YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. A Netherlands church is celebrating after learning that an Armenian family of asylum seekers ― whom it shielded from deportation through a round-the-clock worship service ― will be allowed to remain in the country, Armenpress reports citing Huffpost.
The Protestant Church of The Hague announced on March 26 that the Tamrazyans, a family of five, have received a residence permit from the Dutch government.
Church spokesperson Theo Hettema said the church is very happy for Tamrazyans and grateful to God.
“We appreciate that other organizations in the Netherlands also joined our prayer to reach such a result”, Theo Hettema said.
Hayarpi Tamrazyan, the family’s eldest daughter, shared the news on Twitter, thanking supporters and offering a poem in celebration of the news.
From October 26 to January 30, the Tamrazyan family lived inside Bethel Church, a Hague chapel linked to the Protestant Church of The Hague, to avoid imminent deportation. A rotating roster of 1,000 pastors from around the Netherlands held a nonstop worship service during that time, taking advantage of an old Dutch law that bars police from entering houses of worship during religious services.
The continuous worship service ended after the country’s political parties agreed to a compromise that gave certain families’ asylum applications another chance. The policy change allowed these families to remain in the Netherlands while the cases were reviewed.
The Tamrazyan family has lived in the Netherlands for nine years. Along with them, several other families have recently received residence permits.
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