Joint statement (Espace A, International Social Service SSI, PACH Nursing and Adopted children Switzerland, tracing service Swiss Red Cross SRK)

According to a study, the problem of unlawful adoptions in recent decades is far greater than previously known. Thousands of children are likely to be affected.

Celin Fässler was adopted from Sri Lanka. Today she advises adoptees who are looking for their birth parents.

The investigations into adoptions from Sri Lanka got the ball rolling. Three years ago it emerged that many children from Sri Lanka had been illegally adopted. Now it is clear: Sri Lanka is not an isolated case. Children who had been bought or taken away from their parents were also adopted from other countries. This is shown by a report from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) commissioned by the federal government. 

What are the key findings of the new report?

The researchers searched the Federal Archives for documents from the 1970s to the 1990s from ten countries of origin: Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, India, Colombia, Korea, Lebanon, Peru and Romania. They come to the conclusion that there is also numerous evidence of illegal practices, child trafficking, forged documents and missing origin information for these countries.

A new study shows that the extent of illegal adoptions from abroad to Switzerland may be significantly greater than assumed. We are talking about forged documents and mafia-like structures in different countries of origin.

Hundreds of children were taken from their parents in Sri Lanka from the 1970s to the 1990s and placed as adoptive children in countries such as Switzerland, often using false identities. When this long-standing practice became known four years ago, it caused a wave of outrage throughout Switzerland. Now a report commissioned by the Federal Council as a result of the research shows that the scandal surrounding the adopted children from Sri Lanka may have only been the tip of the iceberg.

In several thousand other cases, irregularities may have occurred during this time, according to the report published by the Federal Council on Friday. It was written by Nadja Ramsauer, Rahel Bühler and Katja Girschik from the Institute for Childhood, Youth and Family at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). The authors examined adoptions from ten countries in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe. Most of the children came from India, Colombia, Brazil and Korea.

Agent collects $3,000 to $5,000 for a child

In these and six other countries there is numerous evidence of illegal practices, forged documents, missing origin information and child trafficking. According to the report, it is no longer possible to determine how many adopted children are affected. However, based on the entry permits issued during this period, the authors assume that there are several thousand people affected. Irregularities and misconduct did not only occur in the countries of origin. The authorities in Switzerland and the diplomatic missions in the countries are also said to have brushed aside information.

The Swiss government admitted that thousands of children were illegally adopted abroad and brought to Switzerland between 1970 and 1990. This discovery has prompted the government to seek a revision of the country's adoption laws. A report from 2020 revealed that the authorities failed to take appropriate action despite clear indications of irregularities in adoption placements. A second study conducted by Zurich University of Applied Sciences found evidence of illegal practices, child trafficking, falsified documents, and missing declarations of origin in multiple countries.

GENEVA: Thousands of children were probably illegally adopted abroad and brought to Switzerland between 1970 and 1990, the government admitted Friday.
The findings triggered ministers into seeking a revision of Switzerland's laws on adopting children from abroad.
Following numerous poignant testimonies from people illegally adopted in Sri Lanka, a first report in 2020 showed the authorities failed to take appropriate measures "despite early and clear indications" of irregularities in adoption placements.

The government commissioned a second study that was carried out by Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) which looked at adoptions from 10 other countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, India, Lebanon, Peru, Romania and South Korea.

"There were also indications of illegal practices, child trafficking, falsified documents and missing declarations of origin in these countries of origin," the government said in a statement.
"The number of entry permits issued suggests that several thousand adopted children could have been affected by irregularities during the period under investigation."
Over the period in question, ZHAW researchers found 8,000 authorisations for children to enter Switzerland, of which some 2,799 children came from India, 2,122 from Colombia, 1,222 from Brazil and 1,065 from South Korea.

The government "acknowledges the irregularities in international adoptions and regrets that the authorities did not adequately fulfil their responsibility towards the children and their families", it said.
"These shortcomings on the part of the authorities continue to shape the lives of adoptees to this day."
The federal government said it was up to the 26 cantons that make up Switzerland to support those affected in uncovering their origins.

Olivia Atkocaitis, 20, says she survived 14 years of abuse and servitude at the hands of her adoptive parents before escaping at 15

A New Hampshire couple convicted on criminal charges after allegedly keeping their adopted daughter in a locked basement and subjecting her to years of torture and "servitude" are now facing a lawsuit for allegedly violating her 13th Amendment rights. 

Chinese native Olivia Atkocaitis, now 20, allegedly dug her way out of a filthy "dungeon room" in 2018 at the age of 15 using a bottle cap, according to a lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital.

"This lawsuit is potentially one of the scariest and gut wrenching experiences of my life," Atkocaitis said. "Day after day, I watched the people who claimed to be responsible for my safety and protection still not own up the fact that they failed me. I was a child, and I was not protected. I was left in the house by the same people who claim it’s not their fault."

"Our family is so blessed this holiday season with OUR ENTIRE FAMILY HOME IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS," Zac and Brittney Wolfe wrote in a statement to PEOPLE

A small family in Pennsylvania has grown significantly, just in time for Christmas!

Zac and Brittney Wolfe, who struggled for years to have children, then adopted their baby daughter, Charlie, in July, welcomed triplets Knox, Navie, and Noa on Oct. 19. 

“Knox, Noa and Navie decided it was time to make their GRAND appearance at 30 weeks and 5 days!,” the Wolfes said on Facebook in October. “@pennhighlandshc was more than prepared for this delivery! All doctors and staff were exceptional. Brittney and the triplets are all doing very well! We will go into more detail soon, but for now, we are going to love up on Charlie, Knox, Noa and Navie! Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for all the continued prayers."

The babies then spent almost 50 days in the NICU at the Penn Highlands DuBois hospital, the proud parents announced on YouTube Wednesday.

Roelie Post

A word of caution.

The Hague Adoption Convention is pro-adoption biased.

And conflicts with the UN Convention on the Rights of the child.

HAC was created because UNCRC renders intercountry adoption as good as impossible (art 21b).

The circumstances in which biological parents give up an adopted child sometimes do not match what the adoption file states, researcher Atamhi Cawayu in Bolivia noted. 'Adoption services have too much reliance on paperwork.'

A couple in rural Bolivia had a seventh child in 2008, a girl with a medical condition. According to her adoption file, the parents decided to give up their daughter because of their economic situation.

The Flemish Atamhi Cawayu, himself adopted from Bolivia, went to talk to the father for his doctoral research, which he recently defended at Ghent University. 'The man was shocked when I told him that his daughter had been adopted by a Dutch couple. The father thought all along that his daughter was living with a lawyer in Santa Cruz.'

'He was told that the childless lawyer could pay much more attention to the sick child and that she also had the money to do so. He said to me, “It wasn't really what I wanted. It wasn't my first choice. Who wants to give up their own child?''

Kidnapped

It has been six months since Nataly last saw her boys, and now the 50-year-old mum is facing Christmas without them

Since then she’s fought in courts to get her boys home but faces Christmas without them.

As she climbs into bed each evening, Nataly Anderson whispers goodnight to her two little boys.

But she can only mouth the words to their photos as her nine-year-old twins have been taken, against her will, to live in Croatia by their father.

It has been six months since Nataly last saw Luke and David (both names changed), and the 50-year-old is now facing Christmas without them.

GHENT -

The Ghent court convicted a Bulgarian woman on Monday for inhumane treatment of her child. She sold her baby for 5,000 euros to a couple from Ghent. The prospective parents were prosecuted by the public prosecutor's office, but were acquitted because they were misled.

“The court mainly wants to send a social signal with the ruling. Not only towards the Bulgarian woman, but also towards anyone who would want to profit from the birth of a biological child by trading it for profit," the verdict said.

The Ghent court sentenced the woman in absentia on Monday to ten months' suspended prison sentence. The woman sold her child to a couple for 5,000 euros. The court ruled that she treated her child as a commodity and should be punished for that.

The facts date from 2020. The Turkish couple from Ghent had wanted to have children for a long time, but due to a medical problem with the woman, they were unable to become pregnant. Through Bulgarian acquaintances in Belgium they came into contact with the woman, who was six months pregnant at the time.