A church in The Hague, the Netherlands, has successfully prevented the deportation of five members of an Armenian refugee family by holding an around-the-clock service that lasted 96 days. Bethel Church took advantage of an obscure Dutch law that forbids police to interrupt church services and started a service on October 26 in order to protect Hayarpi, Warduhi and Seyran, the three children from the Tamrazyan family, and their parents — who were seeking sanctuary in the church — from being arrested and sent back to Armenia. More than 550 pastors from about 20 denominations across Europe rotated through Bethel Church to keep the service going, according to the New York Times. The Tamrazyan family has been in the country since 2010 after being forced to flee Armenia for political reasons. The Dutch government repeatedly tried to deny the family asylum and was only successful on its third attempt. However, the three children had been in the country for more than five years by then and were eligible for an amnesty under a law that was enacted in 2013, according to the New York Times. After 96 days and following a petition signed by more than 250,000 people calling for a change to the law, Bethel Church was able to end its service on Tuesday, when the Dutch government agreed to reassess the cases for up to 700 families who were listed for deportation despite having lived in the country for more than a decade in some cases. Click the link in bio for the full story 👆 (📷: Peter Wassing, Getty, AP) - #bethelchurch #tamrazyan #church #christianchurch #pastor #pastors #minister #christian #christianity #refugee #refugees #refugeechildren #refugeeswelcome #asylum #shelter #sanctuary #resettlement #deportation #family #families #thehague #netherlands #dutch #kerkasiel #kerkasielbethel #asielzoeker #asielzoekers #denhaag #nederland #kinderpardon
