René Hoksbergen, professor of adoption René Hoksbergen saw early on that adopting children from abroad can cause problems.
Decades ago, René Hoksbergen pointed to problems with foreign adoption. This spring, the Committee on International Adoption Investigation concluded that abuses do indeed occur. As a result, all adoption procedures have been halted. There will also be an Expertise Center for identity questions, searches and aftercare.
Professor René Hoksbergen
Hoksbergen , professor emeritus at Utrecht University specializing in adoption, says he is "very happy" with the conclusions of the committee. "But it's forty years too late."
Hoksbergen (80) saw it go wrong. “Of course, in the beginning, around the 1970s, it was beautiful. In distant countries there was war, poverty and we Dutch could help. We bring the children here and give them a lot of love, then it will be all right, was the idea. It was called 'the pink cloud'. There were a lot of idealistic, passionate adoptive parents here, and the ministry was behind it. I also enthusiastically helped to bring children here.”