Gezin in de wacht

For several years, director Ingeborg Jansen followed the originally Pakistani family Elias, whose Christian religion made them flee their country. After arriving in the Netherlands, the parents and three children had to wait eight years before they knew if they would get a residence permit. Personal interviews and images of daily activities like sport and school show how especially the children have completely integrated with the community. Meanwhile, their father tries to preserve his patience and dignity before the camera after every disappointing letter. To the question whether children that grow up during the long wait in Holland gain the right to a residence permit, then minister Verdonk answered that refugees without a permit should not have children. With her documentary, director Jansen confines herself to the human story behind one of many IND files (Immigration and Naturalization Service) and does not take a political stand. All the same, the question gradually thrusts itself on us whether phrases like 'humane policy' have not lost every relationship with reality.