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“It is imperative to place rights and ethics at the center of the international adoption system”

Tribune. Picking up or bringing a child from the other side of the world to make him your own has often been considered an act of unconditional love. Long idealized, international adoption has grown steadily since the middle of the 20th century without any real consideration of the best interests of the child. Thousands of children adopted internationally have thus been abusively and permanently separated from their families and the culture of their birth.

Today, if some adoption stakeholders minimize the importance of fraudulent practices, arguing that they took place a long time ago, the fact remains that proven abuses have been tainting international adoption for decades. in many countries: Chad, Haiti, Chile, Sri Lanka, Mali, Ethiopia, Guatemala…

Read also Article reserved for our subscribers “We want to find our families while there is still time”: everywhere in the world, illegally adopted children are demanding justice

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The International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) enshrined, in 1989, the principle of the best interests of the child which presupposes "taking into account their fundamental, physical, intellectual, social and emotional needs, as well as the respect for his rights which must guide all decisions concerning him” (article 3). The CRC also specifies the right of the child “to know and grow up in their family of origin and the obligation of States to support the latter so that it can raise its child with dignity” (article 7). “It defends the child's right to preserve his or her identity and family relationships” (article 8) and stipulates “that no child may be separated from his or her parents against their will” (article 9).

Abused In US By Foster Mother For 2 Decades, Lucknow Girl In City In Search Of Her Roots

LUCKNOW: Twenty-one years after she was adopted from a Lucknow shelter home by a US woman, Rakhi - now called Mahogany Emberkai -- is back to her city to trace her roots, shrugging off two decades of abuse by her foster mother.

Rakhi was found abandoned at Lucknow's Charbagh railway station in 2000 when she was just three. Transferred to a local shelter home, she was adopted by one Carol Brand from Minnesota two years later.

However, her ordeal started right when she boarded the US-bound flight. It turned out that Carol had submitted her fake profile for adoption. She was allegedly a drug addict and alcoholic, who left Rakhi with a life-long trauma by her abusive excesses.

"Gradually I took care of my studies and subsistence. At the age of 12, I became a babysitter in order to pay rent to live with Carol. After I turned 18, Carol forced me out of the house and I started living on the University campus," said Rakhi, who changed her name to Mahogany Emberkai at the age of 20, which reflected her strong character as a tough wood. Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown hardwood and Emberkai is derived from Ember which means low burning wood.

"As a child I have suffered verbal, physical, mental and even sexual abuse from Carol. She was a fraud investigator in the health insurance sector in Minnesota, but she faked her profile to adopt me. Due to her cruel nature, none of my classmates dare come to console me. As a kid, I, too, was very afraid of her and never went against her to complain about her behaviour. Although I did try to inform her sister Nancy, I hardly got any support," said the 26-year-old who wanted to become doctor, but was never supported by her foster mother.

In 2002, when Mahogany was Rakhi, at Lucknow shelter home. Her poster mother Carol Brand is also seen in the photo.

Mahogany graduated from University of Minnesota in health science.

Apathy Towards Child Protection Can Perpetuate Cycles Of Abuse: Bombay High Court Orders State To Fill Vacancies In Child Welfare Institutions

Warning that neglect in safeguarding the rights and well-being of children could perpetuate cycles of abuse and hinder educational opportunities, the Bombay High Court recently directed the State government to fill vacancies in various child welfare institutions within three months. This includes posts in the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, State Child...

‘Sorry, I can’t disclose the identity of Haynes’s mum’

Haynes, who was separated from her American husband and two children — aged six and five — as a result of her abrupt deportation, had alleged various malpractices under the guise of foreign adoptions.


Twenty-one years after 85-year-old Clarice D’souza gave away Jennifer Haynes, 28, in adoption to US national George Hancox, she filed an affidavit in the Bombay high court, stating that she could not disclose the identity of her biological mother.

Haynes was deported to India owing to incomplete adoption formalities at the time of her adoption in 1989.

Haynes, who was separated from her American husband and two children — aged six and five — as a result of her abrupt deportation, had alleged various malpractices under the guise of foreign adoptions and sought action against the Americans for International Aid and Adoption that processed her adoption.

Refuting allegations made by Haynes, D’souza, a trustee of the now defunct Kuanyin Charitable Trust from where Haynes was adopted, has stated that many children are adopted by US nationals and they settle and adapt well.

D’souza has stated that Haynes allegations are baseless and her petition in court is not maintainable, as she has not exhausted the remedies available to her.

An exasperated Haynes said: “More than anything else, I want to go back to my children. But now that I am here in India I want to know something about myself, my family, my mother. I don’t want to go back to the US empty-handed.”

But D’souza’s affidavit suggests she will have to remain clueless about her parents. The 85-year-old said that revealing her mother’s identity would be a breach of confidentiality her mother was promised at the time of surrendering her child. She also states that it is now over 20 years since the documents were submitted to the court and she does not have them anymore. Haynes’s advocate Pradeep Havnur has sought two weeks time from the court to file a reply.

Woman reunited with family after illegal adoption

The illegal adoptions — 20,000 of which are being investigated by Chilean justice officials and other social groups — extend back to the 1960s. Largely poor, young and indigenous women in vulnerable situations were either forced to give up their children or were told they died shortly after childbirth.


 

Biological sisters meet for first time as illegally adopted child reunites with family

There were emotional reunions and long embraces at the airport in Chile’s capital on Sunday 18 February as families met face-to-face with some of the adults who were illegally put up for adoption as children.

Romina Cortés hugged her sister, Maria Hastings, whose existence she learned of just a month ago.

Maria is one of tens of thousands of Chilean children who were trafficked or illegally put up for adoption during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

She now lives in Tampa, Florida.

The illegal adoptions – 20,000 of which are being investigated, according to Chile’s justice system and other social groups – extend back to the 1960s.

Right To Adopt Not A Fundamental Right, Prospective Adoptive Parents Can't Demand Their Choice Of Who To Adopt: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that the right to adopt cannot be raised to the status of a fundamental right within Article 21 of the Constitution of India, nor can it be raised to a level granting Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) the right to demand their choice of who to adopt. Justice Subramonium Prasad said that there is no right at all to insist on the adoption of a particular 

Adoption Agency Under Charge: Assisted in Corruption in Madagascar

Denmark's only adoption agency, DIA, which is funded by the Danish state, has paid Malagasy authorities to facilitate the processing of adoptions to Denmark. Associate professor in administrative law assesses that this is corruption.


A few notes here and a few notes there to the relevant authorities. In poor Madagascar, it is the premise if things are to slide a little easier. 

Now it appears that the adoption system on the African island is not exempt, and that this has also applied to the adoption mediation of children who have been adopted to Denmark. 

Danwatch has spoken to the representative of Danish International Adoptions (DIA) in Madagascar, who says on several occasions that she has paid Malagasy authorities in connection with Danish adoption cases to get the adoptions through. 

“I pay a small amount here and a small amount there. To the administration and to the courtrooms. I also pay the police for their investigations", says the representative when Danwatch calls her.

Three Ethiopian Belgians testify: unfortunately, adoption is not a feel-good story

https://www.demorgen.be/meningen/drie-ethiopische-belgen-getuigen-adoptie-is-helaas-geen-feelgoodverhaal~b47f10d5/?fbclid=IwAR1WEmi1lq36d2RLOWFuZ180dq7qe5Rg9AcekzayMMrKlW9-GDhKR1j2fQs&referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2F&referrer=https://l.facebook.com/&utm_campaign=shared_earned&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

Shashitu Rahima Tarirga, Thereza De Wannemaeker and Temesgen Mees were adopted from Ethiopia.

SHASHITU RAHIMA TARIRGA , THEREZA DE WANNEMAEKER AND TEMESGEN MEES February 21, 2024, 3:00 am

Through the VRT documentary Francisco Desir, the audience gets an insight into the emotional journey of adoption. For us adoptees, the emotions that Francisco goes through are all too recognizable. It takes a lot of courage to start the search for your first family. As adoptees, we can only applaud the fact that Francisco wants to share this quest with the general public.

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