Vietnamese 'Orphans' - For Export Only

The US have investigated the Vietnamese adoption system. The outcome is devastating, but to me no surprise. I recognised much of the Romanian 'orphans', created 'For Export Only'.

Since Vietnam and the US sigened a Memorandum of Understanding in 2005 to re-open adoptions (suspended since 2002 because of corruption), the number of adoptable 'oprhans had exploded. Now why was that?

- obligatory donations (= MONEY) of adoption agencies to orphanges
- in return for these donations children needed to be given

Hence the demand created the offer. Just like the Romanian 'point system'.

As a result:

the children's background often got faked

parents were paid to place their children in orphanages

parents were told their child would return home at a certain age, or will send them money from the US

children were picked up from the streets by 'child finders; and, against money, handed to orphanages

The advertisements placed to locate the parents, were done in such a way that it was rather unlikely for the parents to see

maternity homes had links with orphanages and paid for children

when mothers could not pay a hospital bill, their child would go for adoption

The same story all over again. Similar stories, or some of the elements, could be found in Romania, and can be found in Guatemala, China, Ethiopia and other countries were children can be found for adoption.

Children are not 'waiting' to be adopted, they are not abandoned and in need to be rescued. No, they are 'found' and declared abandoned, because of the demand for adoption.

The countries that adopt from Vietnam: Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and last but not least: the US.

AP Exclusive: US report alleges baby-selling, corruption in adoptions from Vietnam

A summary of the US report can be read on the US Embassy's website

Adoption Agencies in a competitive market

The Center for Adoption Policy reports that

for the last ten years, Intercountry Adoption has appealed to many U.S families because of its relative reliability, ease and lower costs. However the closing or constriction of almost every international adoption program, including Guatemala, China, Ukraine and Russia, has left American families disillusioned with if not disbarred from participating in ICA. As a result domestic adoption has begun to seem a more reliable and predictable as well as equally affordable alternative.

With the number of intercountry adoptions going down, adoption agencies are having a hard time. Their organisation, their income, depends fully of adoptions. At least in the US adoption agencies can attempt to increase their national adoptions, as the US has 'adoptable children'. That is not the case in most countries in Europe, or in Israel, where children are rarely 'freed for adoption'.

In Israel The Knesset has acknowlegded the difficulties of the adoption agencies in this highly competitive market. They approved an increase of the cost of foreign adoptions by 75 percent; the maximum payment Israeli agencies can spend on adoptions abroad will be raised from NIS 70,000 ($20,000) to NIS 125,000 ($35.000).
A second decision was to change from dollar payment to euros.

Read the full article Knesset increases costs of foreign adoptions by 75 percent

US joined the Hague Convention on Adoption

But will it make a difference?

All adoption agencies were formally screened in order to get a Hague accreditation. It was mainly a peer-review. Some agencies did not make it, but does that really matter?

Perhaps not, as some US agencies have a habit of umbrella-ing, meaning they use other agency's accreditation for their own clients.

Read all about it here:

Janus under the Umbrella