My comment on James Marsh' Blog - ChildLaw

Yesterday I left the below comment on James Marsh' Blog. As I received many supporting e-mails as reaction, I'd decided to publishe this comment here too:

'Quite a story.

I had my own bad experience with Deb Schneumann and Lynn Wetterberg when they were so fiercefully lobbying to keep Romania open. And then to try and reopen it. Nothing was too much. Romania was not allowed to move on, to develop. No, the children in FTIA's children home needed to go home - to the US - their tickets had already been paid. The methods used and the powers these people have on politicians is incredible. Deb and Lynn, I hope you've read my book... you are all in, UNCENSORED as are so many others (Bush, Powel, Prodi, Berlusconi, Frattini, Raffarin, US Senators, Members of the European Parliament, a Prince - the sky was the limit when pushing for adoptions...

But there were also some standing at the right side, like Sweden's Queen Silvia; here a quote from my book:

• 'Queen Silvia opened the conference by reminding the audience of Sweden’s history. Sweden had in 100 years moved from a relatively poor country to one of the richest countries of Europe. A hundred years before, Sweden had had 400 children’s homes and many children were placed for adoption, including intercountry adoption to…? Latvia. It was when women were given equal rights and support for single mothers became available, that children’s homes could be closed. Hardly any Swedish children were adopted nowadays. Instead Sweden had become the European country with the highest number of children adopted from abroad. Turning to the rest of the world, the Queen said there were too many children in residential care and she especially mentioned Guatemala, Romania and Russia. Some were orphans (Africa), some had parents, but were abandoned because of drugs, alcohol or poverty.
• 
  The Queen advocated for social support and training. Instead of institutions, foster care and family-type homes were the solutions.'

She did not say those children should be derooted, taken out of their country.

Helping children has nothing to do with the current competitive adoption market that has, at the very least, some very nasty side effects. Not only it attracts nasty people... it incites abandonment, sometimes children are literally stolen. And there is no follow up whatsoever. Masha can testify on that, and how many other Masha's are there - who were not found (yet).

BUT: this adoption business also fully hampers the development of a just social system and that is in my opinion just as big a crime. '