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A man in Nicosia tried to hand over his young child to authorities, saying he could no longer care for the child, the country’s commissioner for children’s rights said Tuesday.
Despo Michaelidou, who heads the Office for the Protection of Children’s Rights, told Alpha TV that the father arrived at her office with his 6-year-old child and asked officials to place the child in state care.
According to Michaelidou, the man said the child’s mother had already abandoned the family. He asked staff to transfer the child to Social Welfare Services.
Welfare officers were called to the office and spoke separately with both the father and the child before deciding the child would remain temporarily with the father, giving social workers time to prepare the child for possible changes, Michaelidou said.
She added that the child’s mother is living in Cyprus without legal status and that the family had already been under the supervision of social services.
See the video clip (in Greek) below:
