The temporary ban on adoption abroad by Minister Sander Dekker of Legal Protection fell to the roof of the adoptive mother of Robin (4) and Tom (0) from the United States.

With other adoptive parents and a number of Dutch people who were adopted in the past, she started a petition to revoke that ban. It has already been drawn more than 10,000 times - and the counter is running.

Too great risks

"Those who have permission in principle can complete the adoption procedure, but how that will work out in practice is unclear," says Gregory. She fears that employment agencies will drop out because the financial risk will become too great. “Then knowledge and skills are lost. We trust Dekker has a solution for that. ”

Gregory and her supporters started their action out of enthusiasm. They want to share their positive adoption stories for fear that negative sentiment will dominate. A committee led by former top civil servant Tjibbe Joustra concluded that there had been child trafficking, corruption and fraud.

On Tuesday, the council chamber in Dinant made a decision in the case of the large-scale adoption fraud involving various Congolese “orphans”. Of the eight suspects, only pivotal figure Julienne Mpemba (41) will answer before the criminal court later this year. All officials of the French Community concerned were thrown away. The parents involved are extremely disappointed with that decision.

In recent years it came to light that several Congolese children were offered for adoption to our country, while their biological parents in Congo had not left them at all. They were looted and put up for adoption for big money. According to the federal prosecutor's office, several members of the French Community were aware of the fraud. Passports, police reports, photos and ages were tampered with.

READ ALSO. Pivotal figure in Congolese adoption fraud Julienne Mpemba (42) breaks silence and lashes out at French Community officials (+)

Today the Dinant council chamber decided that the French officials should not answer to the criminal court. They could not be blamed under criminal law, it sounded. The parents of the concerned families who adopt a child are very disappointed. This confirms lawyer George-Henri Beauthier, who has been assisting the families for years. He will soon check with the attorney of the federal public prosecutor whether they can appeal against the decision.

Pivotal figure

For more than a decade, Dutch gay couples have been able to adopt children from abroad. Before that, it was only possible through a so-called one-parent procedure. Nevertheless, adoption by gay couples is complex. How did that happen?

Limited possibilities

Foreign adoption by gay couples is legal in only three countries: South Africa, Portugal and the United States. Many countries only allow adoption to heterosexual couples from a religious or cultural perspective. In the United States, biological parents have the option of choosing the adoptive parents themselves; the so-called open adoption : "The mother of our son has made an adoption plan herself with the social workers in America. She has determined who the parents of her child can be and fortunately we maintain a lot of contact with each other. We saw each other last year Hopefully our son will look back on encounters like these later with a good feeling. "

Arnoud and his friend adopted their son from the United States five years ago. The adoption process took more than five years. He and his partner had to arrange a lot to meet all the conditions. "It was a long process, but with the help of our permit holder A New Way, it worked."

Arnoud thinks it is unjustified that so few countries today put children up for adoption to homosexual couples. Although he is happy that the legislation in the Netherlands does offer gay couples the opportunity to adopt, he does not agree with the legislation of many other countries. Arnoud: "The attitude of many countries that exclude homosexuals is indeed discriminatory."

ECLI: NL: RBNHO: 2014: 8263

Authority

District Court of North Holland

Date of judgment

23-07-2014

It's called the 'second-hand children's market': In the United States, parents are allowed to give away their adopted children if problems arise. There are even special “fashion shows” organized. In ZEMBLA INTERNATIONAL you can see how children present themselves on the catwalk. They are adopted children looking for new parents. The procedures surrounding the American re-adoptions are neatly arranged on paper. It is intended as a solution. And sometimes it can mean a new start for a child when untenable tensions arise in an adoptive family. But when French journalists investigate, they also encounter the excesses of this system.

In ZEMBLA INTERNATIONAL an investigation into the relocation of American adopted children.

Also watch the extra report for this broadcast: 'The ranch for kids '

Every year an American charity sets up the red carpet in the Lutheran church in the American town of Topton. During the children's fashion show, the children do everything they can to be allowed to go home with one of the potential new adoptive parents in the audience. Cindy, visitor to the children's fashion show:

"It almost looks like a trade fair, where children are the product."

Do you know the lifestyle blog Karenz. already? Karenz. is one of the longest running blogs in the Netherlands. Karen, the

inuencer behind Karenz., Started as a real lifestyle blogger, but since the arrival of her son Robin, she also blogs a lot from

her experiences as a mom. We would like to introduce you to her through this interview.

TELL ME WHY KARENZ.?

Actually I already started blogging in 2001. At the time I was really one of the rst bloggers and I had a lifestyle blog. I

If you can't guarantee that a child protection system will work flawlessly, stop it, says Peggy Engrie, herself an adoptive mother.

Peggy Engrie

Is the adoptive mother of Thereza, who came to Belgium from Ethiopia in 2009 at the age of seven.

.

Welcome here! Karenz. is Karen Gregory's personal life (style) blog. I am in my early 40s and live near Arnhem with my husband, son and dog. I was once one of the first life bloggers in the Netherlands, when I started blogging in 2001, I was one of the first 50,000 bloggers in the country. I have been nominated several times for awards in the Netherlands and Belgium, including several times for a Dutch Bloggie.

I have a background in the media and have worked for over 10 years with various media operators, media agencies and a producer. After that I trained as a weight consultant and I was a branch manager of a weight loss clinic for a number of years. I have also been working as a freelancer for 7 years and I advise companies in the field of social media.

After running the lifestyle magazine Dejlig for several years, I switched to a more personal blog in February 2017. Dejlig was incredibly successful with about 50,000 unique visitors per month, but a large survey I conducted among my readers showed that most readers liked the personal articles the most. Moreover, I personally find blogging the best thing to do. So 1 + 1 is 2 and Karenz. was born.

Karenz. is well read by the 30+ woman, but of course you are also very welcome if you have not yet passed that age.

Here you can read about various topics such as, of course, lifestyle, beauty, food, health, tips, home design, fashion, mom and kids and much more.

The Zembla documentary 'Adoption Sadness' deals with the story of two failed adoptions from Haiti. In September of this year, the mediation permit of the Nijmegen adoption agency Flash with regard to Haiti was suspended for six months by the Ministry of Justice. Flash Foundation is one of the six recognized mediation agencies in the Netherlands. The suspension was triggered by three very serious complaints from adoptive parents about adoptions by Flash from Haiti. Zembla investigated the complaints and spoke to the parents.

One of the complaints on which the report is based is that of the Thijssen family. They adopted the Haitian brothers Juno and Wensal, who are said to be three and four years old, through Flash. "The moment we knew they were coming was the best time of the entire adoption," says Ineke Thijssen. Upon arrival in the Netherlands, the children turned out to be five and seven years old, they soon showed very serious behavioral problems and they wanted to return to Haiti. The Thijssen parents decided on a remarkable step: summary proceedings against the State to investigate the possibilities of whether the children could return to their biological parents.

Pre-Waiver

A team from Zembla traveled to Haiti to investigate this case and the working method of adoption agency Flash. On the spot it turns out that the children hardly ever lived in Flash's children's home. They lived at home for the last six months before the adoption. According to experts, this quickly leads to adhesion problems. The documents regarding the adoption also appear to be incomplete: the adoptive parents do not have a valid 'pre-waiver'.

Behavioral problems

Response to the report of the Joustra Committee

Written: Wednesday, February 10, 2021 2:23 PM

On Monday, February 8, the Joustra Committee published the results of their research into past intercountry adoptions. The Meiling Foundation received the report on Monday 8 February and took note of it.

We are shocked by the committee's findings and the contents of the report. The picture presented by the committee in the report is confrontational and the conclusions and recommendations are harsh. In response to this report, the cabinet has apologized and is adopting the committee's recommendations.

The Meiling Foundation emphasizes that every abuse in adoption, wherever and whenever, is one too many and can mean serious suffering for the person concerned.