. She also calmed down an 8-year-old girl and heard from her: “Dad was angry with mom and dad wanted to kill her.” She hugged and calmed a jittery 14-year-old with autism. – He said he didn't want to live like this, that he was fed up, that things would never be normal again. That mom will die. I feel sorry for these children, they are not guilty of anything, she said.
READ MORE: A quarrel with a knife. Two people were in hospital, there were five children in the apartment
Neighbors reported children crying and screaming
Eight years ago, a woman with three children moved into one of the carefully renovated tenement houses on Próżna Street. Then, from her relationship with another partner, two boys were born. Residents of the tenement house claim that the family did not properly care for the children from the beginning.
– They didn't leave the house during the day, the windows were closed. There was silence. It was approaching 10 p.m. and they were getting out of bed and their so-called day was just beginning. It lasted until 5 a.m., says Ms. Monika.
– She at 24-1 walked the dogs. And at that time she took her children with her, says Mrs. Bożena.
– These children have transparent bodies, every vein is visible, because they only came out after dark – adds Mrs. Monika. And he explains: – The children were screaming and crying non-stop.
– There are small children there – one-year-old, three-year-old, a girl who went to first grade and a boy who is 13 or 14 years old, has autism. And the oldest one is almost 17 years old, says Ms. Monika.
What has disturbed the residents the most for years are the desperate screams. – Four years ago, we wrote and called the district police officer and the administration. Everywhere. We felt sorry for the children, says Mrs. Bożena.
– We didn't want this mother to suffer any consequences, we just wanted them to guide her and help her. Meanwhile, the police said that it was a neighborly conflict, that we were picking on each other – Mrs. Monika is outraged.
The man wanted to leave his partner?
After dramatic scenes took place in the apartment on Próżna Street, both the woman and her partner Konrad R. were taken to hospital. Despite their wounds, they survived.
We managed to talk to Konrad R.'s sister.
– He contacted me two weeks ago. He wrote that he was fed up with all this because she was suppressing him terribly. He wanted to leave her, says Mrs. Magdalena.
– From what I know, he talked to the curator about the children. That something bad is happening there. And to pick up these children. That he prefers these children to be in an orphanage or a foster family rather than with her, because he is unable to take care of them. He tried to get them out somehow, he adds.
It turns out that the family already had a Blue Card three years ago. Employees of the social welfare center also noticed irregularities.
– We started cooperation with this family after reporting concerns from the surrounding community, i.e. neighbors. That's why we started working on improving its functioning. Unfortunately, it did not work – admits Katarzyna Fronczak, director of the Social Welfare Center of the Śródmieście District in Warsaw.
“Children should be picked up in emergency mode”
– What happened in this family, based on the recordings I listened to, was abuse and violence. This is undoubtedly a life- and health-threatening situation that should result, especially taking into account the history of this family, because it was not an incident, it was recorded in the system, that there were previous interventions, it should result in the child being protected outside the family with immediate effect. This is the so-called interventional removal of a child – there is no doubt about it, Dr. Anna Krawczak, an expert at the Giving Children Strength foundation for adoption and foster care.
The family also had a probation officer who warned several years ago that the children should be placed in foster care urgently.
– The probation officer told me that she has been working in her profession for 30 years, she wrote an application to the court to place children in foster care, and for the first time in her career, the court rejected her application. It was about two or three years ago, says Ms. Monika.
We asked the court for information regarding the proceedings regarding the removal of children. No one from the court wanted to appear on camera. We only received a written response.
It turns out that in April 2021, the team for counteracting domestic violence applied for the children to be placed in foster care. In July, the court appointed a guardian. And he set a date for the family to be examined by forensic specialists. First for August, then for September. The mother did not show up for both dates, explaining that she and the children were infected.
The next date was set almost a year later – the mother did not show up for the tests again. It was only in December 2023 that it was tested. In January 2024, the opinion was submitted to the court, and only in May the decision was made to place the children in foster care. A month later, the mother appealed against this decision, which means that the decision is not final until now.
“This game can be continued”
– The system treats parental authority and the parents themselves like eggs. You can choose not to come to the examinations ordered by the court and you will not be penalized in any way, for example by the court saying – enough of the game, then we comply with the decision and these children are to be placed outside the family. It turns out that this game can be continued, says Dr. Anna Krawczak.
– The court was guided by concern not to harm the mother, forgetting that those whom we should really protect are always children – the expert notes.
– These children should have been placed in other homes a long time ago, where they would have love and peace. I want to cry, I feel sorry for the children – concludes Mrs. Monika.
Main photo source: TVN Attention!