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Adoption Could Be Cover for Traffickers.

Article from: Africa News Service
| February 20, 2007

| Copyright

Byline: Anne Mugisa and Hillary Nsambu

Kampala, Feb 20, 2007 (New Vision/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) --
Judges have warned of child trafficking for slavery and other abuses under the
guise of adoption.

Child adoption became a thorny issue during the recent judges' conference as
many called for stringent steps to be instituted, especially when foreigners
seek to adopt Ugandan children. Some judges, however, advocated a relaxation of
the laws regarding adoption.

The debate on child adoption was sparked off by Justice Eldad Mwangusya, head
of the Family Division of the High Court, who said that adoption is turning into
human trafficking, and …

Countries: Uganda

Delhi District Court Mr. Johann Kleuskens vs Union Of India on 17 February, 2007

1 IN THE COURT OF SH. J.P. NARAIN CIVIL JUDGE : DELHISUIT NO.1640/06Mr. Johann KleuskensS/o Mr. Hubert KleuskensR/o Lilienthalstrasse 3815831, Mahlow, GermanyThrough his SPA HolderSh. Bhavesh Kumar ChaudharyS/o Sh. G.S. Chaudhary age about 38 yearsR/o F-1538, Netaji NagarNew Delhi-23. Plaintiff. Versus1.Union of India Through its Secretary External Affairs South Block, New Delhi2.Ms. Pawana Devi D/o Late Sh. Jagat Ram R/o Village Dukhi Mohan P.O. Utrala, Tehsil Baijnath District Kangra (H.P.) DefendantsJUDGEMENT:

By this judgment, I shall dispose of the present suit of the plaintiff. The plaintiff has filed the present suit seeking a decree of declaration and mandatory injunction. The case of the plaintiff in brief is that plaintiff is a German national holding German passport number 2665054121 and Bhavesh Kumar Choudhary is the special power of attorney holder. That the plaintiff was married to Mrs. Sylille Heike and has two daughters namely Ms. Andrea and Ms. Kristina. That the plaintiff and his wife are not blessed with any son and plaintiff and his wife decided to adopt a newly born male chile and plaintiff and his wife learnt about the pregnancy of defendant No.2 Ms. Pawana Devi. That defendant No.2 gave birth to male child on 11.10.06 in Simran Hospital, District Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) and as per the arrangement between the plaintiff and defendant No.2 the name of the plaintiff was recorded as father in the birth certificate of child Master Shiven. That the birth certificate dated 16.10.06 was issued by the Local Registrar. That Defendant No.2 voluntarily handed over the custody and care of Master Shiven on 11.10.06 and plaintiff and his wife voluntarily took the custody and care of the child from defendant No.2. That the plaintiff and defendant No.2 executed an adoption deed at New Delhi on 5.12.06 duly registered with Sub Registrar VII at Sl. No.1206, Book No.3. That the plaintiff and his wife applied for permission for adoption from Government of Germany and same was accorded on 2.11.06 and thereafter plaintiff and his wife got the documents of adoption attested and certified by the Embassy of India at Berlin. That the plaintiff wants to take the child to Germany and for taking the child to Germany the following things are to be done:

(i)Certification of birth certificate

(ii)Certification of adoption deed

(iii)Courts decree with regard to the adoption of the child.

Countries: India

Tamil Nadu is home to adoption rackets and child-labour gangs

CHENNAI, FEBRUARY 15 : • When E Kathirvel and Nagarani, pavement- dwellers in Pulianthope, woke up on an October morning in 1999, they found their 18 month-old son Sateesh missing. On May 3, 2005, police located the boy. But he had been legally adopted by the Bisessars, a Dutch couple, who had named him Anbu Rohit Bisessar and lived in Almere in the Netherlands. Sateesh spoke only Dutch. The police showed Nagarani a picture of the boy, pinned to a register of a Chennai-based adoption agency, Malaysian Social Service, which was being investigated. “We want him back,” said Nagarani. The police have sought the Centre’s help to bring back Nagarani’s child, now 9.

• Lakshmi Parveen lost 18-month-old Fathima in December 1998. Fathima too was stolen while asleep on a pavement. Seven years later, Varadarajan, an alcoholic who knew Lakshmi’s father, told her it was he who had stolen and sold the child for Rs 2,000. She took him to the police station and his confession uncovered a major adoption racket. Fathima was traced to Neyveli where she lives with her adopted parents. It was during this investigation that Nagarani’s son was traced to the Dutch couple.

If Tamil Nadu police prove that the more than 350 adoptions that Malaysian Social Service processed during 2000 were of children kidnapped from the slums, this could be one of the biggest cases of child trafficking to reach the courts. Booked in the case are P V Ravindranath (who died last year), his wife Vatsala, and son Dinesh Kumar, besides some brokers.

The police record of tracing missing children is, however, good. From 2003 to 2006, of the 8,681 children who went missing, 8,014 were “traced” and 667 were recorded as “untraced”. But much of the credit for the work goes to NGOs who run child helplines in 24 of its 30 districts and work in perfect tandem with police stations and child welfare committees (CWCs), which have been set up in 18 districts. The helplines have proved a lifeline for runaways and children abused where they work.

It was in April 2004 that the police HQ in Chennai provided space to two NGOs, the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) and Don Bosco, in their control room to supervise the child lines. The lines rarely stop ringing, thanks to a well-entrenched network of volunteers and enlightened members of the public, who immediately call the child line when they spot a child who appears to have run away. Since 1999, the organisations have been operating independent helplines too.

The Government also has a Missing Child Bureau, under the Department of Social Justice, but the criticism it faces is that it is short-staffed and impeded by bureaucratic lethargy. However, it maintains a website with details of some 300 missing children.

ICCW’s joint secretary Girija Kumar Babu says: “The police in TN are more responsive and responsible than their counterparts in other states.” She said it wasn’t as if police always register cases on their own, but NGOs often play an active role and even help in locating children.

The police and NGOs are also focussing on railway and bus stations. Said T Alagappan, member of a Child Welfare Committee of Chennai, “Trains are the main refuge for runaways.” He gives the example of a girl who ran away from her home in Nepal in 1998 and went to Chennai. Apparently, she wanted to see actor Sridevi.

Many such children are restored by the committees to their parents. Some, like one Pratul from Pune, has refused to go back and now stays and studies in Anbu Illam, a home run by Don Bosco.

Said Chennai Police Commissioner Letika Saran, “We cannot take even a single case lightly. There is a huge risk to children wandering around on their own.”

But Tamil Nadu’s bane has been the alarming number of its children being trafficked, particularly from Cuddalore, Villupuram, Madurai Theni, Dindigul and Ramanathapuram, for labour and prostitution.

“Children of poor families flee villages to cities like Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore and Tiruchy looking for work. Many of them end up in hotels and tea shops as cheap labour or on the roads begging, perhaps even part of an organised begging racket,” said a senior police officer.

In December last year, police bust a begging racket in Tiruchy on the tip-off from a 12-year-old boy who had been held for pick-pocketing. District Collector Ashish Vachani chatted up the boy at the remand home he was kept in and the boy described his horror tale of how he was taken away from his parents when he was seven and tortured with burning cigarettes into learning to pick pockets and steal.

The same night a police team raided two houses in Thiruverambur serving as hideouts for training kidnapped children in burglary and thievery. Four children, including one aged four months, from Nagaland, were freed. They are now in government homes.

“Not always are the police so responsive,” pointed out Vimal Raj, project coordinator of Cuddalore’s Child Line. In January 2006, nine-year-old Ezhilarasi was found with a raw burn wound on her left hand, which she said was caused when her employers poured hot water on her hand. Howling with pain at the Parangipettai bus stand, 30 kms from Cuddalore town the little girl was picked up by members of the public and handed over to the ICCW staff. She had run away from home a year ago, fearing scolding from her mother for beating up her younger brother. According to Vimal Raj, the girl was picked up while wandering around Chidambaram town by a man who sold her for Rs. 2,000 as a domestic worker to Basheer Ahmed, a businessman.

But Ezhilarasi’s woes didn’t end there. She wanted to go back home. “But, the Parangipettai station inspector refused to help. He disbelieved the girl’s story and asked us how her father’s name was Nataraj (a bullock cart puller living in Chidambaram town) when she herself was a Muslim girl,” said Vimal Raj. The ICCW approached the then Cuddalore District SP, Panneerselvam, and managed to reach the girl to her parents. “Now, she is back home and going to school again.”

In fact, the industrial belt in Cuddalore is notorious for touts who buy children from poor villagers and sell them to factory owners.

One such case was that of 14-year-old Lenin. He was purchased by a broker from his parents, Boopathy and Jyothilakshmi of Naduveeranpatti, 5 km from Cuddalore town, to work in a leather factor near Bangalore, with the promise that they would be given Rs 1,000 monthly for their son’s services. After about five months last year, Lenin’s parents wanted him to come home for Diwali. But the employer refused to send the boy. The monthly payments too stopped.

When the father went along with some relatives to meet the boy in the factory, he was told Lenin was not there. Even ICCW’s attempts to trace the boy failed, with the factory owner, whose relatives live in Cuddalore, claiming they had no clue of the boy’s whereabouts.

Said Tiruchy SP Ashok Kumar Das: “All the missing cases in the districts are kept alive. Whenever we get a case of a missing child, the information is immediately passed on to our seniors, who in turn inform the state police headquarters in Chennai and a state-wide search is activated.” People in TN are also very aware of their rights, pointed out the officer, comparing the scenario to Orissa, his home state.

“Once we got a case of two minor boys (brothers) running away from their home in Lalgudi (about 20 kms from Tiruchy). Even as we were trying to follow up the case, the father of the boys had dashed off petitions to the district Collector, DIG, DGP and even the Chief Minister,” said the SP. The two boys were finally traced to a factory in Bangalore, where they had been working. They were restored to their family. But information collated by the Crime Records Bureau for the year 2005 is quite disturbing.

Of the total 1,143 female children and 772 male children reported missing that year, 27 girls were kidnapped (probably for prostitution); a girl and a boy were trafficked; six girls and a boy kidnapped for begging on the streets; one boy child murdered (suspected to have been offered as sacrifice by a tantrik); 250 boys and 289 girls ran away from their homes after being scolded by their parents; 140 boys and 59 girls fled their homes after failing their examinations; five boys and seven girls ran away fearing arrest for petty acts of rebellion like throwing stones at their neighbour’s houses etc; and 170 boys and 263 girls were feared to have been lost during temple festivals and big gatherings and for “other reasons.”

Countries: Netherlands, India

Organizations: Malaysian Social Services (MSS), ACT CASE Nagarani

AKTUELL ÄTHIOPIEN

AKTUELL ÄTHIOPIEN
Dear Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues and friends,
"Eltern für Afrika" is a charitable organization (state-recognized in Germany and Ethiopia) which resumed its work in October 2005. Several years of work to reduce the poverty of children and young mothers within the framework of the help project MM-Africachild e.V. in Ethiopia, combined with the knowledge about the enormous social need of African orphans, brought about the foundation of the organization.
According to the UNICEF-study "Africa's Orphaned Generations UNICEF, Nov. 2003" 20 million African children shall become orphans only because of Aids. African children are orphans also because of poverty, hunger and war.
Already nowadays more than 11 million children are without parents.
The extent of this crisis in orphans overtaxes the traditional solidarity community consisting of relatives and the village community and also overtaxes the African countries and governments in their endeavours to develop democratically and socially. Too many children are in need. This incomprehensible situation has caused us to contribute through social help projects in Ethiopia to the reduction of this need of children and young mothers.
Apart from the domestic help, which is of prime importance, "Eltern für Afrika e.V." sees in the international adoption a very specific and individual possibility to help. The chance is based on the total relief since not only the traditional solidarity communities can give off the charge of the suffering children. Also the African society has the possibility for growth and development in order to manage crises in the long run.
Our work is based on the "Hague Convention" on protection of children and co-operation in the field of "inter-country adoptions". This is also applicable for the co-operation with the countries which do not belong to the undersigned states of the convention.
We consider the legal basis of Ethiopia as unrestrictedly decisive and are in close co-operation with the authorities in charge.
"Eltern für Afrika e.V." maintains an orphanage in Addis Abeba where orphans in need are assembled. The lodging in the orphanage serves the children being taken first care, their care and their becoming healthy. If the possibilities of the national adoption or guardianship are not successful, an international adoption shall be prepared.
If a humane life of the children in their country of origin is not possible and if the children have been declared abandoned by a social authority of their country of origin or if they are orphans, the child's right to warmth and security within a family can be followed by the search for a suitable adoptive family.
Also abroad the rights of the child and of the families must be maintained.
The authorities in the country of origin clarify whether the international adoption provides suitable life perspectives to the child in its personal situation. The placement of a child for the adoption into a foreign country is the last measure if the child can not stay in its original family or if no suitable adoptive or foster family can be found in the home country.
The decision on which child can be placed in which adoptive family is made by the Ethiopian Ministry of Social Affairs.
We are pedagogically and financially responsible for each Ethiopian child which is given into our care by the government.
Our acting is characterized by the wish to meet the need in Africa and by the awareness that we carry great responsibility for the children entrusted in us. The aim of our endeavours is to provide a life worth living for these children.
Orphaned children are mostly exposed to poverty. Poverty means hunger and disease for them, often also the death. For their healthy development children need to a high extent love, security, warmth and reliability.
The children must find these basic conditions in their future family.
To understand a child from Africa in its development requests from the German applicants an intensive dealing with the Ethiopian culture.
Interested parents are informed by us specifically about the country and the people. Also a stay in the country is a prerequisite in this connection in order to sensitize the understanding for the culture from which the children originate.
The adoption proceeding is accompanied by us in three phases. The first phasis includes information, counselling and preparation. Besides a preparatory seminar takes place in which topical data and Ethiopia's specific situation are conveyed.
In the second phasis the social-pedagogical assessment takes place. Here at least two further conversations and one home visit take place. After that we make up a social report about the applicants' aptitude as adoptive parents.
The third phasis is the carrying out of the adoption. The Ethiopian Ministry of Social Affairs proposes a child. At the same time the documents of the applicants from Germany are checked. The adoptive parents stay for at least 14 days in Ethiopia, get to know the child there and are accompanied by our employee to the court hearing.
Also after the effected adoption we are in close contact with the adoptive family.
During the first three years after the adoption the parents have to make up at least 6 development reports about the child which are passed on to Ethiopia. Thus there is the possibility of checking the well-being of the African children which is the most important goal.
The employees of the Ministry of Social Affairs and of the Social and Civil Affairs Bureau as well as the employees of other non-governmental organizations are cordially invited to participate in our social work. We are looking forward to welcoming them as guests not only in ADDIS ABEBA, but also in Germany at specialist events and hope for a productive exchange.
Addis Abeba on the occasion of the opening of the orphanage and the headquarter of Eltern für Afrika e.v.
Raimund Marz-Deibele
Director
Awgichew Ergette
Country representative

Organizations: Eltern für Afrika e.V.

Letter Danadopt to Danish European Commissioner - subsidiarity

Ask the EU

Organizations: European Commission, Subsidiarity, Lobby to Re-open Romanian Adoptions (2001- ), Danadopt (Danish Society for International child care), Euradopt, Nordic Adoption Council, The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and International Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption

Countries: Denmark

California Couple Arrested After Trying To Illegally Adopted A Baby In Mexico

Posted On: February 12, 2007 by Scott Sagaria

California Couple Arrested After Trying To Illegally Adopted A Baby In Mexico

Authorities in Mexico City have arrested an American couple for trying to illegally adopt a baby in Mexico. The couple, who both have California driver’s licenses, face charges of trying to buy or rob a child. They are being held at a local jail. While the husband is claiming total responsibility for what occurred, the wife told local journalists that she has wanted a baby for a long time but that the adoption process she became involved in didn’t meet legal standards.

For American citizens who wish to adopt a child from another country, there are proper legal channels that must be taken in order to ensure that the international adoption is legal and valid. It is important for prospective parents to know about the adoptions laws in the country where the child is from, as well as the laws that govern the immigration process that parents will have to follow in order to bring their child to live in the United States.

The U.S. State Department offers information regarding adopting a child from Mexico, including the following:

The State System for the Full Development of the Family (Desarrollo Integral de la Familia, or DIF) is a government institution in each Mexican state that handles family matters. The DIF and the Mexican Foreign Relations are assigned responsibility to study each child’s eligibility for intercountry adoption and arrange adoptions. The DIF determines whether a family would be suitable for a particular child by ensuring that a home study has been done. The DIF makes every effort to place children with relatives or Mexican citizens living in Mexico before placing children for inter-country adoption.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: Prospective adoptive parents may be married or single, male or female. They must be over twenty-five years of age, possess good moral character, and demonstrate the means to care for the physical and educational needs of the child. The prospective adoptive parents must be at least seventeen years older than the child. If the prospective adoptive parents are married, however, only one parent must meet the age requirement. If the child is over fourteen years of age, he or she must consent to the adoption.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: Mexican adoption procedures include a one to three week pre-adoption trial period during which the child lives with the prospective adoptive parents in Mexico . The adoption is not final until this time, and the child cannot leave Mexico before it is complete. Because of the large amount of paperwork in both the Mexican and U.S. processes, DIF suggests that the adoptive parents be prepared to spend at least three months in Mexico including the pre-adoption trial period.

TIME FRAME: The general time frame for adoptions in Mexico is from three to eight months, but varies from state to state.

ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: Adoption in the Republic of Mexico is governed by the civil codes and the civil procedures code of each of the 31 Mexican states. Even though some adoptions are processed though private attorneys, this guide focuses on the adoptions through DIF. While there are general similarities among the states’ laws, actual practice may vary considerably from state to state and even from municipality to municipality. If an attorney is required to complete the adoption process, the DIF in that particular state will assign the attorney.

In order to ensure that your international adoption goes through correctly and with the least amount of difficulty, you should speak with a family law attorney who is experienced in handling adoptions. He or she can take you through the process, which will include going through U.S. immigration to bring your adopted baby into the United States with you. Sagaria Law, P.C. is a law firm that can help you with your international adoption matter.

In addition to international adoptions, our attorneys handle adoptions within the United States, including independent adoptions, agency adoptions, stepparent adoptions, and single parent adoptions. We have also handled cases where an adoption has been contested by another party.

We represent clients in adoptions cases and other family law matters, including child custody, child support, and grandparent visitation cases throughout Monterey County, Alameda County, and Santa Clara County. Many of our clients have come from the cities of Carmel, Berkeley, San Jose, and Morgan Hill. To schedule a free consultation to speak with one of our attorneys regarding your adoption matter, contact Sagaria Law, P.C. today.

California couple arrested for trying to illegally take Mexican baby, Sign On San Diego, February 8, 2007

Intercountry Adoption: Mexico, U.S. Department of State

Countries: Mexico, United States of America

After 25-year search, woman traces son

CHENNAI: A 55-year-old woman is facing a tough situation, having to prove herself as the mother of her son who went missing at the age of three in 1978. This modern day King Solomon’s court drama is now being enacted after a couple from Holland adopted the child, after allegedly preparing false documents.

The petitioner Mary approached MKB Nagar police station on Thursday, seeking to unite with her son Manicka Yesuraj, who is now working in a bank in Holland.

According to Mary, her husband Philip who was working on a ship, left their home in 1978. Mary was left with two sons - Selvaraj and Manicka Yesuraj - and a daughter, Lourdu. Yesuraj admitted to a creche, which was functioning in the Church of Our Lady of Consolation at Vysarpadi.

‘‘I trusted the priest Fehlooz and admitted my son there. However, one day, my son went missing mysteriously. I had approached the local police station to trace my son, but they closed the file after declaring me as mentally deranged,’’ alleged Mary.

In 1988, she got a photograph of her son with some text written in Dutch through Gnanamariam, a worker in the church. Meanwhile, Lourdu had become a nurse and was employed in England. There, Lourdu tried to trace her brother with the photograph.

‘‘I inquired with my friends and got the address in Holland in 1998. I struggled for more than six years to trace Yesuraj. I approached many social service agencies, the Holland Embassy and even private detective agencies. Finally, when I finally got the address of Yesuraj in 2004, his adopted parent Tony Pijnenpurg, did not allow us to meet my brother. They had changed his name to Manicka Yesuraj Tony Pijnenpurg,’’ Lourdu told this website's newspaper.

According to her, Nagaraj of Nungambakkam, who claimed the boy was an orphan, adopted Yesuraj. With a new passport issued based on the Nungambakkam address, Yesuraj left India on March 14th, 1978.

‘‘We were cheated by the priest and the whole process of adoption is illegal,’’ Lourdu added.

After two years of struggle, the family was allowed to meet Yesuraj. However, taken aback by the new development, he said he would take a decision only after Mary proved she was his mother.

Based on the complaint of Mary, MKB Nagar police have registered a case and investigation is on.

‘‘We have received a petition and if necessary, we will re-open the original missing case registered in 1978,’’ an investigating officer said.

Countries: India, Netherlands

Background to the Formation of the Better Care Network

Steering Committee

Steering Committee | Advisory Group

unicefUSAIDSave he Children UKCAREHope for African Children Initiative

Background to the Formation of the Better Care Network

Over 60 million children have lost one or both parents throughout the world due to different causes. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is adding significantly to this number.

Organizations: Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Unicef New York, Save the Children, Better Care Network (BCN) - US

Steering Committee - Better Care Network

Background to the Formation of the Better Care Network

Over 60 million children have lost one or both parents throughout the world due to different causes. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is adding significantly to this number.

We know that children need and have a right to be cared for by their parents and to grow up in a family environment as much as possible. This has been recognized through years of experience and research as well as formally recognized under national and international laws. In many countries, however, few or no mechanisms exist to ensure the most appropriate placements, encourage and support guardianship and adoption arrangements, and provide support and monitoring for foster families. Much needs to be done to prevent separation by supporting families and to develop better care alternatives when separation is inevitable. National and international actors need to establish and enforce appropriate legal standards to ensure the safety, well-being, and healthy development of children placed in care, including continued efforts towards reunification and permanency.

Establishment and Expansion of the Better Care Network

Recognizing the urgent need for concerted action, UNICEF, the Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF) and the Africa Bureau for Sustainable Development of USAID, and Save the Children UK, came together to form the Better Care Network (BCN) in 2003. This decision was influenced by the Stockholm Conference on Residential Care in May 2003 and the position paper presented there by the Save the Children Alliance, "A Last Resort: The Growing Concern About Children in Residential Care," and by workshops on better care issues in Africa and the United States. During its first two years, BCN existed as a loose affiliation of organizations exchanging information through a growing listserve. As the listserve grew, and more information was shared via the network, the organizations mentioned above, together with CARE and the Hope for African Children Initiative (HACI), agreed that BCN served a vital role, and should expand its scope through the creation of a formal secretariat to support its work. Each organization agreed to contribute resources to strengthen BCN and to serve on its steering committee. In August 2005, BCN's secretariat was established. The secretariat is based at UNICEF headquarters and operates with the guidance and direction of the steering committee, which meets once a year.

Organizations: Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF), Unicef New York, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Save the Children, Better Care Network (BCN) - US

Steering Committee - Better Care Network

Background

Over 60 million children have lost one or both parents throughout the world due to different causes. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is adding significantly to this number.

Formation of the Better Care Network

Organizations: Better Care Network (BCN) - US, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Unicef New York, Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF), Save the Children