German family seeks U.S. asylum to homeschool kidsRose French -
Associated Press MORRISTOWN, Tenn.3/31/2009 - Homeschooling is so important to
Uwe Romeike that the classically trained pianist sold his beloved grand
pianos to pay for moving his wife and five children from Germany to the
Smoky Mountain foothills of Tennessee.
Romeike, his wife Hannelore, and their children live in a modest duplex
about 40 miles northeast of Knoxville while they seek political asylum
here. They say they were persecuted for their evangelical Christian
beliefs and homeschooling their children in Germany, where school
attendance is compulsory.
When the Romeikes wouldn't comply with repeated orders to send the
children to school, police came to their home one October morning in
2006 and took the children, crying and upset, to school. "We tried not
to open the door, but they (police) kept ringing the doorbell for 15 or
20 minutes," Romeike said. "They called us by phone and spoke on the
answering machine and said they would knock open the door if we didn't
open it. So I opened it."
Romeike, like many conservative parents in the U.S., said he wanted to
teach his own children because his children's German school textbooks
contained language and ideas that conflicted with his family's values.
He had to pay fines equivalent to hundreds of dollars for his decision,
and he's afraid that if he returns to Germany, police will arrest him
and government authorities will take away his children, who range in age
from 11 to 3.
http://www.zundelsite.org/news_english/0041_german_family.html
