Bahar Göçer, who has been residing in Hannover, Germany, handed over three of her five children to the state's Youth Welfare Department, claiming she was unable to care for them. Her oldest son ended up in jail. Despite living separately from her husband, because her youngest son refuses to live with his stepfather, Göçer has now given birth to a sixth child.
Named Meryem, she was taken by the German Department of Youth Welfare directly from the hospital, before she even had a chance to see her mother's face. Prior to Meryem's birth, her mother, Bahar Göçer already had three children from her first husband, 21-year old, and 16-year-old sons and a 15-year-old daughter. Göçer also had two daughters, aged 3 and 2, with her second husband Mustafa Göçer.
THREE TAKEN BY THE STATE
Her oldest son ended up in jail, while her 15-year-old daughter applied to the Department of Youth Welfare and began staying in a dormitory under their care. Bahar Göçer also ended up handing over her younger daughter's to the state as well, claiming she was unable to care for them. The two and three-year-old girls were placed in homes with German families. The only child she had left under her care was her 16-year-old son and he refused to live under the same roof as his stepfather. Due to the situation, Bahar and Mustafa Göçer chose to live in separate homes. Yet still, Bahar Göçer became pregnant with her sixth child, which she then gave birth to a month ago. The Department of Youth Welfare however took over custody of the baby girl just half an hour after she was born. The Department of Youth Welfare had made all necessary arrangement prior to the baby's birth, including informing hospital officials and arranging for an ambulance. The young baby's father wasn't even allowed to see his child, before they took the newborn away.
"YOU WERE UNABLE TO BUILD A FAMILY"
Acting to a court order, the Department of Youth Welfare states the reason behind the relinquishing of custody as being the inability to take care of their other children or to build a family. Bahar Göçer has acknowledged the fact that she had handed over custody of her two daughters, Elfidan (3) and Rabia (2) to the Youth Department. Göçer states, "I wasn't able to take care of my other daughters, however I will be able to take care of this baby at home. I had prepared everything. But they took her away from me before I even had a chance to smell her. I also have the right to see my two daughters that were placed with German families; however they won't let me see them."
Mentioning that her 16-year-old son does not want her husband to live with them, Göçer states, "My son doesn't approve of me staying under the same roof as my husband, so we have separate homes. The Department of Youth Welfare is using this as an excuse when they state, 'You are unable to build a family'. I started working when I was 16 and I have been employed as a taxi driver for the past 12 years. I haven't been working since I became pregnant. I want the Department to give me back my child." According to Turkish attorney Adnan Kuybu, who is also in Hannover, upon inspection o f the court order, the mother does have the right to appeal and if the accounts in the report are disproved then she could get her children back from the state.
We don't have any money, but we do have a mind, we 'planned' to have this baby!
The father whose child was taken from his hands, Mustafa Göçer, also states they 'planned' this birth. "Just because we don't have money, doesn't mean we don't have minds. We made a conscious decision to have this child. We have had our rights to be a father and a mother taken from us, using our economic situation and the fact that we live apart as an excuse. I have been doing decoration plastering for ten years now and I have a small store. However, I am not well-off economically and therefore we need help with an attorney."