October 7, 2006--addresses of two more parents in jail

I have information about two more homeschooling parents who were jailed this week. Mr. Waldemar Block, the father of nine children, was arrested at work on Thursday, October 5, and taken to jail, where he is expected to be for 13 days. His address is:

Mr. Waldemar Block

JVA Hamm

Bismarckstr. 5

59065 Hamm

GERMANY

Last night, Friday, October 6, Mrs. Olga Block, sister-in-law of the above-mentioned Mr. Block, was arrested at home and taken to jail, where she is expected to stay for 10 days. Her children are currently attending a Christian school in Heidelberg, but she was arrested for not paying the fines that had been levied in Paderborn for not sending the children to school. She said that she was treated very well during the arrest, but would of course appreciate encouragement. Her address is:

Mrs. Olga Block

JVA Heidelberg

Oberer Fauler Pelz 1

69117 Heidelberg

GERMANY

These are public addresses (JVA stands for Justizvollzuganstalt=justice completetion institution=jail), which is why I'm posting them openly.

I realize that writing a letter, addressing an envelope, and going to the post office to get a stamp for an international letter is considerably more work than just writing an e-mail, but it would mean so much to these two parents if they could receive some encouragement from around the world. Strictly speaking, they are not in jail for homeschooling, but for refusing to pay fines that were levied because of "truancy". ("Homeschooling" simply does not exist in the minds of German authorities.) Mr. Block made the statement that paying such a fine (which in German, Bussgeld, literally means "repentance money") would be making the statement that he repents, is sorry and won't do it again, and that would be lying, which is why he won't pay the fine. Other parents who HAVE made the decision to pay the fines have then simply received more fines, and then had custody of their children removed, possessions impounded, were arrested, or all of the above, including some who have since put their children in school after all or left the country.

Please, please write to them! I already have, and have the envelopes addressed. I just need to have my husband proofread the letters (I wrote in German--you don't need to!) and will send them later today.