In this SAP blog highlighting the relationship between the government and the foundation Flash, who was involved since 1979 with the adoption of children from countries such as Sri Lanka. Flash will be discontinued in 2010. The foundation has mediated for a total of 2,410 children, most of whom come from Sri Lanka.
How did it work? When adoptive parents from the Netherlands had a permit in principle from the Ministry of Justice, Flash contacted a few permanent private mediators in Sri Lanka. In practice, the Dutch parents stayed in Sri Lanka for about 3 weeks, with a travel visa applied for and granted by the Dutch embassy on the last day of the child's stay. Flash advised a week after arrival in the Netherlands to report to the local aliens police in order to apply for a residence permit. Because no details of the child had to be provided in advance, foster parents were usually not aware of who the child is and who the biological parents were. On March 2, 1983, the Ministry of Justice wrote to Flash that from now on the name in writing to the Ministry of Justice, date of birth, nationality and gender of the foster child are stated. The practice of granting a travel visa to adopted children was formally 'not entirely correct'. As a result, an authorization for temporary residence must be issued from now on. A condition for this is that the parent (s) and / or the legal representatives of the baby have renounced the baby in a locally applicable manner and acceptable according to Dutch standards. The personal details of the child to be adopted must be known to the Ministry of Justice before the parents go abroad. A condition for this is that the parent (s) and / or the legal representatives of the baby have renounced the baby in a locally applicable and acceptable manner according to Dutch standards. The personal details of the child to be adopted must be known to the Ministry of Justice before the parents go abroad. A condition for this is that the parent (s) and / or the legal representatives of the baby have renounced the baby in a locally applicable and acceptable manner according to Dutch standards. The personal details of the child to be adopted must be known to the Ministry of Justice before the parents go abroad.
Flash reports on July 11, 1983 that this would mean that the foster parents would have to stay longer in Sri Lanka and that she does not agree. Apparently the interests of the buyers were greater than those of the child. Rather than halting adoption, the government is allowing Flash to continue to handle current affairs in the usual manner. As a result, it remains unknown where exactly the baby comes from. The Ministry of Justice announced on September 28, 1983 that it does not wish to process requests from foreign nationals whose full personal details are not yet known. Flash is now given another postponement, until January 1, 1984, to announce the child's personal details in advance. In the letter of June 5, 1984 from the Ministry of Justice, it is noted that Flash is still making requests without the required statement.
On July 26, 1984, representatives of Flash reported on their working visit to Sri Lanka, where they discussed the problem of applying for temporary residence by name. It is agreed that prospective foster parents may travel to Sri Lanka as soon as a child becomes available. As soon as the details of the child are known, they will be forwarded to Flash and the application for the authorization for temporary stay will be applied for. This, too, is contrary to the required advance notice of these essential data. The government has consciously let Flash run its course. Given the coverage of adoption practices worldwide and in Sri Lanka in particular, and Flash's reputation, this is particularly careless. As a result, hundreds if not thousands of babies have been taken from Sri Lanka, without knowing who their family was and is. The government had the power to allow adoptions only if it was established who the baby belonged to, that the parent (s) in Sri Lanka gave permission to give it up, and that everything was recorded so that the baby could later interact with his or her family in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, many children were found to have been robbed from hospitals, born in baby farms, and there was widespread fraud with passports by rogue traders.
In the next blog, attention will be paid to regulations when it comes to adoption.