Day 25 of 79-year-old man's hunger strike for children's pardon

Eduard Disch, a 79-year-old man from Maastricht, has been on a hunger strike in front of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) in The Hague for 25 days. He will stay there until the government implements a pardon for children born in the Netherlands who are being deported to other countries, he told NOS.

Disch’s protest began after an item on the NOS Jeugdjournaal about 13-year-old Ariana facing deportation to Uzbekistan. Her story affected him so much that he got onto the train to The Hauge that same day. Now, he is also protesting for 11-year-old Mikael from Amsterdam, who is facing deportation to Armenia.

“I am here, and I will stay here until justice is done for the children,” Disch told Amsterdam broadcaster AT5. “You cannot do this to a child. Children must never, ever be the victims of adults’ actions.”

For 25 days, the former director of a homeless shelter has been sitting in front of the IND office every day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. He has two large signs next to him. One reads: “Stop the detention and deportation of children!”

At night, he sleeps with people in The Hague who support the cause. A doctor visits him every day to check on his health.

Mikael visited Disch at the IND office on Monday. “I am proud of him, and I am very happy about it,” the 11-year-old Amsterdam boy said afterward. “I hope that it will have an effect on my situation.”

Mikael was born in Amsterdam after his mother’s first asylum application was rejected. Last week, the Council of State ruled that they couldn’t stay in the Netherlands. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema pleaded with Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber to consult with the IND and intervene in Mikael’s case, but the Minister’s spokesperson said there was nothing to be done and Mikeal and his mother would definitively be deported to Armenia. It is not yet clear when this will happen.

Halsema later said that she was hoping for some “humanity” from the PVV Minister.