Adoption in the country has, for a long time, remained an emotive issue.

It has often been steeped in suspicion and matters have not been helped by a moratorium on inter-country adoptions (adoption of a Kenyan child by foreigners who live outside the country) placed by the government.

The objective of the moratorium effected on November 26, 2014, was to enable the government to intervene and conduct a comprehensive audit of the policy and legal frameworks, processes, procedures and players involved in the practice of adoption.

However, concerns raised include lack of public participation before the moratorium was enforced. Several laws targeted at regulating adoption have also raised concerns with some parties claiming there are efforts to lock them out.

Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo argues that, though it is possible to abuse the rights of children when the laws are weak, and that there is need to have better regulations, the same should not be used to muzzle those who want to adopt.

Durban - A Netherlands based non-governmental organisation, Against Child Trafficking (ACT), has called for the Dutch government to do a comprehensive review of all adoptions from South Africa and open a criminal investigation.

The children’s right advocacy organisation which opposes inter-country adoption alleged that inter-country adoptions in the Netherlands have been “riddled with scandals”. The organisation was responding to the recent reports by Sunday Tribune where a father of two daughters from Kwangcolosi, near Hillcrest, complained about the adoption of his girls by a Netherlands couple in 2014.

The father believed there were discrepancies in the adoption process as he was not made aware, he now wants the process reviewed and his girls returned home.

The girls, aged six and eight at the time of adoption, lived in Ikhethelo Children’s Village in Kwanyuswa near Bothas Hill, after their mother died.

The Camperdown Children’s Court granted an order for the girls to be adopted by a foreign couple after an investigation by an adoption agency which facilitated the process.

Reporters with cameras and microphones swarmed Maria Hastings as she stepped off the plane in Chile, but she looked beyond them.

• Her eyes searched the terminal for a face just like hers, with a smile so broad it pushed appled cheeks into her eyes.
• She found it, framed with straight black hair and bangs. And the two embraced for the first time in 37 years.

Why it matters: Hastings reunited with her birth mother in Santiago, Chile, last week — a hug her mother thought may never happen again after she was manipulated into giving Hastings up for adoption.

Catch up quick: Hastings spent most of her life in Tampa and thought she'd been given up willingly until she read about Connecting Roots, an organization that reunites the stolen children of Chile with their birth families.

• She's spent the last year talking to her birth mother on WhatsApp, trying to get to know each other through a language barrier and technical issues.
• Last week, Hastings joined a group of other adoptees, and translators with Connecting Roots, on a 10-hour flight to meet their birth families.

Danish childless couples can once again adopt a child from Vietnam. Denmark and Vietnam have signed a binding agreement on adoption after the Vietnamese authorities tightened up their adoption law last year due to a number of corruption cases.

Danish childless couples can once again adopt a child from Vietnam. Denmark and Vietnam have signed a binding agreement on adoption.

The Vietnamese authorities tightened their adoption laws last summer. It happened after a series of corruption cases involving children who were bought by poor parents and sold on to France, among others, for a large profit outside the official channels.

Over the past five years, the police have uncovered several criminal networks that have traded with up to 200 Vietnamese children.

As the first country, Denmark has entered into an agreement that ensures that all procedures and rules are complied with and that there are permissions from all relevant parties prior to an adoption, says head of office Michael Jørgensen from the Directorate of Civil Justice.

The Danish Family Agency is not immediately prepared to take a decision on whether adoptions from India should again be closed, as DF demands. The board will first see the new information from the Indian police.

The Family Agency will look at the new information from India before deciding whether to close adoptions from the country.

This throws couples who are on a waiting list or who have adopted children from India into uncertainty.

Following new information from the federal police in India, which reveals corruption far up in the Indian adoption authorities, the Danish People's Party has demanded that adoption from the country be closed.

When Guillermo Gómez (above) was a boy, in the mid-1980s, he was lying in bed next to his mother at their home in Buenos Aires, when she asked him a strange question: “What would you do if one of these days, when I’m working, a woman comes along and tells you she’s your mother? Would you run away with her?” Guillermo didn’t understand. How could he have another mother? Tears welled in his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere,” he whimpered. “You’re my mother.”

134 people have already reported questions about their adoption. Some adoptions date back sixty years or more. About twenty reports concern adoptions after 2000. This was reported by De Standaard on Thursday. Flemish Minister of Welfare Hilde Crevits (CD&V) wants each of these 134 adoptions to be rescreened.

In November last year it was confirmed that some adoptions of Ethiopian children through the Ray of Hope adoption agency had been abusive. Researchers who travelled to the country on behalf of Crevits and examined twelve adoption files, found that in at least one case parents had not consciously given up their child for adoption.

Following these initial results, the minister launched a broad appeal: anyone with questions about their own adoption or that of their child could report them. 134 people have already done so. This concerns reports about adoptions dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, as well as adoptions after 2000. There are 21 countries of origin among them.

Another 25 additional reports were received about Ethiopia, in addition to 21 reports about adoptions within Belgium and ten reports about adoptions from France. Other large clusters are 28 reports about adoptions from India and 19 about South Korea.

Vijayawada:After receiving a complaint, police have started an inquiry into the alleged illegal adoption of a baby girl by a childless couple in Narasaraopet, Palnadu district. The women and child development authorities said that an illegal adoption of a months-old baby girl by a woman came to their notice. The childless mother wanted a child and adopted the baby girl, reportedly unaware of the adoption rules.

Meanwhile, the police have started the inquiry on the issue amid allegations that money was involved in the illegal adoption and also the issue was not limited to just one baby as there were reports of a few more babies given in adoption for money. Palnadu district women and child development project director Uma Rani said, “It has come to our notice about the unauthorised adoption of a baby girl by a woman with no children, probably unaware of the norms to do so. We have alerted the police on the issue to take up inquiry.”  

The sisters- Rani and Sushma used to live in the Children National Institute Orphanage in Uttar Pradesh when they were taken to Denmark by a Danish woman in 1962. They were thrilled to visit their childhood abode and had a fun time with the children at the institute.

Prayagraj: Back in 1962, two sisters from the Children National Institute orphanage were adopted by a Danish woman. Almost 62 years later, the duo- Rani and Sushma returned home in India and reminisced their sweet childhood here.

Their childhood memories were refreshed when they reached the Children National Institute Orphanage on April 2, after 62 years. Recalling where they lived, both of them visited every corner of the campus in their two-day trip to their childhood abode. They were also accompanied to the market for shopping, and showered with enormous gifts.

The duo also went around on a tour of the philosophical places of the city. 'They were eagerly waiting to come to Prayagraj for years. Despite growing up there, this orphanage in Prayagraj holds a special place for them. They often spoke of the memories they created here but regretted the fact that they could not be back here in all these years.

However, in March, they planned to visit India. They travelled to Delhi from Denmark and then went straight to the Swaraj Bhawan complex and visited the Children's National Institute, where they had spent a great chunk of their childhood.

Local

"Mi s-au dat bani ca sa-mi schimb declaratiile"

De Redacția

luni, 13 ianuarie 2003, 00:00

Valentin Mocanu (18 ani) este unul dintre tinerii de care ar fi abuzat sexual francezul Michel Sounalet. Conform cercetarilor intreprinse de politisti si procurori, in perioada 2000 – 2001, acesta a intretinut mai multe raporturi sexuale orale cu Valentin Mocanu. Tinarul a povestit in fata anchetatorilor de mai multe ori cum se derulau aceste acte, iar declaratia sa a fost filmata de catre politisti. El si-a mentinut aceste declaratii pina cind a fost audiat de instanta, pe 25 noiembrie 2002. Atunci, absolut surprinzator, Valentin Mocanu si-a intors la 180 de grade declaratiile. In fata completului de judecata, tinarul a spus ca nu a intretinut relatii sexuale cu francezul, iar afirmatiile sale anterioare ar fi fost facute la sugestia unor "dusmani" ai lui Michel Sounalet. Alaturi de el si la fel de surprinzator, alti martori ai acuzarii – Ionut Lungu, Mihai Gabriel, Botoc Florin si Alexandru Serban – si-au schimbat declaratiile, tot in favoarea francezului.
"Ne-a dat pizza, suc si niste bani,"
Valentin Mocanu este internat acum intr-un centru de plasament din Pascani. El sta in aceeasi camera cu ceilalti patru tineri care sint cercetati de catre Parchet. Valentin Mocanu ne-a povestit ce l-a determinat sa-si schimbe in instanta declaratia data initial. "Eram la caminul din Tirgu-Frumos, si intr-o zi a venit o ziarista din Iasi si doi francezi. Ne-a luat, pe mine si pe Ionut, la restaurant si ne-a pus la masa", povesteste Valentin Mocanu. El nu-si mai aminteste data exacta cind s-a intimplat acest lucru, doar ca a fost intr-o simbata dinainte de a fi audiat de catre judecatori. "Ziarista a inceput sa ma intrebe de ce am zis despre Michel ce am zis, ca el ne-a ajutat atit de mult, si ca nu trebuia sa-i facem asa ceva. Mie mi s-a facut rusine, si i-am spus ca nu este adevarat ce am zis politistilor, ca nu am facut nimic cu Michel. Ne-a dat pizza, suc si niste bani, cred ca 50.000 de lei, pentru tigari", a mai spus Valentin Mocanu. Tinarul afirma ca nici ziarista, nici francezii nu i-au cerut explicit sa-si schimbe declaratia in instanta, ci doar i-au sugerat acest lucru. Practic, el isi da seama acum ca acestia i-au indus ideea ca Michel Sounalet este nevinovat si ca este victima unui complot. "S-a purtat frumos cu mine, si ziarista, si francezii. Mi-au promis ca ma ajuta sa ma mut la alt centru de plasament, numai sa spun ce le-am spus si lor cind voi fi intrebat de judecatori ce am facut cu Michel".
Va fi cercetata si ziarista?
Dupa ce tinerii si-au schimbat declaratiile, simtind ca pierd teren, procurorii au contraatacat. Prima miscare a Parchetului de pe linga Judecatoria Iasi a fost declansarea cercetarilor in ceea ce-i priveste pe cei cinci tineri. Ei sint cercetati pentru marturie mincinoasa, prin care ori au favorizat infractorul, ori au facut un denunt calomnios.
"Nu a fost inceputa urmarirea penala decit impotriva celor cinci tineri care si-a schimbat declaratiile. In masura in care cercetarile vor determina contributia cu caracter penal la modificarea declaratiilor acestora in instanta, vom promova actiunea penala si impotriva altor persoane", ne-a declarat prim procurorul Parchetului de pe linga Judecatoria Iasi, Daniel Ticau. Magistratul a mai spus ca, fiind o ancheta in curs de desfasurare, nu poate da relatii despre mersul cercetarilor. Valentin Mocanu va depune din nou marturie in instanta poimiine, iar de aceasta data afirma ca va spune adevarul.
Cine este ziarista de care vorbeste Valentin?
L-am intrebat pe Valentin Mocanu daca o cunoaste pe ziarista din Iasi cu care a discutat. "Nu stiu cum o cheama, dar am vazut-o de mai multe ori la Politie, la Parchet si la Tribunal. Tot timpul cind il aduce pe Michel la Tribunal este pe acolo", ne-a spus tinarul. El a descris-o ca fiind tinara, inalta si draguta, cu parul tuns scurt. "Daca as vedea-o, sigur as recunoaste-o", a spus Valentin Mocanu. In lipsa altor date clare, nu putem decit sa presupunem cine ar putea fi ziarista care s-a implicat in acest mod intr-o ancheta a procurorilor si pentru ce ar fi
facut-o. Putem totusi sa remarcam ca, pe tot parcursul anchetei si procesului lui Sounalet, un cotidian local a avut mereu o atitudine fatisa in favoarea francezului acuzat de pedofilie. (Radu BURLACU)