Fatima (40) finally understands the suffering caused by the benefits affair: 'I lost a child'

Fatima (40) from Zwolle not only had to deal with recoveries from the tax authorities, but also had to say goodbye to a child. She hopes that politics and youth care will learn from the new research report. “A lot of families have been hurt. You're not going to take them away anytime soon.”

Ingrid Stijkel 28-03-25, 06:00

The Zwolle mother Fatima* knows from her own experience the impact of the painful benefits affair on thousands of families. Within a few years, her and her husband's debt rose to 116,000 euros. In addition, one of the worst things that can happen to a parent happened.

,, When my family became deeply in debt, youth services sent one of my children to a family replacement home for no obvious reasons. I fought like a lion and the judge ruled in my favor. After ten days, my child was back.”

“It is so distressing that it is precisely this child who has now been removed from home for a second time”, says the emotional Fatima. More about this later.

Connection or not?

Since it was announced that more than 2,000 children of victims in the benefits scandal were removed from home, there has been a debate about whether there is also a causal relationship. To answer that question, the Hamer Commission was set up. He spoke to victims, children and care workers.

Mariëtte Hamer presented her findings on Thursday. They do not surprise the Zwolle Fatima by any means. “So many families are still experiencing the painful consequences. That committee saw that well.”

Worsened relationships

Hamer concludes that the childcare allowance scandal played a major role in the eviction of children from affected families. The stress caused by financial problems led to a deterioration in relationships between parents and children. Assistance fell short and the consequences for the children are still significant.

Fatima took part in September last year the Stentor emotional her story about the devastating effect of the benefits affair on her family. Anonymous, because the shame is great. It is also now known that thousands of families have been affected by the incorrect and criticized way of working of the tax authorities.

Fatima does not want to say anything publicly about the composition of her family, because the Iraqi community in Zwolle of which she is a part is not large and the family would therefore be easy to trace.

Debts are rising

In 2007, the tax authorities knocked on her door: surcharges were allegedly paid out incorrectly. Time after time, she has to repay amounts. First, it concerns the housing allowance, later about the childcare allowance. The debts amount to 116,000 euros.

The children are no longer able to go to daycare, so Fatima is forced to terminate her studies. The stress and shame put pressure on her relationship, resulting in divorce. Because her trust in the Dutch government is gone, she decides to move to Great Britain. There she falls into a depression.

She is afraid that her children will be taken from her and returns to the Netherlands together with her ex, with whom she later gets into a relationship again.

The family is then placed under supervision and the health authorities believe that one of the children should be placed out of the home. Why this child? “Later, we found out that Veilig Thuis knew about the benefits affair and caught us for it.”

The family is officially a “recognized victim of the benefits affair”. ,, We're trying to pick up where we left off. I'm following an education and my husband is going to do the same soon. We have accepted a compensation of 30,000 euros. But the exact damage will be much greater. Then you are talking about loss of salary and the education that I have not been able to complete. We're not emotionally ready to file a lawsuit about that yet, but we're definitely going to do that.”

Assistance 'not good enough'

The Hamer Committee blames Youth Welfare for carelessness. “Too little attention was paid to what was really going on in families. The assistance has not been good enough,” says chairman Hamer.

The report also states that children who were placed out of the home suffer from this to this day. Relationships with family members are sometimes damaged. Fatima can only confirm it. ,, Oh yes, this is the case with us. The children no longer even trust family members who work for the Dutch government.”

The worst part is that her child has been removed from home for the second time. ,, We do want to challenge it, but my child is now an adult and does not want to participate. My child was simply talked to by the care workers.”

She doesn't understand how it got this far. ,, A family help we were assigned just said: “Why do you need help? This is a family like many others.”

She can only welcome the fact that the committee of inquiry now states that cultural change in Youth Welfare is necessary. She hopes that the eyes of politics and youth institutions will really be opened. “Families have been destroyed. A lot of suffering has been done to us. In fact, I lost a child. We are traumatized. I don't know if those emotions will ever go away.”

In the benefits affair, the tax authorities wrongly recovered surcharges that caused families to run into financial problems. This error was later acknowledged.

*Fatima is a fictitious name. The real name is known to the editors.

i.stijkel@destentor.nl