A Spanish woman (19) has demanded compensation of three million euros, because she was switched as a baby in a hospital in the city of Logroño. The painful mistake left the woman in a dysfunctional family where her parents could not care for her. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, was raised by her alleged grandmother.

The other woman, who was born five hours earlier and therefore also grew up in the wrong family, has since been informed. According to the newspaper 'El Pais' and television channel RTVE, she has not yet lodged a complaint. The health authorities recognize "the human error", but they only want to pay 215,000 euros in compensation.

According to regional health minister Sara Alba, both babies were born prematurely and ended up in the incubator. They were then mistakenly switched there, the woman's lawyer, José Saez-Morga, told the Europa Press news agency on Tuesday.

DNA-tests

The mistake was only discovered in 2017, in the context of a maintenance case. DNA tests revealed that neither the alleged father nor the mother were the girl's biological parents.

Search for information about Mother Home De Hoeksteen, where unmarried mothers and their babies were cared for and separated from each other

From 1946 to 1973, unmarried mothers and their babies were taken care of and separated from each other in De Hoeksteen on Beethovenlaan in Hilversum. Fiom is looking for information or files about the 'mother home'.

In the past, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 women in the Netherlands gave up their child - under duress - for adoption, voluntarily or involuntarily. In the 1950s to 1980s, women often came to mother and/or children's homes such as De Hoeksteen at 13 Beethovenlaan in Hilversum. They stayed there during (part of) their pregnancy and sometimes after the birth of their child.

Information about this stay and the distance for adoption is recorded in the 'distance file'. In order to give more adoptees and surrogate mothers access to parentage information, Fiom (specialist in the field of unwanted pregnancy and parentage questions) is starting a search for renunciation files and other documents with information.

Distance file

No more adoptions from abroad for two years, in order to be able to thoroughly reform the adoption procedure. Minister of the Family Wouter Beke (CD&V) kicks a lot of shins with that surprising proposal. Certainly against that of coalition partner N-VA. There they raze Beke's proposal to the ground, making a clash within the Flemish government inevitable.

Flemish Minister of the Family Wouter Beke surprised friend, but especially foe, yesterday by revealing his plans for intercountry adoption. Flanked by an expert, he plainly pleaded…

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Posters with a search for a 13-year-old girl with name and picture hung up in several places - including at Korsør Library. Father misses help for his forcibly removed daughter.

She's found again, so when I'm done with my work, I'm going to go and peel the posters down again.

This is how it sounds from a 55-year-old man when Sjællandske calls the number on a poster hung at Korsør Library on Thursday morning. The headline is 'Wanted'. Including a name and picture of a dark-haired girl and the age of 13 years. At the bottom the phone number.

Anonymized

Sjællandske has chosen to anonymise both the father and the girl, although the 55-year-old father would otherwise like the municipality to be criticized for the efforts for the daughter by name.

Wouter Beke argues for a general adoption break, but immediately receives criticism from Flemish coalition partners: "This is rash and ill-considered"

Minister of the Family Wouter Beke (CD&V) thinks an adoption break of two years is necessary. This is apparent from a memorandum that Beke will present to the Flemish government next week and which could view Het Laatste Nieuws. Beke assists a number of experts who have completed a report on intercountry adoption after two years and for whom such an adoption break is necessary. Bad idea, say coalition partners N-VA and Open Vld.

It took a lot of work, but the report was finally delivered. And just like in the Netherlands, the experts here immediately throw a bomb on the table. The current system of intercountry adoption is not good, according to them, and urgently needs to be adapted. According to the experts, adoption agencies have become dependent on subsidies that came with the adoptions. The more adoptions, the more money it raised. And that, they say, has led to “mistakes and malpractice” that many children have become victims of.

So it must be different. Starting with putting the best interests of the child first instead of that of the parents. According to the experts, intercountry adoption, where the child is removed from its cultural and religious environment, is not one of them. It should therefore only be possible if no alternative can be found in your own country.

“Immediate Shutdown”

Inter-Country Adoptions: Delhi High Court Asks Centre To Submit its Report On A Permanent Mechanism To Deal With Inter-Country Adoptions

The Delhi High Court has directed the Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development,

Government of India to file a report before it regarding the manner and mode of creating a

permanent mechanism to deal with inter-country adoptions under Hindu Adoptions &

Maintenance Act, both direct and indirect, within a period of two months.

Figures from Statistic Finland show that the pandemic did not affect international adoption in Finland in 2020 and 82 children born abroad were adopted last year which is an increase of 3 children compared to the year before.

Out of the 82 children, Thailand remains a popular choice for Finnish families looking to adopt and a total of 23 children from Thailand were adopted in 2020. 12 Russian children and 11 children born in the Philippines were also amongst the 82 children adopted in Finland last year. Thailand has also been the most common adoption country in previous years. The number of children adopted from Russia increased significantly from previous years.

Domestic adoptions, on the other hand, declined steadily in 2020. A total of 211 children born in Finland were adopted last year which is 80 fewer than in 2019. According to Laura Lipasti, chief actuary at Statistics Finland, this is partly explained by the new Maternity Act which makes it possible to recognize two mothers for a child born through assisted reproduction even before the child is born and this has reduced the need for adoptions within families.

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In recent years, more and more intercountry adoptees have had questions about their adoption history and the adoption procedure.

These questions came to the surface both through stories in the press and through direct reporting to the Flemish Center for Adoption. In order to respond to the various questions and concerns of adoptees, the then Flemish Minister for Welfare, Public Health and the Family, Jo Vandeurzen, decided in 2019 to appoint an independent research panel of experts . The expert panel was commissioned to conduct a study into intercountry adoption practice in the past with the aim of revising the current procedure and thus providing adopted children with more guarantees.

In August and September 2021, the expert panel shared its final findings and recommendations with the competent Minister of Welfare, Family, Public Health and Poverty Reduction, Wouter Beke, and with the Flemish Government.

You can also view the reports yourself.

Final report

In recent years, more and more intercountry adoptees have had questions about their adoption history and the adoption procedure.

These questions came to the surface both through stories in the press and through direct reporting to the Flemish Center for Adoption. In order to respond to the various questions and concerns of adoptees, the then Flemish Minister for Welfare, Public Health and the Family, Jo Vandeurzen, decided in 2019 to appoint an independent research panel of experts . The expert panel was commissioned to conduct a study into intercountry adoption practice in the past with the aim of revising the current procedure and thus providing adopted children with more guarantees.

In August and September 2021, the expert panel shared its final findings and recommendations with the competent Minister of Welfare, Family, Public Health and Poverty Reduction, Wouter Beke, and with the Flemish Government.

You can also view the reports yourself.

Final report

Here is some career advice by Alex Yuster, for our non-retired readers, based on experience! For those of us who are retired: Does it ring a bell?

Early career: make note of how your supervisors and other colleagues further along in their careers treat others. You’ll surely notice this anyway, and discuss it with your friends over coffee or a beer from time to time. Remember what you like, and what you don’t, about how these colleagues treat others – so you can apply these lessons when the time comes for you to lead others.

I’ve had mentors to whom I’m forever grateful; I’ve seen generosity and openness, and colleagues who have encouraged everyone to contribute. There have also been moments of humiliation or worse. You can learn a lot about leadership from all these experiences.

Mid career: I may have joined a long time ago, but some things about UNICEF culture do seem to remain the same. You often have room to innovate, to create your job, to convince others of a good idea. If you feel there is something that needs to be done within your area of professional responsibility, you should do all you can to make it happen. Yes, flexibility is important, but so is tenacity and the power of our convictions. My proudest accomplishment over my entire career [1] came from acting on such a conviction, finding and working with allies, often in other organizations, and keeping my focus to make it happen – often despite naysayers. A few others were the result of bold, quick actions. My few regrets involve instances when I did not act, was dissuaded, or gave up on an idea I knew mattered.

Mid/late career: As we advance up the career ladder in UNICEF, whether in management or technical areas (I did both), it becomes more and more important to focus on empowering others. This starts early on – from the first time you supervise even one person, and the responsibility just grows. While I find it personally rewarding, it is also the way to achieve the most. I guess this is obvious, but I wanted to state it here, since I would say that during my two final postings – as a Rep and then a PD section chief, most of my most significant professional contributions were a result of supporting the ideas and ambitions of my colleagues.