A court finds: The city of Duisburg should never have taken her little Lara away from Janine S. But the girl has been living with foster parents for years. What now?
There is an elementary school directly opposite the orange apartment building in the south of Duisburg where Janine S. lives. Red clinker bricks, handicrafts on the windows, children's noise during the breaks. If her daughter were still with her, she could start school there next year, simply run across the street home after class and call out: "Mom, I'm back!"
But in all likelihood Lara, whose real name is different, will go to another school in another city, accompanied by other parents, her foster parents, the people she has been living with for five years.
Janine S. often looks over in the direction of the school. "It hurts me," she says. She often shed tears. It's a look at a parental life that hasn't been lived. "I missed everything. All the milestones: learning to walk. Speaking. Riding a bike. The youth welfare office stole my time with my daughter." An accusation that her lawyer Lukas Hugl will repeat in an interview with ZEIT: "This is the confiscation of a minor by the youth welfare office in Duisburg."
And indeed: In January 2023, almost five years after the youth welfare office ordered Lara to be taken into care, the Düsseldorf Administrative Court also decided that it was illegal. A representative of the youth welfare office recognizes this in court. On paper, Janine S. got it right. Indisputable, certified with an official stamp. The decision lies in front of her, protected in transparent film. The only problem is: It is unclear whether this will be of any use to her.