“The hidden history of Romania’s international adoptions is a wound that never healed, for the children sent abroad, the families left behind, and the country that let it happen,” Romanian feature debutant Laurentiu Garofeanu explains to BDE the necessity of his Lost and Found: Romania’s Hidden Adoption Market. “[It] is a personal investigation, a human story unfolding in real time, with emotional stakes that cross borders.”

For Jessi, who was adopted almost 30 years ago, what starts as a search for identity becomes “a confrontation with the post-revolution marketplace, a post-communist system that sold thousands of children for international adoption,” the notes for the film project underline. Back in Romania and filmed over seven years, she uncovers “unbelievable truths, contradictory records, meets evasive officials, and finds the sister she never knew existed.” All the while, Garofeanu accompanies her on “a vérité journey into memory, loss, and resilience.”  

“I’ve spent two decades telling stories people thought would never be told, from London and New York to the Black Sea and entire Balkan region,” director/producer Garofeanu further underlines his credentials in telling this vital story. “I know how to win trust in places where trust is rare. In Lost and Found, that means sitting with birth mothers in their living rooms and across from people who swore they’d never speak on camera.”

“The production is small but relentless: experienced researchers, filming across two continents, multiple countries, and a network of trusted collaborators in Romania, Canada, Belgium and Spain. Our editor turns chaos into clarity. Our cinematographers capture intimacy without intrusion,” he adds.

Garofeanu promises to deliver a visceral cinematic experience to reflect the urgency of the subject he depicts. “Imagine the intimacy of a home movie colliding with the raw momentum of a personal investigation,” he says. “The film moves between two visual worlds: the grainy, discreet footage from small cameras that lets us disappear into the moment, and the composed, high-quality images that give the search for truth its cinematic value.”

PACIFIC NORTHWEST, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, March 11, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Molly Dee Wells is pleased to introduce her debut book, The Girl in the Shoebox, a story that explores themes of identity, connection, and the complexities of international adoption.

The Girl in the Shoebox follows the journey of a young woman seeking answers about her adoption in the 1980s. What begins as a quest for clarity turns into an exploration of human connection, mental health, and the struggle to belong. Set in the Pacific Northwest and spanning generations, the story pulls together the lives of five individuals whose paths intersect as they search for meaning and understanding.

When asked about her inspiration for writing the book, Wells shared, “I’ve always loved writing. Even as a child, I carried around a notebook and a book wherever I went. As a former special education paraprofessional, I’ve always been drawn to stories that explore identity and belonging. This story has been waiting to be told, and I wanted to capture the emotions of discovering one’s roots and the connections that shape us.”

Indeed, the book is about the unlikely power of friendships and the transformative rewards of taking risks. Two women form an unexpected bond as they work together to unravel a mystery, uncovering truths that change their lives forever.

The Girl in the Shoebox is now available for purchase on Amazon.

About Molly Dee Wells
Molly Dee Wells lives in the Pacific Northwest with her spouse, three kids, three dogs, and three cats. Adopted from India and raised in the USA, she earned a degree in Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality in 2004. When not exploring the outdoors, Molly enjoys reading Mystery, YA, Historical Fiction, and Biographies. She’s always up for a conversation about her love for tacos and Doctor Who.

Richard Bard
Gnome Book Writing
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Instagram
Other

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.

NEW DELHI: Noting that the present adoption law is too cumbersome and frustrating for adoptive parents, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the procedure needed to be streamlined and simplified to encourage childless couples to take the legal route to adopt rather than doing it illegally.
 

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and K V Viswanathan, which was hearing a case on the menace of child trafficking in the country, said people take illegal routes to adopt children as the adoption process takes years. It said not having children is a social stigma and such parents "want a child badly but the process is cumbersome".

The total number of adoptions crossed 4,500 in 2025-26 as of March 31, the highest in 11 years.

Average waiting period for adopting kids is 3.5 years

However, for many prospective adoptive parents (PAPs), the process of adopting a child continues to be a challenge with an average of 3.5 years waiting period for those seeking infants and young children. The Central Adoption Resource Authority (Cara) dashboard shows there are over 36,616 PAPs across various categories registered to adopt while the number of children available for adoption is merely 2,756.

"The present adoption process is taking too long. Parents want a child badly but the process is cumbersome and frustrating for them," SC said.

It added the existing flaw in the system was reflected in a case that was decided by it a day before, in which four parents from Telangana had adopted children, but not as per the procedure laid down by law, and police thereafter took away custody. The court allowed the plea of the four adoptive parents and restored custody of the children - aged between a few months and three years - to them by invoking its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution.

The man assaulted his minor granddaughter who came to care for his ailing wife, resulting in her pregnancy. He then gave the child she bore up for adoption

A shocking and distressing incident has emerged from Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand. A 70-year-old man has been accused of raping his minor granddaughter, who was brought along by his daughter after her marriage. The crime came to light when the girl’s stepmother reported the ordeal to the authorities.

According to reports, the girl had initially come to care for her ailing step-grandmother, but the grandfather harboured sinister intentions towards her. Over time, he sexually assaulted her, resulting in pregnancy. The situation worsened when the victim gave birth to a child, whom the accused then gave up for adoption.

The victim, terrified by threats from her step-grandfather, remained silent for a long period. However, she eventually confided in her stepmother, who then informed the family.

The United States Consulate in Karachi tipped off Pakistani authorities about suspected illegal adoptions, which led to the arrest of the head of a Karachi-based non-governmental organization on charges of child smuggling.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested Mubina Qasim Agboatwala, who runs Hope Ngo after a court rejected her pre-arrest bail. She is accused of sending at least 23 children to the United States.

The FIA’s anti-human trafficking unit began investigating after the US Consulate raised concerns about suspicious adoptions involving Pakistani children. Officials say the children were sent overseas without following legal procedures, and in many cases, their parents were unaware or misled.

According to investigators, the NGO operated without a valid license from the Sindh Social Welfare Department and used forged documents to declare the children as abandoned or orphaned. These children were then placed with foreign families without proper legal approvals.

Child rights activists say the case highlights serious weaknesses in Pakistan’s child protection system. They are urging the government to improve oversight of organizations involved in child welfare and adoption.

"Justice to this child is a factor not to be ignored. Rather, his assertion demands that truth be known, when truth has to be established, as it undoubtedly can," the Court said.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently held that a man's right to privacy cannot override the right of a child to know the identity of his father.

Justice Archana Puri passed the ruling while dismissing a revision petition that had challenged a trial court’s decision to allow a child’s plea for the comparison of his DNA sample with that of a man he claims to be his father.

“Justice to this child/plaintiff, is a factor, not to be ignored. Rather, his assertion demands that truth be known, when truth has to be established, as it undoubtedly can. Simultaneously, the right of defendant No.1 [man claimed to be father] to privacy and dignity, also has to be taken into consideration. However, the right of privacy, as such, cannot override the right of the child and vest interest in his favour,” the Court said.

However, the High Court added that the trial court's directive to allow the use of police force to ensure that there is no resistance by the defendant when his DNA sample is taken, was unnecessary.

Private Law Professor Anna Singer at the Faculty of Law in Uppsala University has been appointed the inquiry chair to investigate possible irregularities in international adoptions to Sweden.

On 27 October 2021, the Minister for Health and Social Affairs Lena Hallengren announced that the Swedish Government will set up an inquiry to investigate and clarify the circumstances surrounding international adoptions to Sweden from the 1950s to the present day: in relation to the countries of origin from which the most adoptions to Sweden have occurred; and on the one hand, concerning the countries of origin where strong suspicions exist that irregularities have occurred. The inquiry will map and analyse how the rules, organisation and processes within Sweden’s international adoption procedures have functioned looking back in time until now. The aim is to clarify the incidence of irregularities in Sweden’s international adoption procedures and how different actors in such cases have reacted and related to such cases.

The inquiry will also identify needs for adoption-specific support and propose what assistance and support measures should be offered and has the aim of providing guidance for the development of Sweden’s international adoption procedures moving forward.

The appointed inquiry chair is Anna Singer, Professor in Private Law specialising in Family Law, whose previous research has focused on questions related to the rights of the child; in particular the child’s right to parents and family, where adoption is one way of acting in the best interests of the child.

“I am very honoured to have been entrusted with heading this inquiry, which is of course very important. With the fairly broad terms of reference that we have, I hope that we will also be able to reach important conclusions,” says Anna Singer.

Updated: Melania Trump wrote letter to Putin about protecting children

Editor's Note: This article was updated with additional details after U.S. President Donald Trump published the letter to social media on Aug. 17.

U.S. First Lady Melania Trump wrote a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin concerning Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children as he arrived in Alaska to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, Reuters reported on Aug. 16.

Trump handed the letter to Putin during the two leaders' nearly three-hour meeting on Aug. 15, two White House officials told Reuters. While the officials did not specify the letter's contents, they said it raised the plight of Russia kidnapping Ukrainian children.

Trump later published the full letter to his social media platform Truth Social on Aug. 17 in response to criticism of his meeting with Putin.

"Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their hearts, whether born randomly into a nation's rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility and safety from danger," the letter begins.

Something very odd went down with Unicef yesterday. We were instructed in writing to pick up patients from the U.S. Comfort Ship. When our driver got there to get the people we were to be transferring to our care, there were Unicef vehicles taking them to some camp.

The unicef folks were not talking, they were just large and in charge. When asked why we had been told to come by the U.S. Comfort ship, they would not talk with us about it.

I'd love to believe somebody just got their wires crossed, but I'm not so sure. Something smelled wrong about it. The Comfort ship went to the work of getting us patient names, details, lists and a time to come get them. Clearly they were unaware of what was about to happen.

The problem is, giant worldwide organizations have power, and they have policies. Giant organizations are so giant that they cannot see the forest for the trees and they cannot see the individual person with the individual situation. We all know power corrupts. The Unicef we're seeing is not as interested in putting people/children first as it is in setting policy, precedent, and moving forward its own political agenda. I've watched people get up in arms and say that it is wrong to not support this long-standing and "worthy" organization. I recognize that will likely happen again here. We can easily agree to disagree if need be.

We're simply stating that the policies and procedures are a long way off from meeting real people with IMMEDIATE NEEDS where they are. (And things are not what they appear to be. Not at all.) The anti-adoption rhetoric has some merit but it is also maddening. Kids abandoned to an orphanage by their birth parent PRE earthquake are now being held in Haiti thanks to pressure placed on the Haitian government by the giant and powerful Unicef.  It is asinine and lacks all logic.

We are all for legal, careful, smart adoption. None of us want to see children taken from a birth parent or extended family that wants to raise them. That would be a terrible thing.

The fact is, Unicef is openly anti-international-adoption and what is happening now is nothing more than political grand-standing and a massive power trip. And all at the expense of children with waiting and approved families abroad.  I am saying, approved and in process adoptions are being used as a political tool by the giant organizations. While I agree policies need to be changed and systems of corruption need an overhaul --- maybe right this minute, when the country has no resources, it is not the very best time to make a stand and hold children here in crumbling institutions while adoptive parents wait eagerly.

Large powerful organizations with money can "encourage" and "convince" and put the pressure on ... and a government in crisis will bend to the will of a single powerful organization.

Meanwhile, children and people in crisis are not being served, cared for, or respected.  I understand the nuance and that UNICEF does some good work. You'll never convince me that an machine that large is actually in touch with real human beings and their real stories. 

It's time for a complete overhaul

OPINION:

In releasing its latest annual report to Congress on intercountry adoptions, the State Department claimed last month on X that intercountry adoption remains “viable, ethical, and transparent.” A year earlier, it praised its team for working “tirelessly” on behalf of families. Yet the numbers and the outcomes for children tell a different story.

What the report doesn’t say outright is this: In fiscal year 2024, the U.S. processed the fewest intercountry adoptions in our recorded history. The report also fails to mention that, despite our government having far fewer adoptions to process, the length of time processing cases has dramatically increased, forcing children to stay in orphanages for months and often years longer than necessary.

The State Department’s 2024 Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption confirms what advocacy groups, adoptive families and child welfare experts already know: The intercountry adoption system is deeply broken, and minor tweaks won’t suffice. A sweeping redesign built on genuine bilateral partnerships and a child-centered strategy is urgently needed.