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Pressuring countries on adoption 'can lead to trafficking'

By Louise Hogan

Tuesday November 02 2010

Putting pressure on countries to sign up to adoption agreements could potentially lead to child trafficking, a childcare expert warned yesterday.

Geoffrey Shannon, the chairman of the new Adoption Authority of Ireland, yesterday stressed that it was "hugely important" to avoid any links between humanitarian aid agreements and payments in the adoption of children from other regions.

The first major overhaul since adoptions began in Ireland in 1953 saw the appointment yesterday of the new seven-member board and the long-awaited ratification of the Hague Convention.

Irish citizens can now adopt from more than 80 other countries -- many of which are also recipient countries with few children for adoption -- who have signed up to the convention which safeguards the rights of children being adopted.

But this does not include the two countries -- Vietnam and Russia -- from which the largest number of adopted children in Ireland come. In 2008, 117 children were adopted here from Russia and 182 from Vietnam.

Minister for Children Barry Andrews pointed out Vietnam was believed to be close to ratifying the Hague Convention and he said he was willing to travel to Moscow to lobby for a bilateral adoption agreement.

Quicker

"The legislation also permits the assessment to be done by accredited bodies other than the HSE which will mean hopefully the assessment process will be much quicker," Mr Andrews said.

Shane Downer, chief executive of Arc Adoption, said it will be seeking to become accredited to provide "transparent facilitation services" with countries such as Bulgaria, Vietnam and Cambodia.

The entire adoption system has changed radically from when it was first brought into place in 1953, Mr Shannon said.

Between 1960 and 1972 a total of 3,578 Irish children, mainly born outside of marriage, were placed for adoption. Last year, there were just 67 children placed for adoption within Ireland.

Mr Shannon stressed the importance of a "clear demarcation line" between humanitarian aid and adoptions.

"Putting pressure on jurisdictions to enter into agreement is actually contrary to the spirit of Hague," the special rapporteur on child protection said.

"What we should not forget is that where we put pressure on jurisdictions to enter into agreements that has the potential to lead to child trafficking."

- Louise Hogan

Irish Independent

Countries: Vietnam, Russia, Bulgaria, Ireland, Cambodia

Persons: Shane Downer

Organizations: Adoption ARC

Exclusiv / Azota Popescu, pre?edinta funda?iei care s-a ocupat de înfierea b?ie?elului Adinei Barbu: «Aceast? adop?ie exist?»

2 Noiembrie 2010 | Articol semnat de Liviu Cioineag

Dup? ce Libertatea a dezv?luit c? Adina Barbu a n?scut un copil pe care apoi l-a abandonat in Maternitatea din Bra?ov, pre?edinta funda?iei care s-a ocupat de adop?ie confirm? cele scrise de Libertatea.

Întoars? recent în România, Azota Popescu, pre?edinta Funda?iei Catharsis, care i-a g?sit o m?mic? b?ie?elului n?scut de Adina Barbu, ne-a declarat c? î?i aminte?te de cazul “noii Nicoleta Luciu”.

“Aceast? adop?ie exist?. Copilul a fost înfiat, în anul 2000, de o familie de arhitec?i din Europa. Nu ?tiu de ce este atât de negat? existen?a adop?iei ?i nu ?tiu de ce este renegat copilul”.

Cu toate acestea, membrii funda?iei nu cunosc detalii despre condi?iile în care micu?ul a ajuns în grija lor. “Mama l-a abandonat. Cum? Nu ?tiu. Nu avem acces la informa?ii despre p?rin?ii care î?i abandoneaz? copiii. Despre aceste mame, doar Protec?ia Copilului poate s? spun? ceva”, a ad?ugat Azota Popescu, pre?edinta funda?iei Catharsis.

E singura Adina Ciuciu din Bra?ov

În acest timp, directorul de la Biroul de Eviden?? a Popula?iei Bra?ov, George Ro?ca, a spulberat orice urm? de îndoial? c? Adina Barbu, pe numele ei adev?rat Adina Vasilica Ciuciu, este mama b?ie?elului, voluptuoasa vedet? fiind singura care poart? respectivul nume. “La nivelul municipiului figureaz? o singur? persoan? cu prenumele Vasilica Adina ?i cu numele Ciuciu. Nu mai exist? alte persoane cu acest nume ?i cele dou? prenume legate”, ne-a declarat Ro?ca.

Bruneta s-a întors la Bra?ov

Adina Barbu a mers, la sfâr?itul s?pt?mânii trecute, la Protec?ia Copilului Bra?ov pentru a afla cum i s-a divulgat secretul. Mai mult, ea a trecut ieri ?i pe la sediul Funda?iei Catharsis, cerând explica?ii pentru faptul c? dosarul de adop?ie a ajuns pe mâinile ziari?tilor.

Tot ieri, dup? spusele ei, Adina inten?iona s? mearg? la un medic ginecolog din Bra?ov pentru un consult prin care, sus?ine ea, va demonstra c? nu a adus niciodat? pe lume un copil. Pentru a evita orice suspiciune, Libertatea i-a propus brunetei, înc? de s?pt?mâna trecut?, s? mearg? pentru un consult la unul dintre cei mai aprecia?i medici ginecologi din Bucure?ti, dar Adina a refuzat provocarea noastr?.

Persons: Adina Barbu aka Adina Vasilica Ciuciu, Azota Popescu

Organizations: Catharsis

Who did Italian job on Preetmandir?

By: Kaumudi Gurjar Date: 2010-11-02 Place: Pune

Online appeal in Italian on popular social networking site asks for donations of 1.5 euros to feed children in city orphanage.

If an appeal on a social networking website is successful, Italians will soon be pitching in to feed the 131 children housed at Preetmandir.

An appeal on a social networking site asks for a donation of 1.5 euros ( about Rs 92) for the children at Preetmandir. The appeal is written in Italian.

Countries: Italy

Organizations: Preet Mandir, ACT CASE Preet Mandir

4,000 Children Await Rescue From Inferior Orphanages

myrepublica.com



                    KATHMANDU, Nov 2: Two and half years ago, the government itself pointed the need to rescue children living in group "D" category orphanages. But more than 4,000 children living in such orphanages are yet to be rescued.

In June 2008, the Central Child Welfare Committee (CCWC) had conducted a survey on the conditions of the orphanages across the country. “ After the survey we have rescued more then twelve hundred children living in various children´s homes, but we are unable to rescue more in the lack of budget,” Dharmaraj Shrestha, executive director of CCWC, said.

According to Shrestha, the survey categorized orphanages under four groups on the basis of their conditions and facilities they provided. “The children living in group "D" category orphanages were in pitiable condition and in dire need of rescue,” he said, adding. There are 198 orphanages under group "D" category. CCWC had warned orphanages under category "C" improve the conditions to graduate to category "B".

The CCWC has put 192 orphanages under category "C", 56 under category "B”, and only six orphanage meeting all requirements are under categroy "A".

“Most of the orphanages have to work a lot to upgrade their standard,” Umakanta Chaudhary, monitoring officer at CCWC, said . After the survey ten orphanage were shut. Due to the lack of sufficient budget and transit home CCWC cannot rescue the children living in the vulnerable condition, he said. The CCWC doesn´t see rescue as ultimate solution. “They should be rehabilitated back in their homes. This is the only solution,” Chaudhary said.

Most of the children rescued before were sent back to their homes and few were sent to better orphanages.

The survey also showed that only 27.51 percent children living in orphanages were real orphans while 72.49 percent children had father or mother or both. Some children were found admitted to orphanages because their parents were too poor to provide for their children, the survey found.

There are 11,969 children living in 434 orphanages across the country, according to the survey.



This news item is printed from myrepublica.com - a sister publication of Republica national daily.
© Nepal Republic Media Pvt. Ltd. Kathmandu Nepal.

Countries: Nepal

HC: Put adoption cases on fast track (Orissa)

HC: Put adoption cases on fast track

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Cuttack, Nov. 2: Orissa High Court has ordered for quick disposal of adoption cases pending in different courts in the state.

The order was passed on a PIL on early disposal of adoption cases by different courts of competent jurisdiction in the state for the welfare of children.

Ramesh Kumar Sahu, a member of the High Court Bar association, filed the PIL seeking direction to the state government for setting up guidelines and procedures for early hearing and disposal of adoption petitions regarding those within the country and pending before competent courts in the state within a time frame.

The petitioner expressed concern that adoption cases had been pending in different courts in the state for years, resulting in suffering of the adopting parents. Even petitions, filed in 2006, had been pending for disposal.

Taking out birth certificates of adopted child without court orders was becoming a difficult task. Moreover, without birth certificates school admissions of the adopted children were being delayed, the petitioner contended.

The petition pointed out that the Supreme Court guidelines, given in one Laxmikant Pandey’s case in 1984, were not being followed.

While disposing of the PIL, recently, the two-judge bench of Chief Justice V Gopal Gowda and Justice Indrajeet Mohanty ruled: “In view of the decision of Supreme Court in the case of Laxmikanta Pandey, there is no need for this court to make any further observation in the matter and it would suffice for us to give a direction to the registrar general of this court for issuance of necessary circular / instruction to judges of competent courts in the state who are dealing with the adoption cases to see that such cases pending in their courts should be disposed of in the light of the observation / direction made by the apex court.”

“The registrar general, while issuing the circular to the courts, shall also enclose a copy of the judgment in Laxmikant Pandey’s case,” the bench ordered.

The Supreme Court had ordered that when a request is received from recognised agencies, the competent courts may consider the feasibility of such transfer of children, whose parents are not known, orphans and perhaps those who are declared as abandoned.

And keeping the interest of the child in view, the possibility of an adoption within a short period and the facilities available in the recognised agency as also, other relevant features, make appropriate orders.

Countries: India

Peculiar to state: two roles for one

The big daddy of Adoptions

Peculiar to state: two roles for one

Meet Anil Bhuniya, the father of adoptions in Bengal.

Till last year, when he lost a licence, Bhuniya was lord of most that he surveyed in the adoption world. The lawyer, who says his legal practice is his real work and adoption is social work, controlled two organisations with approval and inspection authority and, allegedly, ran two or more agencies that gave babies away for adoption.

His detractors called it all a one-stop adoption shop.

In the maze that is the adoption network, Bhuniya heads what is known as the adoption coordinating agency (ACA), the only one in Bengal, as its secretary. The ACA is a non-government organisation licensed by the Central Adoption Resource Agency .

Its job is to give clearance for adoption by foreigners.
This leaves the majority of adoption cases that happen within the country out of its purview. But they may require their paperwork to be cleared by a scrutiny agency . Bhuniya was, and still is, the secretary of the scrutiny agency, again the only one in the state.

Powers vested in him as secretary of the two organisations meant that till 2009, virtually no adoptions could take place without his having a hand in it. Through the ACA he had access to details of all the licensed agencies in the state, the number of couples on the waiting list and the number of babies available.

Rinchen Tempo, the principal secretary in the social welfare department, said: "Bhuniya was allowed to get away for so long as there was no alternative."

Bhuniya had generous help from the state. No other state has the same functionary operating an ACA and a scrutiny agency, which is one of the roles of the West Bengal Council for Child Welfare, an NGO where Bhuniya is the secretary. Bhuniya, however, said he was not on the council's scrutiny committee.

They all work out of the same address spread over two floors in a south Calcutta locality .

In 1990, the state government had formed a voluntary co-ordinating agency , the predecessor of the ACA, with which Bhuniya was associated from the start. The same year, the minister of social welfare, Biswanath Chowdhury, issued a circular saying the agency could issue clearances for adoptions within and outside the country, according to Bhuniya.

This was peculiar to Bengal as these agencies in other states have no authority over adoptions within the country.
This made doubly sure that all adoption cases came to Bhuniya.

Well, almost. There is one law, the Juvenile Justice Act of 2000, which makes the roles of Bhuniya's outfits more or less redundant. But parents were generally discouraged from petitioning the courts to legalise adoptions under this law.

A person who once worked closely with Bhuniya said: "He has knowledge of all cases of adoption in court and manipulates them in such a way that cases filed under the Juvenile Justice Act are impeded.
In many cases, the child is not given in adoption by the court."

Bhuniya, however, said: "The Juvenile Justice Act doesn't mention any procedure. It only says adoption is possible. Who is receiving the child and who is giving him away are not mentioned."

The act does mention who can adopt and who can give a child away for adoption. But it is not clear why the government has kept the other, older, communal-sounding law -the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act -in operation after passing the Juvenile Justice Act.

A former social welfare official added: "Bhuniya used to mislead judges with his interpretation of law, especially the judges of the Barasat and Birbhum courts, and force all in-country adoption cases to go through a scrutiny ."

Bhuniya was dismissive about these charges against him. "All such complaints against me are anonymous or pseudonymous. The aim is to remove me from the ACA," he said.

The third, and final, layer of activity Bhuniya was, or still is, allegedly engaged in is running adoption agencies that are authorised to hand over babies to adoptive parents. One, called the Vivekananda Welfare and Development Society, a home for children, was allegedly being run from his house at 18C Kalimuddin Lane, Maniktala, though his name was not among those of the office-bearers.

Bhuniya said: "I didn't have an adoption agency . This society is not involved in adoption work any more."

His name has also been associated with a children's home called Vivekananda Loksiksha Niketan at Faridpur village in East Midnapore but again he cannot be directly linked to it.

Rinchen Tempo said: "A fact-finding team is at work, inquiring into the various allegations against Bhuniya.
Most of them (adoption agencies) are run by him under other names. But till the factfinding team gives its report, nothing can be concluded."

Bhuniya does, however, have an open role as chairman of the Child Welfare Committee, East Midnapore. All children abandoned and surrendered in the district have to be produced before the committee within 24 hours.

If a person has control over the committee, he can send children to the home of his preference.

The authorities have mostly been kind to Bhuniya. In 2004, the central agency wrote saying the same person could not head the voluntary co-ordinating agency, which later became the ACA, and the scrutiny agency and threatened action within 15 days but it was a hollow roar.

Bhuniya asked that if the agency was unhappy with the situation, why did it renew his licence, in 2003 and 2006?
It was only in 2009 that action was taken against him by the Central Adoption Resource Agency when it did not renew his ACA licence on the ground that he had flouted its guidelines by remaining secretary for over two terms, and proposed another ACA.
Lurking in the background was the suspicion that he was also controlling adoption agencies.

Bhuniya went to court, claiming he had not completed two terms and that another ACA could not be formed while his application for renewal was pending. He argued that since his ACA term began to run from 2006 and each term was for three years, there was no case against him. But he had also been heading the voluntary co-ordinating agency (the predecessor of the ACA) for several years.

Calcutta High Court has disposed of the case, instructing the two sides how to resolve the dispute. By October 28, Bhuniya was to reply to the complaints against him forwarded by the social welfare department. The renewal of his licence depends on what the authorities think of his reply.

This means the state is now without an ACA.

Bhuniya's Ramesh Mitra Road office, sprinkled with seven-eight employees, has little work as scrutiny duties have also ebbed with New Delhi insisting on using the Juvenile Justice Act.

Without work, the godfather of adoptions is now an angry godfather.

Countries: India

Persons: Anil Bhuniya

New Adoption Authority appointed

irishtimes.com - Last Updated: Monday, November 1, 2010, 16:58

New Adoption Authority appointed

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Barry Andrews: said new authority will ensure high standards in adoption process

The establishment of a new Adoption Authority from today is a key element of a “complete overhaul” of the adoption process in Ireland, Minister for Children Barry Andrews has said.

Mr Andrews was marking the enactment of the Adoption Act 2010 and the appointment of the new authority.

“The establishment of the Adoption Authority will be central to the administration of adoption, domestic and intercountry, for many years to come,” he said.

He said the new authority was charged with “ensuring high standards, setting guidelines for the HSE and other bodies and regulating and monitoring all adoption activities”.

“The central focus of all of this work will be the best interests of the children, both Irish born and children adopted from abroad.”

The new law is designed to give force of law to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption.

Mr Andrews said the new law was designed to provide a framework to ensure that appropriate procedures have been followed and that all adoptions were effected in the best interests of the child.

Membership of the ‘Hague Club’ was intended to improve standards in intercountry adoption and allow for adoptions between countries that were compliant with the convention.

“However, the desire to further improve standards should not end with Hague ratification,” Mr Andrews said.

Solicitor and senior lecturer in family and child law Geoffrey Shannon has been appointed to chair the new authority.

Mr Andrews paid tribute to the work and cooperation of the HSE in preparing for the new legislative framework.

HSE assistant national director Phil Garland said: “As the statutory childcare authority the HSE welcomes the commitment under the Hague convention to strengthening the focus on placing the child at the centre of the adoption process in Ireland.

Chief executive of Arc Adoption, Shane Downer, said the commencement of the new Act was a “red letter day” for all those involved in adoption.

“Arc Adoption, subject to the approval of the new Authority, looks forward to helping establish the improved infrastructure enabled by this Act, which will improve adoption processes on behalf of children, as well as providing enhanced assurance over what is a complex, legal and fundamentally human activity.”

Mr Downer said adoption placements must be “child centred, and focused on helping prospective adoptive parents prepare for, and cope with welcoming a child into their lives and families”.

His own organisation would seek to complete accreditation as Ireland’s first accredited adoption mediation agency over the coming weeks. It aims to establish programmes with “at least four countries”.

Subject to the approval of the authority, the organisation will initially apply to work with countries such as Bulgaria, Vietnam, Mexico, India, Brazil, Kenya and Cambodia, among others.

“Arc will introduce a comprehensively transparent facilitation service, and looks forward to being subject to tight regulation by the Adoption Authority of Ireland,” Mr Downer said.

Over 42,000 adoptions of Irish children have taken place, and a further 5,000 children have been adopted into Ireland, Arc said.

During the introductory phase of the Adoption Act 2010, members of the public who have any queries about adoption both, from a domestic and an inter-country perspective, should contact their local HSE social work department.

Persons: Shane Downer

Countries: Ireland

Organizations: Adoption ARC

Vulunteering at Baby nursery and kindergarten in Morocco

Sitzecke, auf der 24 h Betreuer schlafen können

Baby nursery and kindergarten in Morocco

There are two organisations in Tangier/Morocco where we can offer volunteering options with small children.

At the Baby Nursery ("La Crèche de Tanger") there are 40 children between 0 and 11 years who are waiting to be adopted. 4 of them are autistic children, 2 are suffering from hydrocephalus and a few more have certain handicaps. Most of the children have been living at the Nursery since their birth. In most cases the reason is that they are children of unmarried mothers which is not acceptable in Moroccan society. Just a few of the children have joined La Crèche at a later moment because of social reasons.

There are sufficient families who want to adopt a child, however there are often long delays to deal with all the legal issues. Boys generally stay for a longer time at the centre as girls are more popular for adoptions. Handicapped children usually don't find anyone to adopt them. Most families who adopt the children are from Morocco or Spain. According to Moroccan law all adoptive parents have to be of Muslim religion.

The task for volunteers will be to give love and affection to the children; to bottle-feed and diaper the babies, to teach simple topics and to play and paint with the children.

The daily routine is usually as follows: The kids get up at 5 in the morning, they will then take a shower and get dressed. After breakfast, they will leave the centre to go to school at 7:30. The autistic children will be picked up by a special bus. The smaller children will stay at the centre and the volunteers will play with them. In the summertime (starting 15th of May) there will be daily swimming at the centre's swimming pool.

After swimming they will take another shower and will then have lunch. At around 2:40 p.m. they will do siesta until around 5 p.m. At around 3 p.m. the older kids return from school. They will then do their homework and the younger children will play again. For the 24 hours supervision of the autistic children, volunteers can sleep on a bench in the centre.

It is possible to stay for short durations of time (minimum 1 week), as the kids have to get accustomed that one day they will have to leave the centre and their caregivers.

There are 20 single mothers with babies and toddlers of 0 to 2 years staying at the Kindergarten and residential home for single mothers of the Gracious Sisters of Calcutta in the old city centre of Tangier.

In several rooms, the kids can play with their mothers and the nuns. Every day around 10 further single mothers who don't live at the centre are bringing their children. Additionally, every Wednesday, the centre is open to street children who will be washed and play some games.

Volunteers will spend time with the children, mothers and street children.

Info box:

Location: Tangier, Morocco

Duration: Minimum 4 weeks*

Special qualifications needed: no

Costs: none, the trouble-free package is optional

Accommodation: Not included

Meals: Not included

Included: Placement in the project; if you opt for the trouble-free package the whole range of services which is part of the trouble-free package is included

Not included: Travel to Morocco, health insurance

Book this placement now!

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*You can also book this activity as a 1-3 weeks "Voluntourism Hopper"!

Countries: Morocco

Facebook: I Bambini di Preet Mandir

Name:

I BAMBINI DI PREET MANDIR (INDIA) - ADOZIONI IN PERICOLO

Category:

Organisations - General

Description:

The children of Preet Mandir are the innocent victims of a system that condemns adoptive parents and adoptees on paper. THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG, neither one nor the other, but who cares. There are many tragedies in the world, many injustices perpetrated: that of Preet Mandir is just one among many and perhaps it is too small, too limited, to move people to action, to make bureaucracy wake up and allow humane justice its way. After all, only 18 children are affected!

18 CHILDREN HAVE BECOME HOSTAGES OF THE SYSTEM!

Guilt, blame and punishment for what has happened should not fall equally on all involved but the wheels of the Law do not make any distinction between guilty and innocent but move inexorably ahead grinding up both the guilty and the innocent. This is what is happening at Preet Mandir, an institution for abandoned children, in Pune (India). What has happened is well known in India and outside India too by the adopting families involved. This is the tale:

· At the beginning of 2010 the India press and TV began to talk about a CBI investigation underway at the time concerning malpractices at a Children’s Home called Preet Mandir in Pune. Under investigation were: excessive demands for money from adopting parents made by the Director of the Home, appropriation of funds and illicit dealings with minors.
· On 20 May 2010, CARA (the Indian Government Commission that oversees adoptions), without warning, suspended Preet Mandir’s license to organise international adoptions, backdating the effects of the suspension back to 15 February 2010. This suspension immediately affected all adoption procedures underway, even those started as early as June 2009.
· In June 2010 the Mumbai High Court stopped any attempt to move the 170 Children currently in Preet Mandir thus blocking any possibility of adoption for the children and preventing the 18 adoptions already underway from being completed.
· In August 2010 the Director of Preet Mandir was arrested by the Mumbai CBI and two weeks later a new director was appointed. The High Court also offered a gleam of hope that the 18 adoptions already agreed would be able to proceed.
· In early September 2010, following an agreement between the parties involved, CARA sent a request to the Mumbai High Court that these 18 adoptions should be authorised to go ahead.
· On 21 September 2010 the High Court sent the case to another Court which has effectively stopped any decision being made about these 18 children until December 2010.
· CARA has said that if they move these 18 children to another institution it will be possible to continue with the adoption procedures but, they cannot legally be moved because of the June 2010 decision of the High Court itself.

All the papers, the bureaucracy, the forms talk about businesses, institutions, Directors under investigation, and groups of children are only mentioned as faceless, abstract entities and not as individuals who have already been offered a hope of a better life, a future. In this flood of paper-work there has been no mention of the adopting families either, all of whom are waiting anxiously to welcome their Indian brothers and sisters, children who have already suffered, sometimes dramatically, and who are hoping to go to their new family whose love will surely help ease their pain. Who has listened to the voices of the children of Preet Mandir? Children who may now have to spend the rest of their childhood in an institution with no hope of succour of a better life? No-one has talked to them, or about them. So we want to do it because even though, given what is happening, they may yet be sentenced for a crime they did not commit, at least we want others to know what has been happening and to tell the tale of their and our pain.

There are adopting parents like Sonia and Alessandro, who already have one Indian daughter. Their first child was at the time defined a “special case”: she had been found in a rubbish bin, thrown there immediately after birth and already attacked by rats who had eaten part of her face, causing neurological damage, and some of the muscles of her right arm.
When they saw the detailed photos of the little girl, the couple felt that a child who had escaped such a cruel destiny deserved to have a family who could protect her and help her to grow in a loving atmosphere. Sonia and Alessandro are not rich, both work full time to maintain the family, and they knew helping their new daughter back to health would probably be expensive, but they took on the task gladly and have focussed all their efforts on giving her a “normal” life.
Seeing that this, their first daughter was doing so well, healthy, happy, surrounded by friends of her own age and doing well at school, they decided to adopt a sister for her. But this second adoption is proving more and more difficult and although they have the name and details of their second child she cannot come to join them. All Sonia and Alessandro want is to give these two girls, who have lost their families - or never had one, a chance to grow up surrounded by caring adults, parents, a mother and a father, who want to bring them as their own even though they did not give physical birth to them but instead have chosen them as their daughters to love and care for every day.
After waiting for 5 years, in October 2009, Sonia and Alessandro were given the name and details of their second daughter who lives in Preet Mandir, Pune: Sayali. They knew nothing about the Home, and the scandal of these past months has come like a bolt out of the blue. Their new daughter’s room is ready, her elder sister is waiting anxiously, but the little girl still is a long way off and they can only wait and hope that she will arrive.

Paola and Massimo too already have an adopted Indian son, Vinod, who was classified as retarded with low motor and cognitive capacity. Paola and Massimo did not hesitate to adopt him and brought him back to Italy where they have given themselves over, body and soul, to helping him. Today Vinod is a happy child, he loves his school his friends and India, which he often thinks about. His desire to have a little brother or sister encouraged his mother and father to begin adoption procedures and, in May 2009, they too were allocated a child from Preet Mandir. The scandal that has hit Preet Mandir is causing all three them much pain and anguish. Every day Vinod asks for news of his little sister.

For Silvia and Alessandro August came with the most horrible news: “We never lost hope but we started asking ourselves what did Aayesha and us do wrong to be trapped in this situation... why us? We always wanted to pursue justice and act according to law to be a good example for our children and now it was the law itself holding far away from us our child... We are only guilty of our own desire to build a family...One year has passed and our diary has over 100 pages, our baby’s third birthday has gone by, we had a small party with a cake but without her; we still did not have the chance to see her smiling. The regret is even more heartbreaking as our Aayesha will never be able to meet neither her grand-grandmother, who died last December, nor her grand-mother, Alfreda, who passed away on August 9th, 2010 and hoped up to her very last moment to finally see and hug her niece”.

Now we the parents have spoken, but the children of Preet Mandir will have no chance to do so. Thiers is a silent scream that goes unheard in busy, noisy Halls of Justice where people are just pieces of paper. We can only hope that this, their mute cry for help, will be heard in the small hours of the night by anyone and everyone with a conscience and a belief in humane, and human, justice.
The children of Preet Mandir are innocent victims. Their names will mean nothing to you but they do exist and do hope and should be remembered, one by one:

Jayshree, 11 years, girl – waiting to join her Italian family
Shivray, 8 years, boy - waiting to join his Italian family
Aaeysha, 3 years, girl - waiting to join her Italian family
Durga, 5 years, girl - waiting to join her Italian family
Sayali, 7 years, girl - waiting to join her Italian family
Geeta, 2 years, girl - waiting to join her Italian family
Soni, 8 years, girl - waiting to join her Italian family
Suryakant, 8 years, boy - waiting to join his Italian family
Chandrakant, 4 years, boy - waiting to join his Italian family
Kayal, 1 year, girl - waiting to join her South African family
Amrapaly, 1 year, girl - waiting to join her South African family
Varad, 1 year, boy - waiting to join his South African family
Heena, 1 year, girl - waiting to join her South African family
Aditya, 9 years, boy - waiting to join his Italian family
Kanchan, 1 year, girl - waiting to join her Canadian family
Aarti, 9 years, girl - waiting to join her Italian family
Manasi, 2 years, boy - joining a Belgian family
Nupoor, 4 years, boy - joining a German family

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SI CERCAVA GIUSTIZIA, TROVAMMO LA LEGGE

I bambini del Preet Mandir sono vittime innocenti di un sistema che condanna sulla carta genitori e figli adottivi. NON HANNO ALCUNA COLPA, ma che importa… Nel mondo ci sono molte tragedie, molte ingiustizie: quella del Preet Mandir è solo una, certo, forse troppo piccola per scuotere gli animi, per smuovere la burocrazia e la giustizia umana. Dopo tutto, sono SOLO 18!

18 BAMBINI IN OSTAGGIO DELLE ISTITUZIONI!

Le colpe di chi sta più in alto non dovrebbero ricadere su tutti ma la legge degli uomini non fa distinzioni: stritola i colpevoli e gli innocenti facendo girare l’inesorabile ruota della giustizia. E così sta accadendo nella vicenda Preet Mandir, istituto di Pune che accoglie i bambini in stato di abbandono. La vicenda, in India e per le poche famiglie adottive coinvolte, è tristemente nota.

· A inizio 2010 la stampa e la TV indiane riferiscono di indagini in corso del CBI (organo investigativo) su possibili malversazioni dell’istituto di Pune conosciuto come Preet Mandir. Si parla di indebite richieste di denaro da parte del direttore alle coppie adottanti, di appropriazione di fondi e di sottrazione di minori.
· Il 20 maggio 2010 il CARA (la commissione governativa indiana che si occupa delle adozioni) sospende la licenza alle adozioni internazionali a Preet Mandir senza alcun preavviso e postdatando l’effetto della sospensione al 15 febbraio 2010. L’effetto immediato è la sospensione anche delle procedure di adozioni iniziate in alcuni casi anche a giugno 2009.
· L’Alta Corte di Mumbay a giugno 2010 si pronuncia contro lo spostamento degli oltre 170 bambini ospiti di Preet Mandir ma al contempo blocca sia la possibilità di adottarli che di completare le 18 adozioni in corso.
· Ad agosto 2010 viene arrestato dal CBI di Mumbay il direttore di Preet Mandir e dopo 2 settimane viene nominato un nuovo direttore. L’Alta Corte di Mumbay fa trasparire uno spiraglio per sbloccare le pratiche di adozione dei 18 bambini.
· A inizio settembre 2010 il CARA emette all’Alta Corte di Mumbay una richiesta di autorizzazione per sbloccare i casi dei 18 bambini e lo fa a seguito di un accordo fra le parti.
· Il 21 settembre 2010 l’Alta Corte sposta il caso di Preet Mandir ad una nuova corte giudicante con l’effetto di rinviare a dicembre 2010 qualunque decisione sulla sorte dei 18 bambini.
· Il CARA dichiara che se si spostano i 18 bambini in corso di adozione in un altro istituto si potrebbero sbloccare le loro pratiche. Ma i bambini non si possono spostare per l’’ordine dell’Alta Corte di giugno 2010.

Le carte parlano di enti, istituzioni, di direttori incriminati, di gruppi di bimbi come se fossero entità astratte che sopprimono le singole identità. Ma chi ha mai parlato delle famiglie che attendono, dei bimbi già adottati che aspettano i loro “fratellini” o “sorelline” indiani, delle loro storie, alcune drammatiche, delle loro ferite che l’amore di una famiglia ha saputo lenire? Chi ha mai sentito la voce dei piccoli del Preet Mandir, destinati a vivere forse per sempre in istituto? Nessuno ne ha parlato. E allora lo facciamo noi perché, anche se condannati, visti gli ultimi sviluppi del caso, almeno vogliamo raccontare cosa sono stati questi mesi di attesa e quale dolore ci sta stritolando.

Ci sono genitori, come Sonia e Alessandro, che hanno già una prima figlia indiana. La loro primogenita era definita “caso speciale”: era stata trovata subito dopo la nascita in un cassonetto dei rifiuti e i topi le avevano deturpato il viso, con danni neurologici, oltre ad asportare una buona parte dei muscoli del braccio destro.
Davanti alle foto, drammaticamente dettagliate, che all’epoca erano state loro mostrate, hanno subito capito che quella bambina a cui era stato riservato un destino così crudele aveva diritto al calore di una famiglia che la proteggesse e la aiutasse a crescere in modo sereno. Pur non essendo ricchi e lavorando entrambi per sostenere la famiglia, l’impegno che il recupero della piccola avrebbe comportato non li ha spaventati: ridonarle ciò che le era stato tolto è stato il loro primo progetto di vita.
Vedendo come la prima figlia cresceva in salute e serenità, amata dai suoi compagni di gioco e ben inserita nell’ambito scolastico, Sonia e Alessandro si sono messi al lavoro per una seconda adozione ma la strada è stata lunga e ora tutto sembra perduto. Il loro sogno? Far sì che due bimbe a cui era stata tolta la gioia dell’abbraccio materno e paterno potessero abbracciarsi tra di loro e trasformare due vuoti nella pienezza di una vita insieme, sotto lo sguardo amorevole di chi, pur non avendole messe al mondo, se ne è occupato giorno dopo giorno.
Dopo 5 anni di attesa, ad ottobre 2009 hanno avuto un abbinamento con una bimba del Preet Mandir di Pune. Nulla sapevamo di tale istituto e lo scandalo scoppiato in questi mesi è giunto come un fulmine a ciel sereno mentre già avevano pronto il secondo lettino e il nome della piccola, ancor lontana, tornava ogni sera nella loro preghiere.

Anche Paola e Massimo hanno già un primo figlio indiano. Vinod era considerato un bambino ritardato, con scarsissime abilità motorie e cognitive. Paola e Massimo lo hanno accolto subito nel loro cuore e una volta arrivato in Italia si sono dati anima e corpo nel recuperare il loro bambino. Vinod ora è un bambino felice che ama la scuola, i suoi amici e l'India che è sempre nei suoi pensieri. Il suo desiderio di avere un fratellino è stato accolto da mamma e papà che hanno avuto un abbinamento con una bambina di Preet Mandir a maggio del 2009. Lo scandalo di Preet Mandir sta generando un dolore profondo in Paola, Massimo e Vinod, che tutti i giorni chiede notizie della sorella.

Silvia e Alessandro non si danno pace: “Ci chiediamo che cosa abbiamo fatto di male Aayesha e noi per essere intrappolati in questa vicenda! Perché noi? Siamo sempre stati coerenti e rispettosi della legge per dare il buon esempio ai nostri figli e ora è la legge stessa che ci tiene separati dalla nostra piccola. Siamo colpevoli solo di volere una famiglia... E’ trascorso un anno e il diario conta ormai più di 100 pagine, il suo terzo compleanno è passato, festeggiato con una torta ma senza di lei; il suo sorriso non lo abbiamo ancora visto. Il dispiacere e’ ancora più acuto perché la nostra Aayesha non conoscerà mai né la sua bisnonna, morta lo scorso dicembre, né la sua nonna paterna, Alfreda, che ci ha lasciato il 9 Agosto 2010 e che fino all’ultimo si è aggrappata alla speranza di poter abbracciare almeno una volta la sua nipotina”.

Ora che anche noi abbiamo parlato, solo la voce dei piccoli del Preet Mandir è ancora inascoltata: un grido silenzioso al quale nessuno probabilmente presterà attenzione nelle aule affollate e rumorose dei tribunali, negli uffici dove ogni persona è un pezzo di carta, ma queste voci di notte dovrebbero giungere dentro le coscienze di tutti e impedirci di dormire.

I bambini del Preet Mandir sono vittime innocenti. I loro nomi forse non dicono nulla ma è sempre bene ricordarli:

Jayshree, 11 anni, femmina abbinata ad una famiglia italiana
Shivray, 8 anni, maschi, abbinato ad una famiglia italiana
Aaeysha, 3 anni, femmina abbinata ad una famiglia italiana
Durga, 5 anni, femmina abbinata ad una famiglia italiana
Sayali, 7 anni, femmina abbinata ad una famiglia italiana
Geeta, 2 anni, femmina abbinata ad una famiglia italiana
Soni, 8 anni, femmina abbinata ad una famiglia italiana
Suryakant, 8 anni, maschio abbinato ad una famiglia italiana
Chandrakant, 4 anni, maschio abbinato ad una famiglia italiana
Kayal, 1 anno, femmina abbinata ad una famiglia sudafricana
Amrapaly, 1 anno, femmina abbinata ad una famiglia sudafricana
Varad, 1 anno, maschio abbinato ad una famiglia sudafricana
Heena, 1 anno, femmina abbinata ad una famiglia sudafricana
Aditya, 9 anni, maschio abbinato ad una famiglia italiana
Kanchan, 1 anno, femmina abbinata ad una famiglia canadese
Aarti, 9 anni, femmina abbinata ad una famiglia italiana
Manasi, 2 anni, maschio abbinato ad una famiglia belga
Nupoor, 4 anni, maschio abbinato ad una famiglia tedesca
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Organizations: ACT CASE Preet Mandir

Persons: Sonia Rossi

Foreign adoptions - History (Romanian adoptions not recognised)

Foreign Adoptions

Published on 27 Jul 10

Background pre 1991

Up to 1991 the number of foreign adoptions involving Irish residents was very small. In addition there was no structural framework in existence in Ireland under which foreign adoptions could be given full legal recognition. The Adoption Act of 1952 which dealt with domestic adoptions only did not cover foreign adoptions.

However during the 1980’s due to the change in social attitude and improvements in the welfare system the number of Irish born children being offered for adoption dwindled to such an extent that the needs of Irish couples seeking to adopt could no longer be satisfied from within the State. Accordingly despite the absence of a structural framework a large number of Irish couples began to look aboard for children that they might adopt. In 1989 Romania allowed foreign adoption and a large number of children were brought to Ireland. There was no official procedure in place for assessing the eligibility and suitability of persons intending to adopt abroad. Consequently Irish couples negotiated the terms of a child’s adoption with the local adoption agency in Romania following which they appeared before a local Court for the purposes of securing approval of the adoption and leave to remove the child from Romania. They then travelled back to Ireland with their child. These adoptions though apparently valid under Romanian law were not recognised under Irish law.

Present Day Situation

In 1991 the Adoption Act was passed to remedy this situation. This provided the necessary Statutory framework for all future foreign adoptions involving couples of Irish domicile or residence. The Act authorised the making of Adoption Orders in respect of foreign adoptions which also included adoptions made before the commencement of the Act provided such adoptions were deemed lawful under the law of the place in which the adoptions were effected or otherwise met certain criteria laid down by the Act.

The Act provided for the establishment of the Adoption Board and maintenance of a register of foreign adoptions. Registration rights were also extended to Irish couples either where domiciled or habitually resident in the country.

Eligibility and Suitability Test

Persons intending to adoption a child must be able to prove that they fall within one of the categories of persons eligible to be adopters and then undergo a rigorous assessment (the House Study Programme) to determine their suitability to be adopters. Such assessments are carried out by the appropriate Health Service Executive area or by a registered Adoptions Society. Eligibility is generally determined by reference of martial status and consanguinity or other relationship based on or arising from marriage. The intended adopters must be over 21 years of age and must be ordinarily resident in this state. Suitability is based on the intending adopters being able to satisfy by means of their assessment the criteria contained within Section 13 of the Adoption Act of 1952.

One very beneficial effect of the procedures is that persons now going abroad to adopt are much better prepared for what lies ahead and the risk of having a disappointing or traumatic experience is substantially reduced.

Document Dossier

Persons who have obtained from the Adoption Board a Declaration of Eligibility and Suitability and who are in a possession of an Immigration Certificate may commence the next stage of preparation which is to satisfy the regulations and procedures of the Authorities of the foreign country where the adoption is to be effected. This can be onerous and time consuming official requirements vary from country to country. Intending adopters are obliged to send a dossier containing a substantial amount of information and documentation. This is a very lengthy list and would require inter alia visits to An Garda Siochana, medical Doctors, birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc.

The proposed adopters are generally required to obtain a Notary Public for the purpose of having the adoption papers notarised.

The timeframe in processing a successful application is lengthy and would be applicants should allow for this when commencing the Adoption process.

If you require any further information please contact David Lavelle or Jennifer Ward.

Countries: Ireland, Romania