David Van Turnhout

Woensdag 6 maart 2025

om 03:00

Vanaf de jaren 50 tot begin de jaren 80 zetten katholieke adoptiebureaus ongehuwde moeders onder druk om hun pasgeboren kind af te staan. In drie afleveringen neemt onderzoeksjournalist David Van Turnhout die activiteiten onder de loep.

Vandaag deel 1: de naam Adoptiewerk Thérèse Wante keert in adoptiedossiers steeds terug, wat was haar rol?

0 Catholic adoption agencies pressured unmarried mothers to give up their newborn child. In three episodes, investigative journalist David Van Turnhout examines these practices, but he also looks at the consequences and the current situation. Today he speaks with Benoît Vermeerbergen of Binnenlands Geadoptteerd.

From 1945 to 1980, Catholic adoption agencies such as Thérèse Wante organised thousands of forced adoptions. Unmarried pregnant girls were usually put in touch with centres through clergy or Christian organisations where they had to hide during their pregnancy, because becoming pregnant without being married was a mortal sin. Those who had enough money to spare could give birth anonymously in France, after which the child was smuggled back across the border and placed with a Catholic adoptive family. In this way, they wanted to prevent the pregnancy from ever coming out and society from speaking shame about the girl's family. Those who were less well-off were often sent to Belgian centres, such as De kleine vos in Borgerhout or Tamar in Lommel. The birth was discreet, but not anonymous, as the mother's name was then mentioned on the birth certificate. In France, the mother's name was not mentioned on the birth certificate.

A total of 30 to 40,000 girls and young women are estimated to have given birth in domestic and French centres and hospitals. The number of adopted children still alive today may therefore be in the tens of thousands. Almost all adopted children have questions about their origins and identity. Their search prompted them to unite. In the meantime, there are Facebook groups in which thousands of members try to help each other find their biological mothers. Their cry for attention led to the first recognition in 2015. Both the Belgian state and the Church apologized for the practices they had organised and made possible for decades.

Mother known for 2.5 hoursApologies do not answer the many questions. To help adoptees and birth mothers, Benoît Vermeerbergen De Coninck and Debby Mattys founded the website and support group Binnenlands Geadopteerd around the same time. “With our platform, we primarily offer a listening ear, but we also stand up for the rights of domestic adoptees. We also include people who were brought to Belgium via an anonymous birth in France,” says Vermeerbergen De Coninck. “There were already a few initiatives for adoptees from far abroad, but not for our group.”Vermeerbergen himself was born via an anonymous birth in France and ended up with an Antwerp adoptive family. Although he grew up in a warm nest, the search for his identity and his birth mother dominated his adult life. It was only a few years ago that he met his birth mother for the first time, who was terminally ill. It was just one meeting. “Her husband didn’t allow any further contact. I didn’t know my birth mother for more than two and a half hours.”Benoit Vermeerbergen De Coninck.Benoit Vermeerbergen De Coninck. © Patrick De Roo

Soon-Yi Previn was 21 years old when she first shared a kiss with filmmaker Woody Allen, who was then 56 and the long-time boyfriend of Soon-Yi's adoptive mother, Mia Farrow.

When Soon-Yi Previn recounts how she met her husband, she tells the story like any happy wife might. They came together for a movie one night. A passionate discussion turned into a passionate kiss. Soon-Yi was a “goner” and quickly fell in love. But her relationship with her husband, the director Woody Allen and the ex-boyfriend of her adoptive mother, Mia Farrow, would be anything but simple.

Soon after Farrow found out about the relationship — infamously by finding nude photos of Soon-Yi at Allen’s place — their family was torn apart. Soon-Yi claims that Farrow threw her out of their apartment and told a friend that Allen was “satanic.” Worst of all, allegations that Allen had sexually abused the young daughter he had adopted with Farrow came to light.

In the years since, Allen’s oeuvre of films has been put under scrutiny. He’s been “canceled.” Documentaries have come out examining the allegations against him, and his daughter Dylan has unfalteringly maintained that he inappropriately touched her when she was just seven years old.

In all this, Soon-Yi’s story is often skimmed over. In some tellings, she’s a victim. In others, she’s akin to a homewrecker. So, who is she?

According to childhood researcher Sarah Alminde, adopted children can benefit from spending time with their biological family, but they must be able to decide for themselves.

- Poor adoptive parents... what a nightmare to go through.

- I would have done the same thing, fought tooth and nail.

- Where is the child's best interests?

In Cambodia, there are many threats to family stability, and when parents or grandparents fall into hardship, they are forced to make difficult decisions about how to ensure their child or grandchild’s basic needs are met. In desperation, many parents will take the last resort — relinquishing their child to orphanage care. But through research and community collaboration funded by Save the Children, USAID and GHR Foundation grants, Holt hopes to create a model of services that keeps children out of institutions and with their families.

Sinat’s home in Krasaing Mean Chey Village near Kampot, Cambodia. Sinat, dressed in green, waves as Holt staff leave. Sinat’s grandson is standing in the front of the frame, wearing the Holt schoolbag his child sponsor in America helped purchase for him.

Last January, I was sitting under a tin-covered porch on a rough, wooden platform. Red-faced and sweating, I was not cut out for the heavy, exhausting heat of the Cambodian summer.

The shade of Sinat’s porch was welcome relief. Sinat’s house is a single-room structure, with green tin walls. Unlike many of the homes in rural Cambodia, her home is not built on stilts, which typically protects homes from flooding. For that reason, Sinat and her 15-year-old grandson sometimes sleep in their rice storage room, an additional structure behind the main house, elevated about four feet off the ground on thick, wooden stilts.

When Holt travels to visit with families, our presence, especially in rural areas, usually draws a crowd. Kids come to see what we are doing in their village. Even adults show up, curious about the foreigners.

Reconnecting Haitian families separated by adoption is the mission of Voie D'Espoir.   At the initiative of Michel Joseph, several hundred parents took part in a census day organized on Radio Télévision Caraibes on Saturday, March 7, 2021. 

After more than twenty reports that have helped reunite families, Michel Joseph wants to continue to produce hope by launching his organization called “Voie d'espoir”. 

Indeed, between emotion and testimony, the presenter of 19-20 takes pleasure in being an artist of these meetings which provide a lot of happiness. 

 More than 700 families are registered in the organization's database, with the hope of finding their offspring, who have been given up for adoption. 

Around fifty volunteers were available for this big first. 

Judge returns Vietnamese to mother

When doctors at Wadia Hospital revealed the baby’s HIV status, the ‘adoptive’ mother disowned the child, said Ramkrishna Reddy, district child protection officer, Thane.

The Mumbai police have booked two women from Thane who allegedly adopted a child illegally after tricking the administration of KEM Hospital. A search is on to locate both the accused who hail from Kalyan (East).

According to police sources, one of the women posed as the other person at the hospital and delivered the child. This allowed the ‘adoptive’ mother to procure a birth certificate which stated that she was the child’s biological mother.

The matter, however, came to light after the baby developed health complications and doctors at Wadia Hospital found out that she was HIV+. A First Information Report in this regard was initially lodged at Thane’s Manpada police station on Saturday and was transferred to Mumbai’s Bhoiwada police station by Sunday.

As per sources with the police, the child’s biological parents come from a poor financial background. The baby’s mother, aged 38, tried to abort the pregnancy as her husband is a drunkard and they were struggling to run the family. During this time, she came in contact with another woman, aged 37, who was looking to adopt a child as she was unable to have a baby due to some health complications.

Only after several adoptees spoke out did the Minister of Employment say that she would change the rules.

Minister of Employment Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen (S) has been in the middle of a storm for a few weeks.

Because it has turned out that the new law on work obligations in connection with cash benefits, which was intended to affect immigrants in particular, would also affect adoptees. This meant that adoptees would not have the same rights as their Danish-born family.

This stirred up emotions among several adoptees and their families, who, among other things, made it clear under #ErJegStadigDanish? that they felt alienated. They were placed in the "immigrant" category in the legislation.

This subsequently caused several parties to raise their voices. And the question of what the minister knew when has been floating in the wind.

Anju Yadav A 22-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh, who was rejected by Kusumbai Motichand Mahila Sevagram off Karve Road for apparent erratic behaviour, had to spend two days in the Shivajinagar Polic

A 22-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh, who was rejected by  Kusumbai Motichand Mahila Sevagram off Karve Road for apparent erratic behaviour, had to spend two days in the Shivajinagar Police Station premises, as none of the women’s shelter homes were ready to take her in. The Shivajinagar police tried their best to get her admitted to the mental hospital in Yerwada, but a city court rejected their plea.

The Sevagram authorities claimed that the girl was distressed and disturbed. She disturbed and abused the other 60 inmates at the home. “The girl was brought to us by the Shivajinagar Police Station authorities 52 days ago. We took care of the girl, but she continued to behave in an unruly manner.

This is affecting other girls here in an adverse way, hence we decided to hand her over to the police again, as she is mentally disturbed. This is not an appropriate shelter home for the girl. when she is calmer, she sits under a running tap for hours, till someone puts a stop to it.” the residential superintendent of the home, Sunita Joshi said.

Joshi said that before sending the girl back to the police station, she wrote several letters to the police station requesting them to take her away.

Three days ago, the girl Anju Rajendra Yadav was brought to the Shivajinagar Police Station. Shelter home authorities told the police that the girl was not mentally sound.

The police took custody of the woman and decided to send her to Yerwada Mental Hospital for treatment and admission. However, the mental hospital authorities in their report, stated that the woman speaks gibberish, but she was not mentally unsound.

A woman assistant sub-inspector, Nirmala Naik, took her to court after making a station diary note at the police station. Chief judicial magistrate Suchitra Ghodke threw some questions at the girl and found that the girl responded to them in a positive manner.

The judge then said that the girl was not mentally ill. The judge maintained that the certificate issued by the regional mental hospital did not disclose any abnormal act committed by the woman produced in court, so as to treat her as if she was mentally ill and so that medical treatment can be provided at the mental hospital. The court rejected the plea of the policemen to send her to regional mental hospital, Yerwada.

For the last two days, the constables of the police station were doing the rounds of shelter homes, requesting them to accommodate the girl. Finally, the girl was sent to a state government women’s home in Mundhwa late on Friday night.

When Mirror quizzed Anju, she said that she was married and has two kids. She had come to Pune to watch a film. “We have a home in Uttar Pradesh and many people stay in it,” she said adding that “I have not had a proper bath in the last many days.” Anju was found loitering around at the State Transport (ST) bus stand at Shivajinagar on November 11, 2010. Following this, she was admitted to Sevagram.

â–º The girl was brought to us by the Shivajinagar Police Station authorities 52 days ago. We took care of the girl, but she continued to behave in an unruly manner. This is affecting other girls here in an adverse way, hence we decided to hand her over to the police again, as she is mentally disturbed.”