The ‘child sale’ incident came to light after Tripura Opposition leader and CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury flagged the issue two days ago and sought the intervention of Chief Secretary J K Sinha and Dhalai District Magistrate Saju Vaheed A

The chief minister said the state government was providing 10 per cent additional funds for the development of Dhalai as it is an aspirational district. 

A day after the Dhalai district administration rescued a newborn who was purportedly sold by the mother, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Monday said greater social awareness was needed to stop such incidents from recurring.

Speaking to reporters in Agartala on Monday evening, CM Saha said, “I got details of the case from the DM on the day we came to know about the incident. The baby was immediately returned to the mother.”

Saha also shot back at the Opposition CPI(M) for criticising the government over the alleged child sale incident.

Chennai: Newborns who are abandoned, surrendered, or orphaned and left under the care of government-recognised adoption agencies may soon benefit from the powerful immune-boosting properties of breast milk. The milk will be sourced from the Comprehensive Lactation Management Centers run by the state health department.

Social welfare department and health department are working together to develop protocols for creating a dynamic list of infants, transporting breast milk with cold chain facilities, and providing safe storage in the agencies. “We have around 125 children under the age of six months in various registered adoption agencies. This is a dynamic list as children may go for adoption and some others may come in,” said social welfare secretary Jayashree Muralidharan. “So far, all these children have been given formula food. We thought of giving them breast milk as we have established government breast milk banks,” she said.

Madurai-based Claretian Mercy Home, which houses ten children under 18 months, is one of the potential beneficiaries. “We give the children formula feeds as per doctor’s prescription. While some products are from local markets, we source some through our donors from Europe,” said Fr Jose Pitchai CMF, who runs the home.

“We will give our children breast milk as it is a healthier option. We hope there will be adequate supply.” For up to six months of age, exclusive breast milk is the gold standard of nutrition.

“Breast milk ensures superior absorption of nutrients including those crucial for brain development. It is easily digestible and is packed with antibodies that prevent diseases,” said senior pediatrician Dr Rema Chandramohan, who heads the Institute of Child Health in Egmore.

Terre des Hommes part 1

On 21 May, the Government of the Netherlands officially announced that it will no longer allow its nationals to initiate new international adoption procedures. This decision takes effect immediately, while providing for a transitional period for ongoing cases. This radical choice certainly represents a break in the evolution of international adoption, breaking a social and political taboo, and perhaps even more so from the country that hosts the headquarters of the Hague Conference.

The Netherlands has followed a very logical path: in February 2021, the expert report commissioned by the Government painted an uncompromising picture of past adoption practices, highlighting the failures of the system and their serious consequences on the development of abuses in the procedures. A few days later, the authorities decided to suspend international adoption procedures . At the end of 2022, the Netherlands decided to resume the procedures, but only with 6 countries of origin considered safe. However, this measure did not put an end to the debates: some members of Parliament considered, for example, that "There is too much room for abuse, and it is not a sustainable way of protecting children" . NGOs also took a position , asking the Government to put a definitive end to the practice of international adoption in order to prevent any violation of Article 21 of the CRC. The decision to stop international adoption therefore concludes a fairly long debate. What lessons can we learn from this?

First of all, we must welcome the fact that a host country has managed to put the issue of the practice of international adoption in the public arena, and then to clearly position itself on the meaning it intended to give it. The Netherlands are naturally not the only ones to be confronted with the backlash of the adoptive practice: France, Belgium, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland have also undertaken reflections in this direction. But other historical host countries are still completely silent, while they are certainly just as concerned. The Dutch approach is thus part of a broader movement of "freeing speech" that is very salutary and exemplary in form.

On the substance, the question of whether the practice of international adoption is inherently positive or, on the contrary, negative deserves to be debated today. 

This measure has always had its promoters (saving children) and its detractors (commercialization of procedures, exploitation of the South by the North), the very nature of adoption (removing and then creating a filiation) being able to legitimately challenge each citizen. It is unfortunately not possible to objectively determine which way the balance tips: is the number of children who have experienced their adoption in a positive way greater or less than those who have suffered from it? How can we assess the overall impact of this measure on unreachable biological families? What have been, yesterday and today, the contributions of adoptees to the evolution of the societies that have welcomed them?

I am an adopted child. I also am a mother of a beautiful adopted baby girl.My life story is like a beautifully woven tapestry. I was born on the 19th of April 1972 in Dallas, Texas, USA. My birth mother was an 18 year old , Caucasian woman with lovely blond hair. My birth father was a handsome African American man. I have never seen them or spoken to them -that's how my file at the adoption centre described my parents. 

I was given up for adoption the day I was born. I was placed in a loving and caring foster home when I was nine months. My foster parents , Ginger and Fred Beamis were my family for four years. I had four foster siblings who I still keep in touch with. I loved them immensly, but I always knew that I was not there to stay -that’s the nature of foster care. 

Since I was a bi-racial child the adoption agency found it difficult to find me a permanent home. My foster mother worked in a day care center. One day a beautiful young Indian woman walked into the center looking for a job. Her name was Jayashree Chattterjee. Little did we know that on this day a new chapter in our lives would begin; I found a mother in Jayashree and she a daughter in me. My parents, Jayashree and husband, adopted me when I was 4 ½ years old. My brother Rohit was born one year later and so in a year I had a new mother, father and a new baby brother. 

When I was nine years old my parents divorced and Rohit and I moved to India with my mother. In a short time my mother married a wonderful man named Arun Thiagarajan.By the time I was 11 years old my mother had another son Shiva and after ten months she had another son Nikhil. So by the time I was 12 I had an enormous family . 

I grew up with the love of so many people. Not only did I gain a family, I gained a country as well. Nobody looking at me would ever guess that I am not Indian. God has been so good to me that I really felt the need to do the same for another little girl. And that brings me to my daughter Tara. My husband Ram and I got married on the 11th of October 1997 . 

South Korea adoptees endure emotional, sometimes devastating searches for their birth families

SEOUL — They began a pilgrimage that thousands before them have done. They boarded long flights to their motherland, South Korea, to undertake an emotional, often frustrating, sometimes devastating search for their birth families.

South Korea adoptees endure emotional, sometimes devastating searches for their birth families

These adoptees are among the 200,000 sent away from Korea to Western nations as children. Many have grown up, searched for their origin story and discovered that their adoption paperwork was inaccurate or fabricated. They have only breadcrumbs to go on: grainy baby photos, names of orphanages and adoption agencies, the towns where they were said to have been abandoned. They don’t speak the language. They’re unfamiliar with the culture. Some never learn their truth.

The Thurgau GLP has asked the government council for more information on adoptions of Indian children between 1973 and 2002. In a motion, the party is asking, among other things, what support the canton offers those affected.

The background to the GLP's request is a recently presented study on illegal adoptions in the cantons of Thurgau and Zurich. The study on the practice of adoptions from India revealed serious misconduct, as the GLP Thurgau wrote in a statement on the submitted request. Adoptions have also become a business model.

Adoptions approved despite missing documents

More and more Westerners want to adopt children, while the Third World offers fewer and fewer children for adoption. Therefore, the need to control the adoption market is growing so that children do not end up as a commodity

By Lars Henriksen and Henrik Hoffmann-Hansen

The Danish adoption system needs a major overhaul. In particular, the possibilities for controlling adoption organizations and orphanages must be looked into more closely.

That demand comes from several sides, after Danmarks Radio has revealed, among other things, the sale of adopted children from India. Yesterday, the revelations caused family and consumer affairs minister Carina Christensen (K) to temporarily stop new adoptions from the country. Yesterday she had a long-planned meeting with the adoption organisations, who want the adoption rules adjusted in several areas.

The demand for better control comes, among other things, from Adoption & Society, an independent, advisory association for adoptive parents and adoptees.

A story of being chosen: an adoptees journey to empowerment and her parents dual adoption - join us for a special conversation with Rati Dhoundiyal Ahuja, a remarkable woman who was adopted as a baby in the 1970s and grew up in a loving family in South Mumbai. She’ll be sharing her unique adoption journey, how her parents helped other couples adopt, and how she proudly embraced her story despite societal questions. In this live session, we’ll discuss her experiences of: - Growing up with an adopted sibling who faced emotional challenges. - How she openly shared her adoption story with her son at 16. - Why she believes normalizing adoption is essential and how we can encourage others to embrace it, just like "paw parents" do with adopted pets. Her story is an inspiring testament to the power of love, family, and the importance of open conversations around adoption. Don’t miss this insightful and heartfelt discussion! Tune in live on 28th September 2024 at 5 pm IST Let’s continue the conversation on normalizing adoption and embracing these beautiful journeys with pride!

Illegal adoptees have begun receiving a once-off payment of €3,000 from the Department of Children, to help cover the costs of DNA tests and any legal bills.

The money is being paid out following a recommendation last year by the former government Special Rapporteur on Child Protection on foot of an independent review into illegal registrations.

Professor Conor O’Mahony had called for a state inquiry into the issues raised and said the Government should formally apologise to those affected.

It is estimated that as many as 15,000 people were illegally registered as the birth child of their adoptive parents after the adoption act was introduced in 1952.

That law was meant to protect illegal trafficking of children. However, it has since emerged private unlawful adoption arrangements continued until at least the 1970s.