The Netherlands clarifies and stops international adoptions

Young women and men who have been adopted from abroad are increasingly demanding information about their origins, proving abuses and taking legal action. This has now led to a ban on adoptions in the Netherlands.

By: Sabine Bitter, Elsbeth Gugger , Moderation: Monika Schärer , Editor: Sabine Bitter, Production: Michael Sennhauser

29.03.2021, 21:28

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"Ruwan - the jewel" or "lotus daughter". This is how one or another baby from Sri Lanka or India was welcomed when it came to a western European country for adoption. Since the 1970s, tens of thousands of German, French, Swedish, Dutch and Swiss couples have fulfilled their greatest wish: to have a child - or even two - from a distant country. Many of these children are now adults. And some of them are realising that their origins are a mystery. They ask themselves: who am I and where do I come from? They do their own research, request access to files or file lawsuits. Under pressure from those affected, some western European countries are beginning to investigate foreign adoptions. In recent years, a large number of abusive adoptions have been uncovered, for example in Switzerland, France and the Netherlands, which recently even imposed a ban on adoptions due to revealed abuses.

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The Netherlands stops international adoptions

Running time 13 minutes 31 seconds.13:31 min , Elsbeth Gugger

In 2017, an investigative television documentary revealed that hundreds of Sri Lankan babies had reached the Netherlands in the 1980s through dubious means. The abuses revealed were so blatant that the Dutch government set up a commission of inquiry. This investigated foreign adoptions from other countries such as Brazil, Indonesia and Bangladesh. It came to the conclusion that many adoptees had become victims of child trafficking. Based on this finding, the Dutch government imposed a ban on adoptions in February.

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“I was a stolen child”

Running time 19 minutes 7 seconds.19:07 min , Sabine Bitter

Anisha Mörtl was born in India and came to a German couple in 1990 at the age of 11 months. When she began searching for her origins in India as a teenager, it turned out that she had been taken away from her biological mother and brought to Germany by a nurse in a hospital in Hyderabad. Thanks to research by the non-governmental organization "Against Child Trafficking" (ACT), the now 30-year-old has now found her biological mother. But the successful search still does not lead to a happy ending.

More on the topic: The “Sri Lanka Adoptions” – A Swiss Scandal

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In court for forged birth certificates

Running time 8 minutes 47 seconds.08:47 min , Sabine Bitter

"Who am I and where do I come from?" This question troubles many young people who have been adopted. Many are searching for their roots, especially if they come from a distant country. Some of those affected discover that there are inconsistencies in their documents, that information is contradictory or that the birth mother's waiver is missing. This has recently led to legal proceedings not only in the Netherlands but also in France. Last year, for example, 9 people who were born in Mali and adopted by French couples filed a lawsuit.

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