Adoptees 'happy and doubly' about advice provisional adoption stop: 'keep checking that something is actually done with this rep

Adoption of children from abroad must be halted for the time being. This conclusion can be found in the yet to be published report of the Joustra Committee. Under the leadership of former top civil servant Tjibbe Joustra, this committee advises the cabinet on international adoptions and the role of the Dutch government in this culture.

The verdict of the leaked report feels like recognition for Patricia Steenstra from Groningen. She was adopted from Indonesia as a five month old baby. She is looking for her biological family in her native country. This did not work, her file appears to be forged. She is one of the thousands of children who were brought to the Netherlands for adoption from countries such as Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and Colombia in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and now find out during their search that their adoption file has been tampered with.

Serious wrongs

Due to the continuing flow of adoption abuses, Sander Dekker, Minister for Legal Protection, announced that an investigation would be conducted in 2018. The report will be presented next Monday. Sources around the cabinet leaked to the Algemeen Dagblad about the content. According to the newspaper, it appears that this investigation shows serious abuses in the adoptions of children from Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka in the period of 1967 and 1997. This problem continues to this day, the committee finds .

No comment

And that should stop for the time being, is their advice. The report includes child theft, child trafficking, corruption, forgery and theft of documents and corruption. The Ministry of Justice does not want to comment on the leakage of the report and refer to the press presentation next Monday. The minister will talk to interest groups next week. These groups have been set up by people who have gone through their own search for their biological family and who help others in their search. The Ibu Indonesia Foundation, in which Steenstra is involved, is one of these organizations.

Hague Adoption Convention

She hopes that the report will help the government to support adoptees financially in their search for their origins. Marcia Engel of the Plan Angel foundation does not really believe that foreign adoption will be stopped. She was adopted from Colombia as a baby. “There are too many interests, on a financial and also on a political level”. She thinks that the Hague Adoption Convention should be overhauled. This convention provides for the protection of children and their families during intercountry adoption against all forms of illegality. According to Engel, adoption abroad is not in the best interest of the child and more attention should be paid to placement within their own family.

Big question

“It has been known for years that there were abuses. But is now underlined by this report, ”says Engel. The key question now is: 'what is the government doing with this?' For Engel it is clear: “Every search must be financially supported by the government”. This is also the view of Kana Verheul of the Shapla foundation. She was adopted from Bangladesh as a baby. After years of lobbying within politics, the report is a good outcome, she says. “An apology from the government is essential. Not only for the five countries mentioned in the report, but for all adoptees ”, says Bina de Boer of DNA India Adoptees from Leeuwarden. She was found 40 years ago at the age of one and a half in the Indian metropolis of Mumbai.

House of Representatives

De Boer: “The impact of adoption is enormous. Not knowing your origins has a profound influence ”. She hopes for good aftercare from the government. “We hope the report will be a catalyst to look at adoption in general. Is adoption in the best interest of the child? ” There has been a lot of discussion in politics about illegal adoption recently. The members of parliament voted on December 1 in favor of the motion submitted by the SP and SGP to extend the limitation period in the event of illegal adoption. At the moment, the offenses in the case of adoption are time-barred after twenty years. This starts at the time of adoption and the child is a maximum of six years old. When they go to search, they are young adults and they run into this prescription. The conclusion of this report could speed up the implementation of the motion, says MP Michiel van Nispen (SP).

Mass Claim

Van Nispen does not want to comment on the content of the Joustra report yet. “I have not yet realized that, but if it is true it is extremely intense news. It affects a lot of people. Adoptees, but also adoptive parents. It releases many emotions ”. He believes that the government is obliged to assist adoptees in their search. The results of the report may also have consequences for the mass claim that is being prepared by Dewi Deijle, among others. She is a lawyer and was adopted from Indonesia in 1980. In her role as legal representative of the Mijn Roots foundation, she already held the Dutch State liable in 2017 for their role in the illegal adoption of children from Indonesia. That claim was rejected. “What the Joustra Committee has investigated and concluded is a confirmation of what we already knew.

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