L'adoption internationale : une priorité qu'on veut nous imposer



	L'adoption internationale : une priorité qu'on veut nous imposer Haïti: Cet article est dédié à tous les parents haïtiens qui jusqu'à ce jour gardent l'espoir de retrouver leurs enfants séparés d'eux à la suite du tremblement de terre du 12 janvier 2010. Quelques jours après le tremblement de terre de 2010, un journaliste étranger écrivait : l'adoption internationale n'est pas une aide humanitaire. Suite au tremblement de terre, en effet, l'adoption internationale a dominé l'actualité internationale ; aujourd'hui encore elle semble être le thème central de ceux-là qui prétendent oeuvrer pour la protection et le bien-être des enfants. "Adoption internationale", un thème prioritaire également pour de nombreux pays « amis ». Au cours de la visite éclair en Haïti d'Alain Juppé, le ministre français des Affaires étrangères, pour assister à l'investiture du président Michel Martelly, le ministre français a pris le temps de visiter un orphelinat et la Fondation Solidarité Internationale, engagée dans l'adoption internationale. De plus, selon des sources autorisées, le ministre Juppé aurait soulevé la question de l'adoption internationale lors de son entretien privé avec le président Martelly (qui a dû peut-être paraître fort surpris du choix d'un tel sujet, compte tenu des grands problèmes auxquels sont confrontées actuellement les familles haïtiennes). Il faut donc se demander pourquoi ce focus sur l'adoption internationale, alors que selon l'UNICEF « 1,2 millions d'enfants étaient déjà considérés comme étant extrêmement vulnérables avant le tremblement de terre. Un an plus tard, les enfants d'Haïti sont encore au bord du précipice » ( voir « Un an après - Des secours à la reconstruction : un long parcours », Janvier 2011 UNICEF Haïti). Pour répondre à cette question, il faut remonter à 2010. Le 20 Janvier 2010, l'ex-Premier ministre Bellerive, sur la demande de certaines organisations de droits humains, adopte une mesure d'urgence selon laquelle le Premier ministre est le seul habilité à autoriser le départ d'enfants haïtiens du territoire national et que dans ces cas, il doire s'agir d'enfants pour lesquels le processus d'adoption avait été déjà engagé et approuvé, ce, de concert avec les ambassades concernées. Cette mesure, conforme aux principes de droits humains, visait à assurer que la priorité dans cette situation de catastrophes soit donnée aux efforts visant la réunification des enfants avec leurs parents ou les membres de leur famille, à éviter toutes tentatives prématurées ou irrégulières de sortir un enfant de son pays. Malgré cette mesure, des enfants haïtiens ont continué à sortir du pays au vu et au su de tous. Pourtant, bien que foulée aux pieds dès les premiers jours, cette mesure gêne. Nombreux sont ceux (étrangers pour la plupart) qui ne veulent que rouvrir l'adoption internationale avec tout ce qu'elle comporte d'illégalité, c'est-à-dire, la traite d'enfants, la vente d'enfants, le trafic d'organes, la prostitution infantile, la pédophilie, etc. Et pour cela, les pressions et les pièges « diplomatiques » s'intensifient, particulièrement à la veille de la tournée du président Martelly en Europe à la fin du mois de juin. L'enfant a le droit de grandir dans un milieu familial et l'Etat a pour obligation de donner une famille permanente à l'enfant pour lequel une famille appropriée ne peut être trouvée dans son pays d'origine. Cependant, l'adoption internationale telle que pratiquée en Haïti n'est pas toujours un moyen visant à assurer à l'enfant dans une situation de vulnérabilité un environnement familial au contraire, l'adoption internationale, et plus souvent qu'on ne le suppose, est un mécanisme utilisé par beaucoup pour s'enrichir sans aucune considération pour la situation de l'enfant ou pour exercer toutes sortes de violence sur l'enfant. Les anecdotes relatives à la vente d'enfants, vente d'organes, aux primes d'assurances sont nombreuses. Vrai ou faux ! Comme dit le proverbe il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu. D'un côté, il y a les crèches. Selon l'UNICEF des 700 centres d'enfants actuellement répertoriés, seulement 300 sont accrédités. Les crèches sont des institutions hébergeant des enfants en bas âge et dont le seul but est de les donner en adoption internationale. Généralement ces crèches sont liées à des organismes étrangers d'adoption, se chargent de chercher des enfants et des parents adoptifs étrangers, le plus souvent sans autre considération que monétaire. Il s'agit là d'un commerce extrêmement lucratif. 80 à 90% sont des adoptions individuelles, c'est-à-dire une relation directe entre les propriétaires de crèches et les parents adoptifs étrangers. En plus des rémunérations (et mensualités) payées par les parents adoptifs, les crèches recevaient des subventions via des ONGs et ONGIs (certaines d'entre elles allant jusqu'à prendre en charge des mères adolescentes). D'un autre côté, les orphelinats, ou des milliers d'enfants-vivent des situations abusives. Selon des estimations, près de 50 000 enfants sont placés en institutions; de ce nombre, à peu près 20 000 sont orphelins de père ou de mère ; les autres n'y sont qu'en raison de pauvreté. Suite au séisme de 2010, les orphelinats sont devenus l'une des activités les plus lucratives après les ONGs nationales et internationales. Les illégalités dans les procédures d'adoption sont pourtant connues de tous. Il s'agit de véritables réseaux criminels dédiés à la traite d'enfants et à des adoptions irrégulières. Ces réseaux, opérant à travers les crèches et les orphelinats, s'approvisionnent en enfants en utilisant souvent la menace, la fraude ou le mensonge, convainquant ainsi les parents biologiques à donner leurs enfants en adoption. Ces réseaux, experts dans la fabrication de faux documents, de fausses mères, de déclarations d'abandon ou de consentement frauduleux, collaborent également avec des avocats et des juges de paix. A la racine de ces réseaux se trouvent les responsables (ou du moins) des propriétaires de crèches et d'orphelinats vivant de ce commerce et opérant le plus souvent avec la complicité de certains fonctionnaires de l'IBESR. Plus de 2 400 enfants ont laissé Haïti depuis le tremblement de terre (plus du double du nombre d'adoption autorisée en 2009). Ce chiffre (bien que partiel) en lui-même constitue la preuve de l'illégalité de ces procédures d'adoption. Des billets gratuits ont été offerts à travers le net à ceux-là qui accepteraient de se rendre en Haïti pour ramener des enfants ; comme on ramène des « patates ». Continuer >

Comment avec des institutions jusqu'à ce jour affaiblies par la catastrophe de janvier 2010 (des ministères, les tribunaux, les services d'Etat civil) a-t-on pu garantir la légalité de ces procédures, s'assurer de l'identité des enfants et de leur adoptabilité, vérifier le consentement des parents, etc. Ce n'est donc pas surprenant que plusieurs cas de traite d'enfants sous le couvert d'adoption internationale irrégulière aient été identifiés à divers points de la frontière entre Haïti et la République Dominicaine et dans certains aéroports, particulièrement l'aéroport Guy Mallary. Le souvenir des 33 Américains arrêtés à la frontière est toujours bien frais; à ce souvenir vient s'ajouter le cas récent des pédophiles allemands.

Il ne fait aucun doute que l'aide humanitaire, comme ce fut le cas dans d'autres pays, a emmené avec elle les prédateurs et les vautours de l'urgence dont le seul objectif est de profiter des situations de chaos pour exercer leurs méfaits ; leur proie de prédilection: les enfants. Alors que la situation de l'irrégularité des adoptions internationales était déjà inquiétante suite au contrôle plus serré des adoptions dans certains pays dont le Guatemala, depuis le tremblement de terre, Haïti attire tous les dossiers frauduleux. Le tremblement de terre est venu en effet mettre à nu des situations d'illégalité, des réseaux de traite et de vente d'enfants, le plus souvent sous le couvert d'adoptions internationales.

Certaines ambassades ont clairement exprimé leur doute quant aux procédures d'adoption postséisme. Cependant, d'autres s'intéressent de plus en plus à l'adoption internationale. Ces dernières, dont celle de France et du Canada s'apprêtent d'ailleurs à célébrer une réunion dite « Réunion du Groupe de Montréal » du 22 au -24 Juin prochain à l'Hôtel Le Plaza à Port-au-Prince. Cette réunion fait suite à une réunion du même type célébrée l'année dernière à Montréal. Le thème central de cette réunion: « l'adoption internationale »; le but: rouvrir la vanne de l'adoption internationale, faire « plaisir » à leurs ressortissants et s'assurer de leur vote.

Suite au tremblement de terre, la France a fait évacuer plus de 1 000 enfants haïtiens. Pour certains Français, la décision du gouvernement français était "logique et raisonnable". Aussi les 21 et 23 décembre 2010, à la veille de la Noël, des centaines d'enfants ont-ils quitté leur pays dans deux avions affrétés « pour évacuation urgente » à cause du choléra. Ces enfants ne faisaient l'objet que d'un consentement des soi-disant parents et d'une autorisation de l'IBESR. Parmi les enfants arrivés en France, près d'une centaine se trouvent dans une situation juridique floue, vu qu'ils n'ont pas de jugement d'adoption mais un simple apparentement (voir Imbroglio juridique pour les enfants haïtiens adoptés - 31 March 2011).

« Quelques jours après le tremblement de terre, décrète un « Humanitarian Parole Policy », à la faveur de cette politique, des centaines d'enfants haïtiens « orphelins » ou séparés de leurs parents à cause du tremblement de terre ont été « évacués ». Certains se retrouvent aujourd'hui dans les « foster care », abandonnés par les parents adoptifs ».

L'Hollande, quant à elle, suite au séisme, a décidé « qu'en raison de la situation inquiétante en Haïti, d'admettre les enfants sans qu'ils disposent de documents de voyage en règle. Le gouvernement hollandais décide alors que les enfants seront rapatriés d'abord, et l'approbation des autorités haïtiennes viendra après. (Voir déclaration du ministre de la justice hollandais Hirsch Ballin).

Comme l'a dit un observateur. « C'est la pauvreté qui transforme les enfants en cheptel adoptable pas les familles occidentales riches en mal d'enfants. »

Ce qui étonne, c'est que tous ces pays ont ratifié la « Convention de la Haye sur la protection des Enfants et la Coopération en matière d'adoption Internationale » ; laquelle convention considère l'adoption internationale comme une mesure de dernier recours, et oblige les Etats parties à adopter toutes les mesures visant à maintenir l'enfant dans sa famille d'origine, à envisager l'adoption nationale, et a s'assurer que les parents adoptifs soient réellement aptes à adopter un enfant.

« Il faut en finir avec le marché aux enfants haïtiens, et avec leur pieuse importation » ; ces mots d'un observateur illustrent bien la problématique de l'adoption internationale.

Il est temps que ceux-là qui prétendent s'intéresser à la situation de l'enfant haïtien se penchent sur les vrais problèmes de l'enfance : l'assistance aux familles nécessiteuses, l'accès à l'éducation et à la santé pour tous les enfants. Rouvrir l'adoption internationale sans mettre des balises solides, c'est livrer des milliers d'enfants à la merci de groupes prédateurs.

La construction de l'Etat de droit passe par la chasse à ces organisations criminelles, et la lutte contre l'impunité devant les crimes perpétrés contre les enfants haïtiens. L'Etat de droit exige des investigations sérieuses visant à démasquer les réseaux de traite et de vente d'enfants, les procédures d'adoption bidon, les individus et les institutions dont le seul but est de s'enrichir aux dépens des petits haïtiens. L'Etat de droit exige également que l'adoption, tant nationale qu'internationale, puisse enfin répondre à sa vraie vocation : celle d'offrir aux enfants abandonnés ou orphelins un environnement familial permanent, chaleureux et sain.

Pour arriver à cet état de fait, il faut (Que peut faire le président Martelly ?):
1) Décréter un moratoire (i.e. suspension provisoire) ferme sur les adoptions internationales, particulièrement les adoptions d'enfants haïtiens par les étrangers, jusqu'à la ratification par Haïti de la Convention de la Haye sur la protection de l'enfant et la coopération en matière d'adoption internationale ;
2) Reformer et épurer l'Institut du Bien-être Social ;
3) Mettre l'action publique en mouvement contre les avocats, juges, propriétaires de crèches et d'orphelinats, fonctionnaires de l'Etat et tous ceux engagés dans la fabrication de faux documents, la vente d'enfants, la traite d'enfants ;
4) Mettre sur pied une commission spéciale ayant pour mission
a. Entreprendre des investigations afin de retracer/retrouver les nombreux enfants perdus pendant le tremblement de terre ;
b. Revoir les adoptions internationales autorisées depuis le 12 janvier 2010
c. Adopter un plan de placement familial pour les enfants et adolescents qui croupissent dans les crèches et orphelinats pour le simple fait que leurs parents n'ont pas les moyens de s'occuper d'eux.
d. Entreprendre des investigations sérieuses sur les irrégularités et les illégalités dans les procédures d'adoption, l'existence et le fonctionnement de ces crèches, orphelinats et maisons d'enfants;
5) Adopter une loi sur l'adoption répondant aux critères et standards internationaux
6) S'assurer qu'Haïti ratifie la Convention de la Haye sur la protection des enfants et l'adoption internationale

Countries: Haiti

‘Win a baby’! Fertility charity launches new IVF lottery

Britain’s first IVF lottery is set to launch later this month giving players the chance to win a baby, but critics have branded the contest as ‘exploitative’.

The controversial lottery, which has now been granted a licence by the Gambling Commission, will see players spending £20 on each ticket.

The contest will be open to anyone, including single people, homosexuals and elderly players.

Unacceptable

Each month a winner will receive £25,000 worth of tailor-made fertility treatments. They may even be offered donor eggs or a surrogate mother.

The contentious lottery is going to be run by To Hatch, a charity which offers fertility advice to couples seeking IVF.

But Josephine Quintavalle, from the campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, warned that “turning the process of reproduction into a buy-your-ticket lottery, is absolutely unacceptable and quite possibly breaks European Law on the commercialisation of human tissue.

“By all accounts, this lottery offers not just a chance to have IVF treatment but also promises access to surrogate wombs, spare embryos, egg and sperm donors.

Exploitative

“It is in this area where an immediate investigation should be demanded. It is surely not legal to pay £20 to have access to another woman’s womb?”

Dr Gillian Lockwood, director of Midland Fertility Service, said: “This sounds like a rather exploitative way of drawing attention to their website.”

She added: “People should be spending their £20 on good nutrition if they are having problems conceiving, not a ticket for this lottery.”

Inappropriate

And a statement from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said that it was “strongly of the view that using IVF as a ‘prize’ in a lottery is wrong and entirely inappropriate”.

If the lottery proves popular it could take place once a fortnight

However Camille Strachan, the founder of To Hatch, said: “We will offer struggling couples a completely tailor-made service. We hope the To Hatch Lottery can ease the burden on the NHS and reduce stress slightly on some of those who are struggling.”

Earlier this year an Oxford University ethicist argued that human embryos should be screened for their potential intelligence and only the smartest allowed to live.

Countries: United Kingdom

Adoptions International Semester 1, 2011: best result ever for Ai.Bi.

Date: 07/07/11

Adoptions International Semester 1, 2011: best result ever for Ai.Bi.

At 30 June 2011 the number of adoptions made ??by Ai.Bi. has reached 109 children (67 males, 42 females) for a total of 85 adoptive couples.

This is a major achievement for the Association which this year celebrates 25 years of commitment and fight against the abandonment emergency.

A significant increase in international adoption when compared to the same period of 2010, when adoptions completed by Ai.Bi. were 99. This year, so there is an increase of 9%.

In this first half of 2011, leading the ranking of the children adopted through Friends of Children are minors from Colombiaand China , respectively, with 00:20 adoptions completed.

Following in the rankings there are children from Brazil (14) , Russian Federation (11) , Bolivia (8) , Democratic Republic of Congo (7) , Peru (6) , Ukraine (4) , Sri Lanka , Chile and Mexico (3) , Nepal (2) , and Albania, Bulgaria, Mongolia, Cambodia (1).

A positive and important signal also comes from the reduction in average waiting time needed to complete the adoption.And 'the case of China where the availability of adoption of children green channel (children with special needs) leads to a very short time complete the adoption: about 8 months.

Even in the case of children from Colombia , the timing for the adoption fell, coming in the first half of 2011 to an average ofabout 6 months of waiting .

Share on:

==============================================

Data: 07-07-11
Adozioni Internazionali, 1° Semestre 2011: miglior risultato di sempre per Ai.Bi.
Al 30 giugno 2011 il numero di adozioni internazionali realizzate da Ai.Bi. ha raggiunto quota 109 bambini (67 maschi, 42 femmine) per un totale di 85 coppie adottive.
Si tratta di un risultato importante per l’associazione che proprio quest’anno compie 25 anni di impegno e lotta contro l’emergenza abbandono.
Un aumento delle adozioni internazionali significativo se rapportato allo stesso periodo del 2010, quando le adozioni concluse da Ai.Bi. sono state 99. Quest’anno si registra quindi una crescita del 9%.
In questo primo semestre del 2011, a guidare la classifica dei bambini adottati grazie ad Amici dei Bambini vi sono i minori provenienti da Colombia e Cina, rispettivamente con 24 e 20 adozioni portate a termine.
A seguire, in questa classifica vi sono i bambini provenienti da Brasile (14), Federazione Russa (11), Bolivia (8), Repubblica Democratica del Congo (7), Perù (6), Ucraina (4), Sri Lanka, Cile e Messico (3), Nepal (2) e Albania, Bulgaria, Mongolia, Cambogia (1).
Un segnale positivo ed importante arriva anche dalla riduzione dei tempi medi di attesa necessari per portare a termine l’adozione. E’ il caso della Cina dove la disponibilità all’adozione di bambini del canale verde (minori con bisogni particolari) porta a tempi di realizzazione dell’adozione estremamente rapidi: intorno agli 8 mesi.
Anche nel caso dei bambini provenienti dalla Colombia, i tempi per l’adozione si sono ridotti, arrivando nel primo semestre del 2011 ad una media di circa 6 mesi di attesa.

Organizations: Amici dei Bambini

John Hemming's Web Log: Martin Narey is wrong.

John Hemming's Web Log John's Reference Website

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Martin Narey is wrong.

John Hemming MP, Chairman of Justice for Families, has struck out at Martin
Narey for his suggestion that more babies should be taken into care and that
more adoptions is the solution to prevent situations like that in Edlington.

"Martin Narey demonstrates a lack of knowledge of the stastical realities
as to what has happening in England. The number of babies taken into care
under 1 month has jumped from 430 in 1995 to 1,140 in 2006. Of the 1,140 in
2006 670 were taken into care in the first seven days of their life
essentially "at birth".

"He also makes the assumption that once a child is adopted all is good.
Sadly the government are turning a blind eye to the number of disrupted
adoptions. In 2006 6,000 children under 10 years old were taken into care
and 3,520 children under 10 left care through adoption. That means 59% of
children leaving care through adoption.

"The government themselves said this year that "This does not mean that adoption is appropriate for more than a minority of children"

"The government have refused to attempt to find out how many adoptions
result in children returning to care. It is quite clear that Reactive
Attachment Disorder affects a number of children taken into care at an early
age and then adopted at or around 2-3 years old. This often results in a
disrupted adoption and a child returning to care with additional
psychological trauma.

"There are statistics about the numbers of failed adoptions where the
adoption fails in the same local authority as it occurs, but this is only a
small part of the story. Channel 4 recently identified that the number of
failed adoptions is increasing. Martin Narey, however, repeats the mantra
"More adoptions, More adoptions".

"Our policy making really should be evidence based. For that we need the
research. That is where the government are failing.

"Martin Narey should not look at adoption as a solution for the chidlren in
Edlington. It is not in any way clear that the outcome for children aged 10
and 11 could be predicted reliably before they were born. The question
about Edlington is why there was no response at an earlier age of 5 or 6.
I think that arises from the concentration on babies and adoption that the
system now has. We need to change direction rather than go further in a direction
that is clearly failing."

posted by john ¶ 8:36 AM

Comments:

John, you already know my feelings of Narey, his background is more of the prison system, kinda explains a few of his un warrented remarks.

When I had a converstion with him in York a few weeks back he really does not know how the family courts work more so to the workings of the L.A's I have been an MKF for about the same ammount of time he's been CEO for a childrens charity, Martin clearly thinks that the Social Services are prevented from removing the right children. Correct me if I'm wrong but I am sure Ed Balls has completely disagreed with Martin.

I would also Add that these remarks from Martin must have caused a significant drop in their donations

# posted by

Jerry : 11:49 PM

Changes in Care Placements cause Attachment Disorders BUT that doesn't mean we should not remove very young baby's from disrupted/unsuitable families.
What is wrong is the delay between taking them into Care and Adoption.
If more adoptive parents were approved as Foster Carers then it would be easier to place a child with prospective adopters straight away when taking them into Care instead of moving them around between carers prior to adoption.

# posted by

Fran Oborski : 4:14 PM

The difficulty is the question of obtaining evidence to warrant permanent removal of a child. That is why a long time elapses between a child being taken into care and a final placement.

In any event the decisionmaking systems go wrong far too often.

# posted by

john : 4:52 PM

Persons: Martin Narey

Countries: United Kingdom

Organizations: Barnardos

Government to appoint adoption tsar

Monday, 4 July 2011

Martin Narey is to be the Government's adoption tsar

ENLARGE

The Government is to appoint its first adoption tsar to try to cut the number of children stuck in the care system waiting to find a family.

Martin Narey, the former head of the Prison Service and chief executive of children's charity Barnardo's, is set to be the first Ministerial Adviser on Adoption, reported The Times.

He is expected to be asked to make recommendations on how the process of adoption can be improved and to ensure that social workers take a positive approach to adoption as an option for children in care.

Only 3,200 children were adopted from care last year, and the average time between a child being removed from its natural parents and being adopted has increased to two years and seven months, said The Times, which has been campaigning for a change in attitudes to adoption.

The new adviser will report to Education Secretary Michael Gove, who was himself adopted as a young child.

The Department for Education said that no appointment had yet been

Organizations: Barnardos

Persons: Martin Narey

Countries: United Kingdom

Adoptions need to quadruple, says outgoing Barnardo's chief

Adoptions need to quadruple, says outgoing Barnardo's chief

Martin Narey blames prejudice for decline and criticises 'inordinate' length of court processes

21 January 2010

Outgoing Barnardo's chief Martin Narey says too many local authorities are 'antipathetic' towards adoption. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

Britain is facing a dangerous collapse in adoption rates because of the prejudiced attitudes of some local authorities and adoption agencies towards white parents adopting minority ethnic children, according to Martin Narey, the outgoing chief executive of Barnardo's.

The adoption rate of babies must increase fourfold, and the numbers of toddlers and older children placed with new families must also increase dramatically, he said in an interview to mark his resignation from the charity he has run for more than five years.

He said adoption was at a historic low and had all but disappeared for babies, despite being a "vital tool in the child protection armoury", particularly for under-ones. "Only 70 babies were adopted last year compared with 4,000 in 1976. We need that figure to get back into the thousands so we need to quadruple it over the next few years – and quadruple it again," he said..

Narey said the collapse in the use of adoption was perplexing. Citing evidence that it offers the best outcomes for children, he said: " Early adoptions are particularly successful and yet it remains out of fashion."

He accused local authorities and adoption agencies of thwarting the law through a reluctance to allow white couples to adopt children from different ethnic backgrounds. The "prejudice" was so entrenched he feared it would not be easily reversed.

He said: "The law is very clear. A child should not stay in care for an undue length of time while waiting for adoptive parents of the same ethnicity. But the reality is that black, Asian and mixed-race children wait three times longer than white children." Narey's comments come in the same week a survey revealed widespread poor practice among adoption agencies. The Adoption UK research found that prospective parents are frequently unfairly rejected or forced to endure waits of up to six months after their initial inquiry, three times longer than legislation demands.

However, Narey said he was pleased that it was now increasingly accepted that children should be taken into care if they were living in "horrific situations".

He pointed to the cases of Shannon Matthews, the nine-year-old kidnapped by her own mother in 2008 to make money, and Baby P, Peter Connelly, who died at the hands of his mother, her lover and a lodger, as being key in changing public and political opinion towards care.

Babies should be removed at birth from those who have had children removed in the past, he said, and who have been unwilling or unable to grasp the deficiencies in their parenting skills.

"Too many social workers and senior people in local authorities are at best antipathetic towards adoption and at worst believe it to be an entirely unreasonable intervention," he said.

He said attitudes needed to change towards adoption. "We know adoption is far and away the most effective intervention we can make for a child. If we are absolutely clear that a child will be significantly better off if they are taken away from their parents, then we have to do that," he added. "Contrary to popular belief, being in care makes things better for children. Adoption transforms life chances."

But, Narey added, even when social workers make early interventions, court processes mean that adoptions commonly take more than two years to complete. "The legal process takes an inordinate amount of time, largely because courts repeatedly adjourn until they have taken a very large number of expert assessments that say the same thing," he said.

Narey, who will be replaced by Anne Marie Carrie, the former deputy chief executive of the Kensington and Chelsea family and children's services,, said his years at the charity had been "the happiest of my working life" but criticised the voluntary sector as being frequently "impractical", "naive" and "very irritating indeed".

"The voluntary sector tends to assume it has the monopoly on compassion and is very sanctimonious," he said. "It can also be hugely and damagingly unrealistic about what can be done in the real world, indulging in perpetual carping and criticism of the government, which ceases to listen to them as a result.

"While some people in the sector are remarkable, I find the unpragmatic attitudes of most within it, very irritating indeed," he added.

Next week will be Narey's last because, he said, he wants to get his professional and personal lives back into balance: while he has spent his weekdays over the past five and a half years living in a small, shared flat owned by Barnardo's situated behind their offices in Barkingside, north-east London, his wife has remained in the family home 280 miles away in Whitby, Yorkshire.

Persons: Martin Narey

Countries: United Kingdom

Organizations: Barnardos

18-mth-old kidnapped & sold for Rs 50,000, rescued

Chennai

The Times of India

Advanced Search »

You are here: Home » City » Chennai

18-mth-old kidnapped & sold for Rs 50,000, rescued

A Selvaraj, TNN | Jun 30, 2011, 01.55am IST

CHENNAI: The police on Wednesday rescued in Porur an 18-month-old boy from an autorickshaw driver, who allegedly bought the child from a woman for Rs 50,000. The boy, Maniraj, went missing from his house in West Saidapet on June 16. Police believe that a woman, identified as Ilakkiyah, kidnapped the boy from his house. "We have narrowed down on Ilakkiyah,who kidnapped the child, and hope to nab her soon," a senior police officer said.

She was part of a larger child trafficking network, the police said. According to the police, Ilakkiyah, also of West Saidapet, had on June 16 seen Maniraj playing on the road in front of his house in Sarathy Nagar and kidnapped him. She then took the boy to Porur and handed him over to Sathyamurthy. But the police refused to divulge on Wednesday how they traced the boy to Sathamurthy house. Sathyamurthy told the police on Wednesday: "Though I have been married for 10 years, I don't have kids. So, I contacted Ilakkiyah, whom I know through a common friend, and told her of my desire to adopt a child. She demanded '2 lakh but finally agreed to give a child for '50,000".

He also told the police that the child had been crying and refused to eat the food for the past couple of days. South Chennai joint commissioner KP Shanmugarajeswaran, Adyar deputy commissioner Dr KA Senthilvelan and other senior officers visited Maniraj's house in Sarathy Nagar following the abduction. The police are also questioning Sathyamurthy and his wife for more details about Ilakkiyah. "We suspect this is a part of a big network and we are trying to catch the kingpin behind the racket," a senior police officer said. In June 2010, social welfare department officials from Puducherry rescued Vidhyabarathi, 4, and Devadarshan, 3, from the home of M Lalitha. Also in June 2010, the Chennai suburban police busted a major child-kidnapping racket by arresting four women, including two 'ayahs' of a fertility clinic. In May 2010, the Krishnagiri police nabbed child trafficking racketeer Dhanalakshmi, who had disappeared with a threemonth-old baby from the Government General Hospital in Krishnagiri on May 18. Following this, a priest of a church from Padappai near Chennai was arrested.

Countries: India

Bhasin's Preet Mandir entry: Inquiry ordered

By: Kaumudi Gurjar

Date: 2011-07-01

Place: Pune

Women and Child Development Department takes note of court order violation by orphanage's former managing trustee, asks District Women and Child Officer to submit report on incident

After a MiD DAY sting operation exposed the violation of a court order by Preet Mandir's former managing trustee J S Bhasin, the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department yesterday took serious note of the matter and ordered an inquiry. Bhasin was found inside the adoption home's office in spite of a special CBI court having granted him bail on the condition that he keep off the premises. MiD DAY carried the report yesterday (What are you doing in Preet Mandir, Mr Bhasin) with photographic evidence of Bhasin's presence in the adoption home's office.

The MiD DAY report yesterday on the sting operation that found J S
Bhasin flipping through office files in the Preet madir office in East Street,
Camp

Ordering an inquiry into this matter, the WCD directed the District Women and Child Officer to submit a report on it. MiD DAY spoke to H B Rathod, Deputy Commissioner of WCD, who said, "We have taken serious note of the fact that former managing trustee was present in the adoption home's office on Wednesday despite the fact that the special CBI court has restrained him from interfering and entering the Preet Mandir premises."

Rathod said the inquiry into this violation would be conducted by the District Women and Child Officer. "We have asked for a report to be submitted on this," Rathod said. CBI Public Prosecutor Advocate Vivek Saxena said, "The matter will be brought to the notice of our senior officers and to the investigation officer who is handling this case and the course of action will be decided by them." Anjali Pawar, director, Sakhee, who had filed the criminal writ petition in the Bombay High Court in 2007 demanding an investigation into illegal adoption practices at Preet Mandir, said, "This is very shocking.

It is a violation of the court order and we will approach the special CBI court on this matter. We are concerned about the future of the children at Preet Mandir and fear that Bhasin might have tried to manipulate the documents related to children at the orphanage.

Countries: India

Organizations: ACT CASE Preet Mandir

What are you doing in Preet Mandir, Mr Bhasin?

By: Parth Satam and Kaumudi Gurjar

Organizations: ACT CASE Preet Mandir, Preet Mandir

Persons: Sardar Joginder Singh Bhasin

Parents of Missing Children Arrested for Prostitution

Parents of Missing Children Arrested for Prostitution
By staff reporter Zhao Hejuan and Shangguan Jiaoming 06.28.2011 19:50

Yang Libing and Zhou Yinghe have been arrested on charges of prostitution by local authorities

(Beijing) – Yang Libing and Zhou Yinghe, two leading petitioners from a child-trafficking case in Hunan Province, were arrested on June 22 for prostitution, witnesses said.

The two will be under police custody for 15 days as part of the standard penalty for prostitution, according to local authorities.

At the time of their arrest, Yang and Zhou were with a group of parents that were also seeking to petition a child-trafficking case in Shaoyang, Hunan Province.

Yang's younger brother told Caixin that his brother was being framed. "Shaoyang police have not been prosecuting prostitution cases recently. How could my brother be arrested for that reason? Someone wants to restrict his activities," he said.

An investigative report by Caixin in May detailed a child-trafficking system run by local family planning officials. Yang's daughter was abducted by authorities in 2005 after they were unable to pay a 6,000 yuan fine, based on fabricated regulations by local family planning authorities.

Hunan provincial government already sent a team to investigate the child-trafficking case following Caixin report and the investigation result is yet to be released.

Countries: China