You have the right to know the whole truth about your origins and the circumstances of your departure from Romania.
You have the right to know the whole truth about your origins and the circumstances of your departure from Romania.
Leagănul De Copii Nr. 1, București
Why does this letter concern you?
Dear adoptees,
You have the right to know the whole truth about your origins and the circumstances of your departure from Romania.
This letter is not intended to reopen wounds, but to empower you to demand answers, reparations, and official recognition of the abuses you have suffered. Your story must not be erased, and justice must be served for those who suffered in the shadow of these institutions.
The Hidden Reality of Sfânta Ecaterina
The Sfânta Ecaterina Center in Bucharest, once Romania's largest orphanage, was a focal point for organized networks that exploited abandoned, stolen, or manipulated children, placing them on a lucrative adoption market. Under the guise of humanitarian missions, adoption agencies concealed corruption, human trafficking, and exploitation in post-Ceaușescu Romania. Originally founded by the family of Princess Ecaterina Olympia Caradja-Cantacuzino (1893-1993), the center became a symbol in the 2000s.
@dosaresecrete-Princess Ecatrina Caradja
Studies such as the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) (1) promoted deinstitutionalization, while raising ethical questions about the use of minors as research subjects. The BEIP's controversial methods, such as randomizing children into harmful environments, were aimed at promoting international adoption.
The NGO SERA (Solidarity with Abandoned Romanian Children) was the organizer of the BEIP, as revealed in the German documentary “Look for a child, pay cash – the adoption lobby”. 2
Despite these serious allegations, SERA was declared a public utility NGO by the Romanian government in 2020, and benefits from European funds.
A Darker Truth: Trafficking and Exploitation
Behind the humanitarian facade lies a disturbing reality. Declassified American documents suggest that the Caradja family, particularly Alexandra "Tanda," was involved in intelligence operations after the war. In the 1990s, Sfânta Ecaterina became a center for child trafficking, with the involvement of lawyers like Iliana Bustea (Irene Foundation).
https://www.archives.gov/files/declassification/iscap/pdf/2010-081-umissdoc8.pdf
Excerpt from a document declassified by the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP) - United States National Archives
The Museum of Abandonment: a selective memory?
The chain of lies about the horrors of Romanian orphanages has been perpetuated for decades, transforming suffering into a lucrative business for those involved in deinstitutionalization and international adoptions, as evidenced by the Muzeul Abandonulu i (Museum of Abandonment), launched in 2021 as a “digital and participatory museum-forum” claiming to map the culture of abandonment and offer a space for dialogue for survivors of the communist and post-communist system. However, its links with SERA and Hope and Homes for Children Romania , key players in the deinstitutionalization lobby, raise concerns.
These groups are criticized for promoting orphanage closures that facilitated lucrative adoptions, while ignoring accusations of corruption and trafficking. This selective narrative risks whitewashing history, transforming the horrors of the past into a profitable business for the same networks, now disguised as saviors.
The Regeneration Project: Healing or Erasure?
Today, the urban regeneration project announced in 2023 to transform the old site into a campus with a museum, park and therapeutic centers, managed by the DGASPC ( Directorate General of Social Assistance and Protection of People ), and financed by European funds, raises questions: is this historical recognition or an attempt to erase the past, the suffering and the trafficking that have marked your history? It is time to demand investigations to preserve memory and obtain justice. (3)
Dear adoptees, it is time to demand investigations to preserve the truth, the documents concerning us and obtain justice.
Your story matters. Let's make sure it's neither forgotten nor rewritten.
Marion LE ROY
(1) The BEIP (Bucharest Early Intervention Project) experiment, launched in 2000 by researchers such as the American Charles Nelson, is a randomized study on the effects of psychosocial deprivation in these institutions: it compared children who remained in orphanages (such as those at Leagănul Sfânta Ecaterina, renamed under communism) with those placed in foster families, revealing lasting impacts on brain development, but raising ethical criticism for having maintained a control group in the institution, potentially prolonging their suffering in the name of science.
(2)
(3) https://www.g4media.ro/fostul-orfelinat-sfanta-ecaterina-de-la-arcul-de-triumf-proiectat-sa-fie-transformat-prin-regenerare-urbana-intr-un-campus-cu-doua-zone-una-publica-cu-muzeu-si-parc-si-alta-cu-c.html