Romania - For Export Only (a review)

Sun, 2007-08-12 21:00 — Niels
Romania - For Export Only (a review)

When in 1999, Roelie Post started working for the European Commission on the "Romanian Orphan" dossier she could not have forseen the consequences of accepting that job.

In 1990, soon after the Ceausescu regime had been overturned, the world could witness ABC's 20/20 documentary on Romanian Orphans. The shocking TV images gave rise to many initiatives to "save the children". Most often started with best intentions, help to Romanian orphans during the 1990's lead to a soaring market of international adoption.

Especially after 1997, when a point system was introduced, the Romanian adoption market was booming. With this system, adoption agencies could earn points by investing in social services. When enough points would be gathered the agencies would be given a child for international adoptions.

Late 1990's the European Union had started the Phare project, which aimed at reforming Romania's child protection system, needed for its accession to the EU. This project focused on closing down large institutions, setting up a foster care system and implementation of family preservation.

Against this background Roelie Post started her work for the European Commission, on changing the European Union's projects for Romanian children, a job she held for eight years. Those eight years she describes in detail in her book: Romania - For Export Only.

From the onset she makes clear how the adoption lobby has one primary interest, delivering as many babies as possible to the adoption industry, all in the name of a child's best interest.
The French business man Francois de Combret sets the stage in the story that reveals itself in the 270 pages of the book. With black and white pictures, showing horribly underfed Romanian Orphans, he bombards media and authorities to raise funds for his organization Sera. The pictures, not representing current Romanian situations, were actually taken years before Romanian child care reform had started.

De Combret has an adoption agenda and Post's book unravels the workings of that agenda. She shows how several projects by NGO's affiliated to or working with adoption agencies are doing little to improve child care facilities in Romania, but mainly focus on keeping status quo, while preparing babies for adoption.

The book takes an interesting turn when in 2001 Romania's moratorium on international adoption starts, leading to 2004's adoption laws. Because many adoption agencies working in Romania had already assigned children to prospective parents, the moratorium led to pressure from several countries on Romania to stop its moratorium.

Roelie Post takes us to conferences, diplomatic meetings and shows how trade negotiations and NATO accession negotiations were used to put pressure on Romania to change adoption regulations. We meet Baroness Nicholson, Special Rapporteur for Romania's accession to the EU, who played a crucial rol in the 2004 Romanian adoption law and the moratorium leading to it. Post sketches a knowledgeable picture of the Baroness and reveals many of the political ins and outs of the political arena this British Member of European Parliament operated in.
She takes us to Romanian institutions too and tells us about the situations she meets, varying from maternities run by American adoption agencies, institutions with Renault "everywhere" and orphanages that don't really care about the babies, because they will be adopted soon anyway.

Towards the end, the book takes a grim turn, when Roelie Post tells us about constant threats made against her. The pressure around her builds up as the Romanian accession reaches its deadline. Candid and well documented she describes how she eventually is forced to leave her job, due to political pressure on the adoption agenda.

Romania - For Export Only is a captivating book. I read it cover to cover over the week-end. It is a very well documented account in diary style of the wheelings and dealings over the access to Romanian orphans. At times it can be a tough read, because she gives many details of the Romanian case. Fortunately the book is much more than cold facts and figures. Roelie Post keeps closely focused on the child's best interest, both in her work and in the story she has to tells us.

http://poundpuplegacy.org/node/4544#comment-1483

New adoption scandal

There is another adoption scandal in the news. A Dutch couple was arrested in Sri Lanka for baby-buying. As a result, NOVA - the main Dutch newsprogramme - invited me for an interview. Only in Dutch.

ADOPTION OR CHILD TRAFFICKING

Radio Netherlands Worldwide

The Dutch Radio Netherlands Worldwide broadcasted an interview with Ina Hut (Director Wereldkinderen/Children of the World), Professor David Smolin and me:


http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/amsterdamforum/070708af

RECENT NEWS

Several radio programmes and the Dutch TV have broadcasted interviews about the book.

Links to these programmes can be found on the website (IN THE MEDIA)

www.romania-forexportonly.eu

and the Dutch Blog

http://www.roeliepost.blogspot.com

“International adoption is in fact child trafficking”

De VOLKSKRANT
Interview with our reporter Margreet Vermeulen

”It is a heavy message. But intercountry adopdtion is legalized child trafficking. A white child is more expensive than a black child. African children are guaranteed AIDS-free. If that is not traffick? On top of that, many adopted children are not orphans. They are here because the agreed quota must be met.”

BROKEN BY THE "ADOPTION MAFFIA"

De Telegraaf

The scandal surrounding fifty illegally adopted Indian children is just the top of the iceberg. Just over the last months similar practices become known in Sri Lanka and in Nepal where hundreds of children were for big money channelled to Western (probably also Dutch) adoptive parents, paedophile networks and possibly even to criminals in the disgusting traffic in organs.

Roelie Post, Dutch civil servant at the European Commission, had in Brussels for many years the infamous dossier "Romanian children" in her care. She saw how the hurt country of the late communist dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu bravely recovered , but ran into the powerful, international lobby of Western businessmen, politicians and even government officials who want to maintain the foreign adoptions stream and at best see it grow. Her resistance got her into problems: our compatriot was threatened and set aside. Today exclusively in De Telegraaf the shocking story of the Dutch children whistle blower.

India asks adopted child back from The Netherlands

The Dutch TV programme Netwerk was yesterday full of the news that a mother in India wants her child back, as it was stolen from her in 1999. The child was adopted by a Dutch couple.

Children often are stolen for intercountry adoption, their records are falsified, children are declared dead at birth and instead...

Well, you can read it all in the book.