79-year-old activist for children's pardon ends hunger strike after 30 days

Eduard Disch, the man who spent 30 days on hunger strike in front of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) building in The Hague, has stopped his action on the advice of his family doctor. The 79-year-old Disch wanted an immediate child pardon for all children who have to wait more than five years in the Netherlands for their residence permit. He also asked for a "sustainable and child-friendly asylum policy." "These goals have not been achieved in the past thirty days," the statement said.

The Maastricht resident has announced that he will return soon. According to his spokesperson, this will take the form of a daily vigil in front of the Ministry of Asylum and Migration building. "He will sit there every workday during the day until there is a child pardon," says his spokesperson. He hopes that more people will join the vigil.

It is not yet known when Disch will begin his vigil. For now, he will return to Maastricht to recover. "Depending on the doctors' assessment, we will choose the time," his spokesperson explained.

In the past, Disch was the head of a reception center in Maastricht. Following an article in the NOS Jeugdjournaal about the Uzbek Babayants family, who were to be deported, Disch said he had "had enough" and traveled to The Hague for his action. Incidentally, the Babayants family, with two parents and four children, will be allowed to stay in the Netherlands for now. The court ruled last month that the family could not be deported while their asylum proceedings were ongoing. The family has been in the Netherlands for over ten years.

Just last week, Disch met with the Amsterdam boy Mikael (11). He and his Armenian mother must leave the country, but it is unknown when. Asylum Minister Faber confirmed last week that there is nothing she can do for Mikael and said that the responsibility lies with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND). Both the children's rights organization Defence for Children and the Mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, spoke of a harsh sentence and pleaded for leniency. A petition to grant the boy and his mother a residence permit in the Netherlands anyway has now been signed almost 84,000 times.