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My Story

My story started in India, on February 12, 1992. It was the day I was born, and the day my birth mother placed me for adoption.

The story I grew up with went something like this: My birth mother wasn’t married so she had to leave her village, give birth to me, and place me for adoption all in secret. The only other person who knew of her pregnancy was her mother, my birth grandmother. I had to be a secret to those in her village because if anyone found out she would have been kicked out, or worse, killed.

After 21 years away, my return to India terrified me. But once I was there, I felt an overwhelming connection to the culture I had left behind.

At the age of four months I was adopted by my parents — blond-haired, blue-eyed people who did their best to provide me with cultural pride and knowledge of my homeland. Being raised in a racially mixed family made me open and tolerant of differences. Yet I often felt out of place because of my race.

I grew up in a suburb of Portland, Oregon, in a predominantly white community with a growing Latino population. Latinos often presumed that I was one of them, but I knew that I couldn’t claim their community as my own. Although my high school was diverse, there was only one other Indian girl — and she was raised in a traditional Indian home and had much lighter skin than mine. Here, too, my dark skin set me apart.

I recall times, as a child, being followed from store to store at the mall by security officers who could not believe that the white-skinned man accompanying me was actually my father. As I grew older, the white, blonde, blue-eyed Barbie image of American womanhood seemed an ideal I could never achieve. My brown skin felt like a dirty mark, almost a curse. In middle school and high school, I knew I wasn’t the girl that most boys wanted to date. Others were attracted to me for my exotic look only.

My parents tried introducing me to Indian art, dance, cooking, and dress, but these things left me cold. I took no pride in being Indian. I wanted nothing to do with activities with other adopted Indian kids. I remember participating reluctantly in a slumber party with other Indian girls. When all six of us walked into a pizza place, everyone turned around and stared. Although it felt good to be with others like me, I never wanted to repeat the experience when it was offered.

As an Indian adoptee, I found my birth mother which is kind of a miracle , yet I am upset with life

Adoptee Life Story

I (20f) was adopted from India when I was a toddler by my adoptive parents who are Indian as well. We moved to the states after a few years. My adoptive parents have been quite open with me about my adoption. Generally, we Indian adoptees can never find our origins as all adoptions are closed and there is a lot of stigma. A couple of months back, I took a DNA test on 23&me and matched with my cousin. I was so happy at this as it was totally unexpected. She too lives in US. I texted her immediately. My cousin texted back but she didn’t know about me. She was very sweet to me and told me that her mother has only one sister who could be my mother and said she will find out.

It seems my existence caused a sort of a frenzy in the family. My cousin asked her mother about me. My aunt informed my mother and they told my cousin not to talk to me. My mother’s husband doesn’t know about me. No one in my family wants me to associate with them. My cousin got back to me and said I was the product of an affair, my father had left my mother then and she found out about the pregnancy a little too late. Since my mother was unmarried , she gave me away to an orphanage. My cousin told me she can’t talk to me anymore as she wants to respect my mother’s wishes. I said that it’s understandable but I begged for my mother’s name and basic details, promising that I will never contact her. My cousin reluctantly gave it to me and then we never spoke.

Amsterdam: Are they finally going to happen, the Dutch state's apology to the mothers who gave up their children for adoption after the introduction of the Adoption Act in 1956? Will there also be an apology to the children they lost? The foundations that represent the interests of the mothers who gave up their children for adoption and those who gave them up for adoption have been invited by Arno Rutte, State Secretary for Justice and Security, to participate in discussions on the question: what form should this recognition take?

"This is a breakthrough," says Frans Haven, board member of the Verleden in Zicht (VIZ) foundation, which represents the interests of the 15,500 Dutch people who were relinquished and adopted after the introduction of the Adoption Act in 1956 and before the introduction of the Abortion Act in 1984. "We are very pleased with this step," says Ellen Venhuizen, chair of the De Nederlandse Afstandsmoeder (DNA) foundation.

To the great joy of Haven and Venhuizen, a date has finally been set: by March 31st of next year, the Dutch government will officially recognize the great suffering inflicted on birth mothers and adoptees. Haven, born in 1965, relinquished, and later adopted: "The Adoption Act has created victims. Adoptees feel detached their entire lives." Venhuizen, who gave birth to a daughter in 1974 whom she relinquished for adoption: "The social services at the time, the predecessor of Fiom, pushed for adoption. They said: 'You want to keep your child? How are you going to do that? There's nothing.'"

Child Protection Council

Venhuizen and Haven also mention the role of the Child Protection Council. "They ultimately made the decision. They followed a pattern that was in line with FIOM's policy," says Venhuizen. She believes the council didn't do its job properly. "The council didn't stand up for the many underage women who were pregnant unexpectedly. Until 1988, women were still minors until the age of 21. And there was hardly any supervision of how our children fared in the homes where they ended up immediately after birth and in the years that followed, in their adoptive families." Those children are now adults. The youngest are just past forty, the oldest are approaching seventy. VIZ prefers not to call them "adopted" but "relinquished."

Interpellation 2025/26:67 New crime classification and changed statute of limitations for illegal adoptions

by Lorena Delgado Varas (-)

to Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M)

In recent decades, serious shortcomings have been revealed in connection with Sweden's international adoptions. The state's own adoption investigation shows that thousands of children were illegally adopted to Sweden through processes that involved document forgery, bribery, corruption, lack of consent and, in some cases, clear traces of human trafficking.

Belgian authorities have officially charged former European Commissioner Didier Reynders with money laundering, a person familiar with the case confirmed. 

He is not being held in custody, the person told Follow the Money and Belgian media partners Le Soir, De Standaard, and Le Vif. 

In December 2024, just days after Reynders’ mandate as EU justice commissioner ended, Belgian authorities raided his home on suspicions of money laundering, Follow the Money and Le Soir first reported at the time. 

The investigation has focused on the origins of close to 1 million euros. 

Reynders is suspected of having laundered about 700,000 euros through his personal bank account between 2008 and 2018. He then allegedly started laundering some 200,000 euros by buying large amounts of lottery tickets and transferring any winnings to that personal account.

Cuttack: She was a child when she left Basundhara orphanage here after being adopted by an American couple. Around 26 years later, Sudhanya Dunn returned to the place which sheltered her on Friday, to celebrate her first wedding anniversary, marking a moment filled with emotion and nostalgia.
Sudhanya was aged 10 months when she was left at the orphanage in 1994. In 1999, she was adopted by Hollie McGillicuddy and Jeff Dunn of USA, giving her a new life abroad. She later became a nurse and married Indian-origin professional Harsh Dua on Oct 27, 2024.
 

This week, she returned to the orphanage accompanied by six family members — including her adoptive parents and in-laws — to celebrate her wedding anniversary. Joy, nostalgia and heartfelt moments abounded as the Basundhara family welcomed her like a long-lost daughter.
The orphanage had arranged an array of cultural programmes, musical performances and interactive sessions to mark the occasion. Children presented handmade cards and performed traditional dances, creating a festive yet deeply personal atmosphere.

Sudhanya, visibly emotional, expressed her gratitude. “It feels surreal and overwhelming. This is the place that gave me a beginning. To return on such a special day is beyond words,” she said, her voice breaking as she hugged the children and staff.
Shaila Behera, founder-member of Basundhara, said the reunion was equally special for them. “Sudhanya was overwhelmed to witness the celebration on her arrival. She was in tears witnessing such a grand welcome and anniversary arrangements. For us, seeing her return as a confident, accomplished woman fills our hearts with pride,” Behera said. “I recognised her as she was brought here when she was just 10 months old. It’s an incredible journey and the joy can’t be expressed in words,” added Behera.

Dignitaries, including doctors, child welfare committee members and the district child protection officer, attended the celebration and blessed the couple. Many called it a “circle of love” moment — where a child once nurtured returned as a successful woman to celebrate love, gratitude and belonging. For the children at Basundhara, the day was more than a celebration — it was a message of hope and possibility.

A disturbing case from Collem-Loliem, Canacona, has shocked South Goa after villagers lodged a complaint at the Canacona Police Station against a woman accused of illegally adopting and brutally assaulting a 4-year-old boy. The child, reportedly adopted without any legal procedure, was found with severe facial injuries, including deep cuts on the forehead and cheek. He was immediately rushed to Goa Medical College in Bambolim, where he is undergoing multiple surgeries. The incident has raised serious questions about child protection and adoption monitoring in the region. Villagers have also alleged a possible child trafficking link involving an agent from Karnataka, suspected of selling infants for lakhs of rupees. Police have begun an investigation into both the assault and the alleged trafficking network.

EFA advocates for an official and formal recognition by the French State, as the host country for the children, of its responsibility and negligence which have allowed illegal and irregular adoptions in matters of international adoption.

 

Recognition that the victims were waiting for

This recognition is eagerly awaited by the victims of these practices: first and foremost, adopted people, but also their biological and adoptive families. EFA emphasizes these three levels.

It must be documented by evidence provided by the results of investigations carried out by the countries of origin and by the adopted persons.

For EFA, this recognition should not be an indictment against international adoption, which remains today a protective measure that meets the interests of the child deprived of a family when it is not possible to find a satisfactory solution for him in his country of origin.

Many Indian children who have been placed for adoption by their birth parents have been and will be adopted by Indians in India. Some children will go to live In Europe. Others come to live in the United States. In 1996, 380 Indi­an-born children traveled to the United States to become the adopted sons and daughters of parents half a world away.

India remains a favorite among the coun­tries to adopt from as prospective adoptive parents begin to look for children. With greater availability of birth control and abor­tion, along with the acceptance by American society of single parenthood, the number of healthy infants available for adoption has di­minished. The well-publicized cases of Baby Richard and others have also made many prospective adoptive parents wish to work in an arena without birth parents who might ask for their children back. Enter international adoption, for some an ideal way to a healthy child.

For Chris Futia, 40, and her husband Carl, 49, of New Jersey, India was the country of choice. Chris, a marketing support systems manager for Nabisco, was an exchange stu­dent for a year in India. Her experiences there profoundly affected her, she says, and when she and Carl encountered difficulties trying to have biological children together, India was where she wanted to turn.