A Romanian woman testifies to the Council of Europe about the trauma experienced in communist orphanages/ Independent investigations are requested in all EU states regarding the violation of children's rights/ "We were naked, there was no heating, we only received a little food and we were left in the dark"

Sirmanca Fekete, a survivor of the Cighid home for disabled and mentally ill minors, testified today at the Council of Europe in support of a motion submitted by the Justice Initiative, the association announces in a press release.

This is a pan-European initiative that brings together 19 countries and aims to stop, recognize and prevent child abuse in Europe.

The Justice Initiative was initiated by the Swiss Guido Flori to investigate and find solutions for those affected by this phenomenon present throughout the continent.

The Council of Europe and the member states are asked to ensure an independent investigation of the violation of the rights of the child in each European country and the official recognition of the trauma of children who have suffered any kind of sexual, physical or psychological violence. The motion also calls for victims to receive some form of compensation, and for existing laws in member states to be geared towards protecting all children from abuse and maltreatment.

TV program Spoorloos linked at least two participants to the wrong family

Omroep KRO-NCRV acknowledges that at least two people who participated in the Spoorloos program were linked to the wrong biological family. The broadcaster makes this known in a press statement, in response to findings in the RTL program Scammers Tackled by journalist Kees van der Spek.

The upcoming episode of Scammers Tackled a Colombian intermediary, who for years carried out investigative work in Colombia for Spoorloos for a fee. The fixer, Edwin Vela, was involved in sixteen cases. It turns out that there are now at least two mismatches.

Kees van der Spek told this in the Jinek program:

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MISMATCHES TRACK A Dutch correspondent who has been working as an intermediary in Colombia for the Spoorloos program for many years, had to leave the Wereldkinderen foundation in the past because of allegations of inappropriate practices involving adoptive parents, sources against this site confirm. This seems to indicate a second dubious intermediary in the popular program.

The broadcaster confirms that until 2010, the woman worked closely with Edwin Vela, the discredited Colombian fixer who used the Spoorloos program to track down family members. "She occasionally hired Vela for his detective work in places that were unsafe or difficult to reach for her as a foreign woman," a spokesperson said. "Together with him, she has selected a total of sixteen cases for Spoorloos."

Those involved in the adoption world find it 'inconceivable' that KRO-NCRV still works with the woman, they let this site know.

Bomb under program

Crime journalist Kees van der Spek yesterday put a bomb under the extremely successful Spoorloos program with his revelations, which has been an institution on Dutch television for over thirty years. A fraudulent intermediary in Colombia is said to have participated in at least sixteen searches for biological parents of Dutch people for the program. KRO-NCRV can now confirm two 'mismatches' of Dutch people who are not linked to the correct biological parents in Colombia.

KRO-NCRV will screen the fixers who participate in the Spoorloos program "more carefully" after the news about mismatched families. The broadcaster is in contact with people who have been incorrectly linked and offers them support if necessary, a spokesperson said to NU.nl when asked.

Spoorloos started using DNA testing in 2000 . "In the beginning a few times a year in case of doubt, over time more and more." The program has only been testing for DNA in all cases since 2019.

Over the years, DNA testing has become more accessible to consumers, according to KRO-NCRV. "We can now often test with cheek mucus instead of blood. Many mothers in many South American and Asian countries did not find the latter desirable. DNA samples often ended up at customs and did not even leave the country."

From Van der Spek's program Scammers Tackled , it appeared on Monday that the Spoorloos intermediary had not linked two Dutch people to the right biological parents. This was due to a Colombian fixer, who worked on sixteen quests for the program.

The mismatched cases date from 2004 and 2005. Of the sixteen cases in which the fixer was involved, two mismatches are now known and two matches have been confirmed as correct by previous DNA testing. "We will review the other matters again. If desired and possible, we will still offer those involved a DNA test."

Georgia Tann sold over 5,000 children over a period of 30 years

The lack of empathy in some people will never stop surprising humanity just how far they will cross any sort of boundaries just go gain something. One such person is Georgia Tann who is one of the most notorious child traffickers in modern history. From 1924 to 1950, Georgia kidnapped over 5,000 children and sold them to various people who would either use them as servants around the house or for hard labor. For that period of time, Georgia played a character that looked innocent and in love with children, the exact person who everyone would put at the end list of suspects for all the kidnapped children at the time.

How does a person end up doing something like this? Let’s go back and have a look at her younger self for an answer.

Taking children away from their parents from a young age

Georgia Tann was born in 1891 in Philadelphia, Mississippi, in a loving and modest family. Her parents worked to offer her the best chance at a good life whilst offering her affection, so there is nothing within her childhood to explain her behavior later on in life.

Being linked to the wrong biological family. It happened to Kristian and probably Barbara too. Kees van der Spek travels with them to Colombia and finds out that the Spoorloos program has made mistakes.

--------- Forwarded message ---------

From: CAB-REYNDERS-CONTACT@ec.europa.eu

Date: Mon 10. Oct 2022 at 20:08

Subject: RE: UNCRC Acquis

To: ACT

A day after actor Nayanthara and her husband director Vignesh Shivan shared pictures of their twin babies, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian said that his department will seek an explanation. During a press meet, a journalist asked the Minister if the couple who got married four months ago can conceive through surrogacy and whether there was a time restriction. To this, the Minister replied that the Directorate of Medical Services will be directed to conduct an inquiry.

On October 9, Vignesh announced on social media, “Nayan & Me have become Amma & Appa. We are blessed with Twin Baby Boys. All Our prayers, our ancestors’ blessings combined with all the good manifestations made, have come 2gethr in the form Of 2 blessed babies for us. Need all ur blessings for our Uyir & Ulagam. Life looks brighter & more beautiful.”

Since their announcement, social media is rife with speculation about the babies and discussions about their names. While a friend of the couple said to TNM that the babies were conceived through surrogacy, Nayanthara and Vignesh are yet to make an official announcement.

In India, commercial surrogacy was allowed until a new law – The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021– came was passed in December 2021 and came into effect on January 25, 2022. It is plausible that Nayanthara, as a single woman, or Nayanthara and Vignesh, as partners, could have approached a medical clinic seeking surrogacy prior to December 2021, when commercial surrogacy was allowed and there were no laws governing the issue. However, since December 2021, only ‘altruistic surrogacy’ is allowed, meaning no remuneration or monetary incentive is provided to the surrogate mother, except the medical expenses. As per the new rules, a surrogate mother has to be genetically related to the couple.

The new rules also state, other than a couple, who have a ‘medical indication necessitating gestational surrogacy’, only an Indian woman who is a widow or divorcee between the age of 35 to 45 years can opt for surrogacy.

In search of a better future, six-day-old girl given away by biological parents in Jalgaon to a couple, who forge papers and sell her to a transgender duo — one of whom is lodged in jail currently; two women agents found to be involved in the sale; police catch up with the culprits, arrest them & decide to take responsibility for child’s education; activist says such children are often forced into begging & state should look into matter

If one were to pause and weigh, illegal adoption of children would emerge as an equal menace in society as human trafficking — with both being related somewhere. When the crime branch of the city police rescued a toddler it was a veritable opening of the Pandora’s Box pointing unflinchingly towards both the evils.

The girl child was caught in a rigmarole of illegal adoption for one-and-a-half years after she was given away by her biological parents when she was just six days old. The child travelled to different cities and had three different pairs of parents, including one who is lodged in jail with murder charges at present. She is in safe hands now and the police have decided to educate her by collecting funds themselves.

The enormity of such cases can be gauged from the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data which states that 6,533 human trafficking victims were rescued in India last year and 2,877 of them were children. Similarly, 4,709 victims were rescued in 2020 and 2,222 of them were children. The data suggests that such cases, especially of children, have increased by over 27 per cent last year as compared to 2020.

It may be noted that the six-day-old child was given up for adoption in January 2021 to a couple since the parents could not take care of her because of financial constraints. They already had four children. The parents, based in Jalgaon, hoped their child would have a better future if she lived with someone with financial stability. However, it was a case of illegal adoption. Taking advantage of this, the adoptive parents sold the toddler to a transgender couple in Pune by fraudulently making the adoption papers. They claimed it was their child and earned Rs 1.7 lakh through the change of hands.

On October 10, 2022, it was announced that TV program Spoorloos linked at least two participants to non-biological family. Following this news, we can imagine that you have questions about how Fiom conducts searches in Colombia. You can read more about this below. Do you have any questions? Feel free to call or email us on 088 126 49 00 or info@fiom.nl .

1. Who do we work with when it comes to searches in Colombia?

For searches in Colombia, Fiom collaborates with the Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar (ICBF, Colombian Institute for Family Welfare). The ICBF is a government agency concerned with the protection of the rights of minors. The ICBF has 33 branches in the various departments and conducts searches for biological families at the request of adoptees.

2. How does the ICBF search?

The ICBF searches through formal channels. Once the identity number of the wanted person is known and checked in the national register, the ICBF requests various organizations, such as health and benefit organizations, to provide up-to-date contact details of the wanted person. After receiving these data, a social worker from the ICBF will contact the person sought by telephone or a home visit will take place. The ICBF never contacts the wanted person via social media.