Adoption from Samoa - lost children

The US adoption agency Focus on Children misled Samoan families, and had their children adopted for the price of 13.000 US dollars each.

Is that a crime? Is that child trafficking?

Not so, according the the US judge who had mercy and gave no prison time:

Prosecutors accused the five of conspiring to arrange adoptions that violated U.S. immigration laws, and alleged the scheme included lying to Samoan birth parents and American adoptive parents. As part of a plea bargain with the U.S. Attorney's Office, all five pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the illegal entry of an alien, a misdemeanor.
Dozens of felony charges against them were dropped, and prosecutors recommended probation. Wakefield is expected to get the same sentence as the others.
...
U.S. District Judge David Sam instead sentenced the four to five years of probation and ordered them to contribute to a trust fund to help adopted children stay in touch with their birth families. He also ordered the defendants to never engage in the adoption business again.

Stolen and Sold for Adoption

Hearing the disturbing news of children kidnapped for adoption, Australian Julia Rollings followed her heart and traced her adopted children's parents in India. And not only that. She connected both families.

Let's hope more families follow her example.



Stolen and Sold
Broadcast: 24/02/2009

Reporter: Sally Sara



Sabila and Akil with their birth mother Sunama

View promo


What would you do if you discovered your adopted children were stolen and trafficked, and not willingly given up by their parents, as you'd believed?

South Asia correspondent Sally Sara investigates the insidious trade of children in India, and joins an Australian family in their moving search for the truth.

Sara reveals that dozens of Australian families are oblivious to the true background of their adopted youngsters, because of bureaucratic bungling and government ineptitude both here and in India.

It’s a remarkable story that reveals a shocking truth about some overseas adoptions.

We follow the journey of the Rollings family from Canberra.

For ten years Barry and Julia Rollings believed their son Akil and daughter Sabila had been given up willingly by their birth parents in Chennai.

But after hearing suspicions reports about Indian orphanages, they set out to locate the childrens’ birth mother. The news was shocking. Akil and Sabila had been taken from their mother, and sold to an orphanage.

The Rollings have now embraced their ‘Indian family’ as part of their own - Akil and Sabila have ‘two mothers’.

It’s an inspirational story of one family’s courage.

Sally Sara also investigates claims that dozens of trafficked Indian children may have been placed for adoption in Australia - their new parents oblivious to the background of the youngsters.

She speaks to heartbroken couple Fathima and Salya, whose child Jabeen was kidnapped from the streets of Chennai by traffickers. Jabeen was adopted to an Australian couple, and now lives unaware of her background, while her adoptive parents live in anguish.

It’s a story of crime and cover up - its victims both here and in India.

Camera: Wayne McAllister, Geoffrey Lye
Editor: Simon Brynjolffssen
Research: Simi Chakrabarti
Producers: Trevor Bormann, Vivien Altman


Further information

Julia Rollings' blog
"Love Our Way - A Mother's Story"

INSIDE STORY OF AN ADOPTION SCANDAL

With courtesy to United Adoptees International:

NEW PAPER PUBLISHED:

Samford University Cumberland School of Law

INSIDE STORY OF AN ADOPTION SCANDAL

- CUMBERLAND LAW REVIEW - Vol. 39:1 -

BY ARUN DOHLE - Aachen - Germany -

Introduction

In historical terms, intercountry adoptions from India havehad a short run. Within thirty years of its inception, murky scandals of child kidnapping, falsifying paperwork, outright trading, and other tragic stories have ridden these intercountry adoptions. Worldwide, adoption experts widely believed that ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (1993) would help reduce malpractice in such adoptions. The Convention aims to minimize malpractice in adoption and "prevent the abduction, the sale of, or trafficking in children." But does regulating help in weeding outcases of malpractice? Or does the regulation of intercountry adoptions, because of the strong demand for children, lead to a legalized market for children without effective control? Dutch anthropologist Pien Bos studied the relinquishment process of unmarried mothers in India and came to the startling conclusion that the formal controls in intercountry adoptions are counter-productive:


"I am convinced that these Conventions, Regulations and Guidelinesare not appropriate instruments because they do not address the main concerns. . . . Instead of taking away threats, it takes away transparency and causes a mystification of reality. The more adoption is regulated and monitored, the more politically correct objectives get distanced from daily practices.... The transparency of surrender and adoption procedures is obscured by the taboo on the financial component of adoption."

Generally, receiving countries do not know the details of the scandals taking place in sending countries. The aim of this article is to give the reader an inside view of an adoption scandal and to explain how the system deals with the scandal. Therefore, I will often quote directly from documents gathered from journalists, as well as from High Court proceedings. In order to enable the reader to understand the violations, I will give a short overview of the Indian adoption system and regulations. This article illustrates the scandal surrounding the Indian agency Preet Mandir, as it is the agency that has weathered the most corruption and baby-trade scandals and is reputed to have immense clout with the Indian Government. Consequently, the organization's operations have continued nearly unhampered. Preet Mandir placed 518 children up for adoption during the period from 2004 to 2006, accounting for five percent of all the adoptions carried out by agencies registered with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). Of these 518 adoptions, Preet Mandir placed 358 children abroad, representing 13 percent of all Indian intercountry adoptions within this period.9 Preet Mandir works with all major receiving countries, many of whom also ratified the Hague Convention.

Complete article can be requested at UAI Research & Development uai.hwestra@gmail.com

http://uai-news.blogspot.com

Austria stops adoptions from Ethopia

Over the last years Ethiopia has become one of the biggest sending countries. This is mainly the result of the closure of Romania, Guatemala, Cambodia and others that closed their doors due to corruption.

Sadly, but understandably as it is inherent to today's adoption system, Ethopia seems to encounter the same problem: fake documents, children leave the country that are no 'orphans'.

But worst of all, a child protection system is building up that fully depends of the money coming from intercountry adoptions (in cash or in project aid).

Those who read Romania, For Export Only, will know that The Hague Convention will not fix that...

Unofficial translation; original article can be read HERE:

Stop for adoption
24.1.2009

International Adoption: With mediations from Ethiopia forged documents were in the game - the TT reported. Now, adoptions have been stopped from this country.

INNSBRUCK - After two cases in Lower Austria, where children who were supposed to be orphans were mediated for adoptions, adoptions from Ethiopia to Austria have now been stopped. Those who adopt children from countries that are not able to ensure serious regulations, "have no guarantee that everything is lawful," says Marion Zeillinger of the association "Parents for Children", that offers information about the adoption, adoption courses, but does not mediate . In the past two years alone, 25 children were mediated from Ethiopia to Tirol - through the agencies “Family For You"(FFY) and "Bridge to Ethiopia”. "The freeze will be maintained for sure, until all outstanding issues are clarified. Many families have already researched, "said Zeillinger. Even when FFY “built up a lot", they have been too naive. There should have been more control, but at this distance that is difficult, "says Zeillinger. Therefore, parents who want to be sure, "should only adopt children from countries which have signed the Hague Convention."

Child Trafficking

And: "In countries with a lot of corruption, adoption can quickly become child trafficking. Imagine, in a country where in orphanages 80 percent are boys and 20 percent girls. If you want to have a girl, the home will try to find one - by all means, because the financing of the home is usually depending from it. "Around half of the foreign adoptions, according to Zeillinger, is illegal," but possible - with tricks that I do not want to mention in the Media. "The new Justice Minister Claudia Bandion-Ortner has already initiated a new international adoption law - a draft is available.

Further background CLICK HERE

Further Background in German: CLICK HERE

Book Review: Romania for Export Only

Roelie Post allows the reader a unique insiders view regarding the politics of international adoption. It was an eye-opening account that not many are willing to share to the outside world.

In her experience with Romania’s orphan care and international adoption program, Ms. Post begins her journey as many do (innocent) and as her knowledge about the politics behind international adoption grows-- revelations on the real truth behind the industry of international adoption becomes quite clear.

Never again can I look at the “black and white” pictures of the "poor orphans" that rely on us to “save” them with the same naïve eyes. This book offers amazing parallels into other international programs-- including China. Ms. Post talks about the points system, safe-haven drops, attachment studies on orphans, media attention and the pressure from outside countries and NGO’s to gain access to Romania’s children... all of which are familiar themes in many IA programs.

While it was heart-warming to know that there are many people who work very hard to preserve children’s rights, it is equally scary to understand the underlying situation that most will never get to see.

This is a must-read book for anyone entering into the world of international adoption.

Cathy Wagner

Adoption Merchant - babies for sale

The American Way? Not only, Europeans adopt just as many children, and are promissed children in exchange for money (expenses).

But then thanks to the Hague Convention adoptions are now well regulated, no?

That's unfortunately one of the lies we love. The Hague Convention has replaced the traditional baby merchants by accredited adoption agencies. And anyway, most of the children still get adopted from countries that did not ratify The Hague Convention.

As I saw in Romania, the Hague Convention creates a full blown market. With adoption agencies making pink promisses, cashing the money long before any adoptable child would be even in sight. And indeed, when in such cases adoptions are closed down, the pressure for 'pipeline cases starts. And not only in Romania, the same could be seen in Guatemala, Nepal, Vietnam...

Thanks to Marley Greiner for putting this on her Blog The Daily Bastardette

Baby J placed in Dutch care system

The Dutch court ruled today. Baby J. will be placed in the Dutch care system until further investigation.

Bought by a Dutch couple, I would say the right place for this child would be in the Belgian care system. And it should be up to the Belgian Court to decide on her future. TO be continued...

Dutch court says Internet baby to be taken into care

Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:19am IST

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Belgian baby bought over the Internet for adoption by a Dutch couple must be placed in the temporary care of the Dutch authorities, a court ruled on Thursday.

According to media reports, the couple bought the boy in July from a Belgian couple in Ghent. One TV report said between 5,000 and 10,000 euros ($6,450 to $12,900) was paid.

The Dutch couple denies buying the baby, saying on Dutch TV that they only paid the pregnancy costs incurred by the parents.

The court in the Dutch city of Zwolle said the couple had broken the laws for adopting foreign children, and had to hand the baby over to child welfare authorities.

The Council for the Protection of Children, part of the Netherlands' Justice Ministry, had asked the court to place the baby boy into temporary custody until a decision was made by the Belgian authorities on what to do with him.

"Clarity over your family history is of fundamental importance for a child growing up. Obscuring your true identity is harmful," the council said in a statement.

The public prosecution office in the Netherlands has started an investigation into the case, while Belgian authorities are also making inquiries, Dutch news agency ANP reported.