History of the creation of AFOR, now AFAOR

Here is the story of the creation of this association based on the portrait of the founders of the French Association for Romanian Orphans (AFOR).

Beginnings: a personal quest

Laura Giraud, co-founder of AFOR:

I was born in 1986 in Bucharest, and I was adopted by a French couple.

Since 2006, I have been exploring my Romanian roots, whether through travel as part of a Franco-Romanian twinning program or during my studies in creative arts at the Grenoble School of Art, culminating in a five-month stay in Bucharest. This allowed me—among other things—to create a medium for dialogue with my adoptive parents. In my work , I focus on my relationship to “memory,” particularly at the level of the art object, with a conservation-restoration approach centered on the spoken word , exploring the themes of testimony, sound archives, and documents. 

In 2013, I began searching for my biological mother and realized how difficult it was to find information and how few dedicated spaces there were for expression and support. It was while browsing the internet that I met Nadine.

Creation of "Adopted Children from Romania"

In 2014, noting the lack of public spaces allowing Romanian adoptees to express themselves anonymously, I created, with Nadine Delpech ( who is familiar with adoption issues ) , "Les enfants adoptes de Roumanie" (Adopted Children from Romania) , a platform— blog , website , social media —aimed at adoptees of Romanian origin. In 2015, I ran for and was elected to the board of directors of the  National Council of Adoptees (CNA) .

The online visibility of "Children Adopted from Romania" has allowed us to create a substantial database of information and a network. During the website development, we integrated a pre-existing forum, which was subsequently expanded. This forum primarily contains requests for information about birth mothers, families, and siblings. As the forum's visual organization lacked clarity, we created an online collaborative list allowing adoptees who wish to do so to freely post their search requests.

Thanks to Nadine D.'s involvement and her travels abroad, adoptees have also been able to find their biological parents, some of whom are from the Roma community. To date, the blog has been viewed over 16,400 times ,  and we have been contacted by around one hundred people: individuals born in Romania and adopted by foreign couples, as well as by biological families . Indeed, the high visibility of these online platforms has also allowed a Romanian readership, including biological families, to get in touch.

In March 2015, I met Marion Le Roy Dagen and we collaborated on the creation of projects for adoptees from Romania.

Meeting and origins of the French Association for Romanian Orphans

Marion Le Roy Dagen, co-founder of AFOR:

I was born 39 years ago in AIUD, Transylvania. I was placed in an institution a few weeks after my birth and then adopted in late 1982, at the age of 6, by a French family. My search for identity began at age 13 with the fall of Ceaușescu in 1989.

As a social and educational professional, my training has given me a deep understanding of how to support individuals facing social and family difficulties (children, adolescents, and adults) to help them become more independent and better integrate into society. However, despite the increasing number of institutions dedicated to families and children, young adults who have adopted often feel quite alone when they begin searching for their biological families. This process is frequently a source of distress and even tension within adoptive families, as it can generate fear and guilt.

In 2014, I was at the heart of a documentary film, "The Devil's Child," produced by Kanari Films and TLT, directed by Ursulla Wernly Fergui (52 min). Accompanied by photographer Elisabeth Blanchet  , who has dedicated herself for 20 years to the orphans of Ceaușescu, the viewer follows us through our encounters, such as those with my biological parents and former residents of the Poprican orphanage—those who built their lives for themselves, those who were not fortunate enough to be adopted. More than just a personal account, this documentary sparked my interest in adoption, adoptees, and numerous national (born under "X") and international stories. It allowed me to meet Laura and opened my eyes to the complexity of adoption for the adoptee, the adoptive family, and the biological family, which is often overlooked.

We note that there are many associations of adoptive parents or future parents and very few associations of adoptees.

Adoptees: there are thousands like me in France who have been searching for their birth families for years, separated siblings trying to reunite as adults, children of the French state born anonymously. Very often, unfortunately, these searches are unsuccessful because there are many obstacles on the path to finding one's origins. This quest for identity is a process of becoming an active participant in one's life. It is also a quest for peace, for reconciliation with one's own history. Many people don't know what the search for one's origins truly entails. It's not a rejection of one's adoptive family, it's not a "biologization" of one's lineage, nor a fascination with biological ties, but rather the search for one's own story. When we talk about identity, we're talking about narrative identity, that is, answering the question, "Where do I come from? What is my story?"

As an adoptee, I feel I have "come full circle" in my search for my origins, but today I want to support, on a case-by-case basis, each adoptee who wishes to undertake this process. Through various encounters and testimonies, I observe that many adoptees live in social isolation, a withdrawal that makes them very vulnerable, sometimes even aggressive and violent. Today, more than 80 people, actively seeking answers about their parentage, have contacted us. Many of them are looking for someone to listen, to talk, and to reassure them about this process. For example, they may have questions about their identity: "Am I normal to ask myself these questions? Who do I look like? Who am I?" or even express their suffering: "I don't want to hurt my adoptive parents."

I've noticed that very few services offer support or guidance—either before or after the search—for the unique process of tracing one's origins. In my opinion, the adoptee, as well as their adoptive and biological families, need to be prepared. While studies show that adoptees generally feel fulfilled after this search, many are deeply disappointed after finding their biological family. While preparation seems necessary, is it truly sufficient? In my view, no: one cannot be fully prepared for this experience… hence the importance of support before, during, and after the search.

Creation of the French Association for Romanian Orphans (AFOR), now AFAOR

The sheer number of requests is currently a problem, simply because the collective "Adopted Children of Romania" is unable to respond to them all. While there are obvious shortages of human and financial resources, we have identified our main deficiency as a lack of expertise. The creation of this association will allow us to continue our efforts by building partnerships with French and Romanian associations and professionals.

Today, the challenge for AFAOR will be to make adopted persons and families active participants in their project, while developing their self-esteem and potential so that this quest for answers, origins, and identity goes as smoothly as possible.

1 – Final thesis for the National Diploma in Visual Arts: Conservation-restoration of sound publications. Lèpre Électrique and Léprothèque by Jean-Pierre Bobillot, K7, Tipp-Ex and Poetry… – Avignon: EsaA, 2014.

2 – Nasser C., creator and webmaster of the website “La nouvelle Roumanie” (The New Romania), hosted a forum at the time, referencing numerous messages requesting help in the search for biological parents or acquaintances in Romania: http://www.nouvelleroumanie.com

3 – Nadine Delpech participated in particular in the documentary “Dans les brumes de Majuli” by Emmanuelle Petit and Nadine Delpech (France, 2008, 52 min) which deals with the adoption of young boys by young monks.

4 – Formerly “The adopted from Romania”. In the summer of 2014 this project merged with the group opened by Lydia Heurtier (adopted from Romania) on the social network Facebook called “The children of Romania”; a group which in previous years had begun to federate a network of adopted people from Romania.

5 – 13489 pages have been viewed and the forum has more than 160 messages [March 7, 2016].