exposing the dark side of adoption
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by Romanian-Reporter on Monday, 22 March 2010

In 2001 Romania placed a ban on Inter Country adoptions of its children after massive corruption was discovered within these kinds of adoptions. Ever since the ban came into place the Country has been unjustly pressurized by the leading Countries involved in Inter- Country Adoptions. France, Italy, Spain, Israel and the US and UK have all lobbied to get this ban lifted. The politicians in these Countries involved have interests in adoption agencies and in many cases adoptive parents too. If their interests were in the actual child they would see clearly that Inter-Country adoptions was not in the child’s best interest.

In 2009 when Hillary Clinton met the Romanian foreign Minister he was handed a letter urging Romania to reform this ban on Inter Country Adoptions so that children could again be exported for huge sums of hard cash to foreign couples despite the fact there are few orphans available in Romania for adoption nowadays. The EU funded childcare reforms saw the closure of the massive old style orphanages of the early 1990s. It was I also add the EU that insisted that Romania actually stop Inter Country Adoptions after the discovery of massive corruption within the old system of Inter Country Adoptions. The problem is that Hillary Clinton clearly seems to support along with many US senators the side of these large well funded adoption agencies that make huge profits out of the financial transactions of Romanian children and they continue to lobby unjustly for children rather than accept the reality of a country that has actually been praised for its childcare reforms including by US childcare experts.

The fierce adoption lobby has now also infiltrated the EU and Council of Europe too and again in 2009 there was a conference named ‘Challenges in Adoption Procedures’ that clearly was aimed at re opening Romanian Inter Country Adoptions again and even talk of a new way to mask these kinds of adoptions as European adoptions! Hidding in the back of this group is French business man and adoption lobbyist Francois de Combret with his NGOs SERA and CARE France and former EP parliament member Claire Gibault.

The conference resolved nothing as there was no agreement between the parties present headed by the largest lobbyists in Europe today. It must also be stated that Romania is a sovereign Country and has the right to offer is children the best protection available and rule its own affairs providing they do not break international law. In the case of International adoptions they certainly do not break international law or the ban which was supported by EU and financed by them would never have been allowed anyway.

Now today the Romanian child care case is being heard again in the The European Parliament Petitions Commission in a case brought by Amici dei Bambini, one of the largest Italian adoption agencies. It also comes at a time when the Commission’s president is Italian Erminia Mazzoni, who support Amici Dei Bambini and many of her co nationals who look to adopt a child. In this petition Amici dei Bambini president Marco Griffini calls for a reversal of the ban again despite the fact that in his own Country they have themselves massive unresolved childcare problems!

by Romanian-Reporter on Tuesday, 12 January 2010

For almost 20 years the large concerns interested in International adoptions, their foreign supporters and followers along with many Agencies and NGOs that worked in inter country adoptions before the Romanian ban on such adoptions have constantly denied the public Worldwide the truth of what happened to the thousands Romanian children adopted and exported abroad between 1991 and 1997. They have at worst stated that there may have been a few irregularities in a few cases to cover the dirty work that saw thousands of nameless children transported abroad for huge sums of cash in exchange and these very people all well versed are today still trying to press Romania to re open its trade in children today despite the fact the Country has no need of inter country adoptions nowadays.

Today the truth is clear for everyone to read thanks to a “Romania libera” reportage that has investigated what happened to thousands of children adopted in the period 1991 to 1997 and proves that the Romanian authorities have no information regarding thousands of children adopted by foreign persons in that period.

In the Romanian Adoption Office one can only read in that period the number of children adopted within the official database without any names mentioned of those children, their addresses or biological parents or the names of their adoptive parents. Even the numbers of children adopted may not be a true figure as in the period after the Revolution up until 1997 in particular many a child was exported without its rights or that of its biological parents ever being taken into account as the huge unregulated business in international adoptions jumped into Romania to take its pick of innocent Romanian children.

Bucharest authorities have no knowledge at all on 16,041 children adopted by foreign citizens between 1991- 1997 as the database lacks all the important and relevant information about those children. Children’s names not filled in, no ages filled in and no mention of the foreign person that adopted them, what Country they went too and what address in that Country, just a number in the record and that’s it. Who were those children? Where are they now? Who are they with? Are they alive or dead?

These are questions that remain even today unanswered and even worse is that experts believe the figure may be even higher of children trafficked abroad under the guise of inter country adoptions within that period.

by Romanian-Reporter on Thursday, 09 July 2009

Despite the fact the Hague Treaty on Inter country adoption which China ratified prohibits all forma of payment to biological parents it is clear that children are being trafficked for adoption from within the Country for huge sums of money, thus again the Hague treaty is proven not again to protect children in difficulty.

Evidence put forward by Brian H Stuy who has many years of study of adoption practices in China proves this and he can even name some 10 Chinese orphanages that flout the rules and are involved in these dubious practices that do not serve the best interest of the child.

In some orphanages children brought it seems even by strangers are often exchanged for a sum of cash and this is illegal but a clear fact of the illicit trade in children. In a country stricken by sheer hard unseen poverty in rural and remote areas, plus a lack of education on childcare policies within these areas one can appreciate that it is all to easy for children to be either sold for hard cash or abducted and these children are the supply and demand of the huge inter country adoption agencies that make financial gain out of children without any thought for the child or its biological parents.

Many foreigners have adopted children for instance from the Zhenyan orphanage including 5 from Belgium and despite the fact it is now well known that corrupt practices exist in this orphanage and these children may well have parents who have been tricked into giving them up by corrupt officials the Minister for children Catherine Fonck has brushed aside without any investigation these cases claiming she feels these children were not purchased. Only a full and thorough investigation would prove this.

Within China there is a huge list of Chinese couples who would love to adopt a child but get no chance and never will do until the huge trade in inter country adoption with its huge profits ends. Clearly the huge amounts of cash gained in foreign adoption without interest for the child is valued over national adoption in which a child retains its roots and origin within China.

by Romanian-Reporter on Friday, 16 May 2008

From correspondents in Beijing | May 16, 2008

CHINESE internet users have swamped online forums with offers to take in orphans of this week's devastating earthquake as the government drafts plans for adoptions.

The government said it was bracing for a growing number of orphans as the death toll mounts from Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake, China's deadliest natural disaster in a generation.

Online forums, an increasingly popular means of communication in China, were filled with entries by people hoping to care for children left without parents by the earthquake.

Many listed their mobile telephone numbers and gave details about their personal finances and careers in hopes of showing that they were worthy adoptive parents.

by Romanian-Reporter on Friday, 16 May 2008
A man spent almost a decade searching for his disabled brother only to find he had been drugged and kept in a private care home for the entire time.

Rod Fraser, 50, repeatedly asked police and social services for help in tracking down his brother, Ian, 57, who vanished in 1998.
But they claimed they were unable to find the former welder, who is deaf and suffers from the neurological disorder Huntington's disease.
Only when a social worker contacted the family in January to tell them Ian was dying did Mr Fraser finally discover where his brother had been living for the past ten years.

He found him seriously ill and unable to recognise his family at a private care home for patients with severe mental illnesses 120 miles away.
An official investigation has begun into why Ian was kept at the home, near Hull, for so long without his family being contacted.

Mr Fraser said: "My brother has been left to suffer for ten years. How can this happen in this day and age? They have ruined our Ian's life."

Mr Fraser last saw his brother in May 1998 when he paid him a visit. Ian, who was born without eardrums and cannot talk properly, was a well known figure in the area around his home, near Chorley, Lancashire.

He was often seen riding his bicycle and did odd gardening and welding jobs.

Mr Fraser, who is also from Chorley, said he believed Ian may have been wrongly sectioned and taken into care after being picked up by police who may have thought he was drunk or mentally ill.

But he insisted the authorities should have been able to contact the family because Ian always carried their details with him.


"But I didn't have his social security number and he wasn't on the voters' roll in the home."

Mr Fraser claims his brother tried to escape from the home in the first two years he was there and that he was given high doses of tranquiliser drugs to sedate him.
He claims it was in the care home's interest to keep him incarcerated because they were receiving more than £500-a-week from the Government to pay for Ian's care.


He is now hoping to get his brother moved to a care home nearer to his family.
In January the two brothers had an emotional reunion at the home. Mr Fraser said he wept when he saw Ian, who was too poorly to recognise him.
"I did worry that I may never see my brother again," Mr Fraser said.
"Every two years I spent about a month ringing the police and social services, trying to find him.
by Romanian-Reporter on Friday, 16 May 2008
A housing support worker, who smuggled a baby from Nigeria in a "callous" bid to get a free flat, was jailed for 26 months in the UK today.

Peace Sandberg, 40, branded "manipulative and a stranger to the truth" by the judge, is believed by police to have paid £150 for the three-month-old boy in her native country.

She then used a forged birth certificate to get a visa for him from the British High Commission there.
Within hours of landing at Heathrow, the fraudster, a former Kensington Housing Trust support worker who had been living in a hostel, was at Ealing Council's homeless persons unit, cradling the child in her arms
.

She claimed she had returned to Africa in December 2006 to give birth and now needed a flat for herself and her "son".
But London's Isleworth Crown Court heard Sandberg was immediately recognised by housing officer Lizette Reddy.
And she clearly remembered Sandberg - who holds joint Nigerian and Swedish nationality - not being pregnant when she saw her two months earlier.

But Sandberg denied any wrongdoing, claiming she had adopted her cousin's orphaned son to give him a better life in Britain.

She also insisted she took the £150 to Nigeria simply to help care for him while she was out there.
However, those trying the case took just 40 minutes to unanimously decide she was lying and convict her of one count of child trafficking.

To begin with she remained impassive as Judge Sam Kathkuda told her it was clear she had lied repeatedly during the "pre-planned and pre-meditated" operation to breach Britain's immigration laws.

The evidence also showed she had played on the sympathy of British High Commission staff in Nigeria by turning up early for her appointment, appearing "hysterical" and thereby avoiding the usual visa application interview.

"The question the prosecution counsel put to the jury was whether they were sure you had lied in order to being that child into the country.
"They decided you were not telling the truth to anybody about that child, and that you deliberately and fraudulently trafficked this child into the country in effect knowing you were going to use that child for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining benefit of housing."
He continued: "In my judgment, based on what I have heard during the trial and all the reports before me...you are a person who is manipulative and a stranger to the truth."

At this point Sandberg burst into tears, insisting: "I am not a liar. I have never told a lie in my life...I have done nothing wrong."
After explaining immediate imprisonment was inevitable, the judge added: "Your deportation I leave to the Home Office."

Outside court Detective Inspector Gordon Valentine, of the joint police and immigration service Paladin team, which investigates child trafficking and exploitation, welcomed the sentence.

"This is the first case I am aware of where a child has been smuggled into Britain to get a free home."
He said although the matter had not been tested in court there was clear "circumstantial evidence" to suggest she paid money for the child.

"It is quite shocking what she did. She took this child from its home environment and brought it here with the sole intention of exploiting him for benefits."
"It shows her callousness in exploiting an innocent child purely for her own benefit without considering the child's future in any way whatsoever.

"It now seems that child is going to grow up knowing nothing of his identity, where he has come from or even who his real parents are."

His colleague Detective Superintendent Sue Knight, said: "As far as we know she has not provided any information or assistance to help identify that child and has left him with a difficult predicament when he grows up."
DI Valentine added that although Sandberg's case was not the first involving children being brought into Britain illegally, babies only featured in a "minority" of them.

"We have no reason to believe it is a widespread problem," said the officer.
Councillor Ian Green, Ealing Council's portfolio holder for housing, said: "It's disgusting that this woman was trying to bring a baby into the country illegally to try to cheat a priority place on the housing register.

"It's horrifying to think that someone would try to use an innocent child in that way.
"It was only because one of our eagle-eyed housing officers had concerns about the woman that the police were alerted and were able to investigate.
"I hope this acts as a strong deterrent to other people who might be tempted to try to cheat the system."

Sandberg's five-day trial heard that in May, 2006, she had been renting a private property in Twyford Avenue, Acton, when a combination of rent arrears and disputes with neighbours forced her to leave.

She contacted the local council for help only for them to decided she had made herself "intentionally homeless".

Officials explained, however, they could provide temporary accommodation, but only because she had a 12-year-old daughter.
Sometime later police and social services learnt the young girl had returned to her father in Sweden, and told Sandberg she faced eviction.

Shortly afterwards the defendant bought return tickets to Nigeria for herself and the child, returning weeks later with the little boy.
Jurors were not given a full account of what police believe happened once she arrived, and were told only she collected the baby.

Recalling Sandberg's visit to council offices, Ms Reddy said: "She told me the baby was hers but I said 'No' because I had not seen her pregnant when I last saw her on November 1.
"I asked her three times 'Whose baby is this?' and she said 'It's mine'. I understood she had come straight to the council offices from the airport."
After further questioning, Sandberg admitted the child was not hers, but then insisted it was her cousin's baby and she had died.

"She said she decided to send some money for the child and she went over because she wanted to care of the child. One minute she tells me something, the next minute she tells me something else," the witness added.

Sandberg was arrested and police later found a forged birth certificate claiming she was the mother and her estranged husband, Kenneth, the father.

Chris Beddoe, of the Ecpat UK pressure group, which campaigns for tougher laws against child traffickers, said: "We were shocked at how callous Miss Sandberg was, carefully planning the whole thing and using an innocent child for her own ends.

"We are seeing increasing evidence that children are being trafficked into Britain for benefit fraud.
"They arrive from all over the world and our concern is what happens when they have served their purpose.

"Mrs Sandberg was prosecuted as an offender under immigration law and too many cases like this go unnoticed for that reason. "It is about time the government realised we need a trafficking law for child exploitation...which would make individuals like her easier to prosecute," she added.
Comment.
This is just one example of how children are being bought and sold for very devious purposes. Victoria Climbie (The little girl who was murdered by her 'aunt' and her boyfriend) had been used by her 'aunt' to collect handouts in France and then here in Britain. There is a certain 'church' operating in Britain, which gives 'acquired' babies' to childless couples and then calls them miracle children! It is to be hoped that if the baby, in this reported case, can't be reunited with his natural parents that he will be found loving adoptive parents.- Tessa Boo, London
Yes, it's terrible that she has attempted to defraud the system but my main worries are for the baby. If many people are devious and immoral enough to do this scam for their own gain, what becomes of the children? Do they care for these poor innocent babies properly? So many stories of children being treated so badly upsets me.- Jan, London
by Romanian-Reporter on Thursday, 08 May 2008

A suspected paedophile targeted in an international manhunt was today arrested by police in the United States, Interpol revealed.

The arrest was made two days after Interpol, the international police agency based appealed for public help to track down the man.

Interpol says the man was detained in Union City, New Jersey.USA.
The police agency identified the suspect as Wayne Nelson Corliss, 58, an actor who also goes by the stage name of Casey Wane.

Interpol said the man is suspected of sexually abusing at least three young boys from Southeast Asia.
It said that photos seized by police in Norway in 2006 showed the man's alleged abuse. Interpol said the boys were thought to have been as young as 6 to 10 years old.

by Romanian-Reporter on Thursday, 08 May 2008

Intercountry Adoption on the Internet

Author: Shihning Chou, Kevin Browne & Melanie Kirkaldy
Date: Tuesday, April 01, 2008
File Size: 88 KB

This study investigated whether intercountry adoption agencies on the internet upheld the principles of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC 1989) and the Hague Convention (1993). A systematic search on the UK-based Google search engine was carried out. The search yielded 2,383 hits, of which 116 were adoption agencies. All 116 agencies were registered in the USA and 37 per cent of the agency websites clearly stated that potential adoptive parents are allowed to select a child they wish to adopt, with 34 per cent offering the option to apply online. The average total fee for intercountry adoption per child was US$20,338 with an average application fee of US$273.97. The majority of websites displayed photographs of children: 9.5 per cent showed photos of named children who had been adopted, 25 per cent displayed photos of named children currently available for adoption and 50 per cent of websites displayed general photographs of children with no identifiers. Furthermore, 18.1 per cent of agencies used terminology that promoted children as a commodity rather than as individuals in need. There was a positive correlation between agencies using such terminology and those displaying photographs with personal information. If these views are accepted, it means that it can be estimated that at least 38 per cent of the agencies were in breach of the UNCRC and the Hague Convention.
by Romanian-Reporter on Thursday, 08 May 2008

The Relationship between Institutional Care and the International Adoption of Children in Europe.

Author: Shihning Chou and Kevin Browne Date: Friday, March 07, 2008

The study explored the link between institutional care for young children and international adoption, using a survey of 33 European countries. Official figures were available from 25 countries on the proportions of national versus international adoption within their own countries, together with the number of children under three in institutional care.

Results indicate an association between international adoption (both incoming and outgoing) and a high number of young children in institutional care.

The evidence suggests that, rather than reduce the number of children in institutions, international adoption may contribute to the continuation of this harmful practice.

by Romanian-Reporter on Thursday, 08 May 2008

A MAN who continued to beat, terrorise and sexually molest two little sisters – even though social workers and a teacher expressed their concerns – was jailed for ten years yesterday.

Judge Lord Kinclaven told Norman Carden: "The word abuse is barely adequate to describe the despicable conduct set out in these charges."

A court heard how Carden made the sisters fight each other, made them dance naked for his friends, thrashed one girl with a belt and subjected them to a variety of other horrors – including rubbing their faces in dog dirt before making them clear it up.

Carden also exposed himself to the girls and made them perform sex acts. Social workers frequently visited the girls – who were three when the abuse started – and expressed concerns. Advocate depute Hugh Irwin, prosecuting, said that although the visitors' worries were logged in a social work file, no action appeared to have been taken.

On another occasion, Carden banged a girl's face against a hard plastic mat on the floor – imprinting the diamond pattern on her forehead. A teacher at school the next day commented on the mark but the girl remained silent on what had caused it. At an earlier hearing, Carden, 61, of Paisley, Scotland pleaded guilty to five charges, admitting assaults and indecent behaviour going back to 1973. Judge Lord Kinclaven called for a psychiatric examination, and other background reports.They concluded Carden now suffered from dementia brought on by years of heavy drinking, which would make a prison term tougher for him.