Haiti’s Children and the Adoption Question

Haiti’s Children and the Adoption Question

Darron Smith, a researcher on issues of interracial adoptions, joins the discussion.

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Updated, Feb. 2, 4:20 p.m. |

Haitian officials have detained 10 Americans for trying to take 33 children out of the country and into the Dominican Republic. The officials said that the church-affiliated group lacked the proper authorization and that some of the children, who ranged in age from 2 months to 12 years, might have parents. Members of the church group said they traveled to Haiti to rescue children from orphanages destroyed in the quake.

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While foreign adoption is legal in Haiti, according to Joseph Philippe Antonio, former foreign minister of Haiti, the formal process is complex and long, and it is not always respected. What rules should be followed in approving adoptions from Haiti? A lot of children are in orphanages and their lives could be saved or improved by quicker adoptions. But in the chaos, are there additional reasons to be cautious about such efforts?

• David Smolin, Cumberland Law School
• Elizabeth Bartholet, Harvard Law School
• Cynthia R. Mabry, Howard Law School
• Diane B. Kunz, Center for Adoption Policy
• E.J. Graff, Brandeis University
• Jane Aronson, pediatrician
• Darron Smith, University of Utah

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Comment from the UAI

The New York Times did a great job by starting, or should I say, continuing the debate about intercountry adoption. They interviewed, or at least collected,different academic point of views. Some of them are adoptive parents (AP) themselves. And even in the list of those who left comments, are mostly AP's also. And so the adoption history was constructed as continued. Even though more AP's become aware of the international phenomena of childtrafficking for adoption, not many of them dared the oppose the system which continues the international baby market called: international adoption.

Also many ideas written in several parts and by different persons in the article as in the comments are based on gut feeling instead of tracking down the history and international interests on religious, political and economical fundamental beliefs.

(http://www.conducivemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81:international-adoption-and-the-fight-for-human-rights&catid=37:critical-thinking)

The international history around foster-care, orphanages ending up with (intercountry) adoption generally shows a well hidden agenda of powerplay, child abuse and exploitation of children brought into limbo by governments and their so-called social workers.

Nowadays more and more adult adoptees found the truth behind their adoption and what was meant as the idea of saving lives and in the best interest of the child they once were, they found a web of money making adoption multinationals connected with churches and religious groups, well backed up by politicians who see their chances to increase the numbers of voters and covered by academics and mewho are pro-adoption and most times (P)AP's themselves.

The whole arena regarding intercountry adoption is based on a strict marketing doctrine of to do well and to save. But the phenomena of intercountry adoption is in reality an international accepted well staged childfactory with celebrities (Madonna, Jolie etc.) marketing for more adoptions, politicians who adopted outside of the normal procedures (Milliband-GB, Schroder-D, Schelfhout-B etc.)

But lets see what happened last few years regarding (intercountry) adoption. The Netherlands accepted a new bill proposed by the homo-lobby in the Netherlands to adopt from the US while the US, according to their arguments, do not want to adopt black babies. Meaning coloured children from American Soil. But how would you explain the hundreds or thousands Haitian children flown into the US for intercountry adoption or Ethiopian children earlier ? But no one is answering this question.

A few years ago, a so-called French relieve organisation 'Arc de Zoe' trafficked children from Chad saying that these children needed medical support in France while hundreds of prospective adoptive parents where waiting at French and Belgium Airports. Just like the American traffickers in Haiti they where released from Prison and free to go after deals with the French governments.

And what about the international ring of Catholic churches who took children away from young mothers and gave them away to other parishes for adoption to richer and social more accepted families without children. A book by Carina Hutsebaut shows extensively this phenomena and who does not know now the Magdalene files from Ireland and many other Catholic regions in the world.

What about the annual + 2 billion dollar babymarket called intercountry adoption. Is it really true that those (+45.000, last year) children and their families who are adopted could not have been helped with this amount of money ?

And what about the fight for Adoptee Rights. In the Netherlands it is hard to marry without a birth certificate. But what about those hundreds or thousands Adoptees who have been adopted without one and have to go to court to marry. The Dutch government does not care as does many others in the world. And what if Adoptees want their original name. Again they have to court to fight for it. And what if adoptive parents forgot to complete adoption procedures, suddenly Adoptees are aliens and can be deported from the country where they have been raised in, like the US. What if Adoptees found out that their adoption procedure was false and deliberately falsified or in the most horrible scenario where stolen for adoption. Is there a government who are willing to deal with this ? NO. The Adoptees have been saved according to the international mantra and after arrival in the new country, you are at you own. At least in many legal situations. Many things have been arranged for adopters and agencies. They all covered for possible flaws in the adoption systems. Even many of them are covered by insurances and expensive law-firms. But what if Adoptees wants or need to go to court. Indeed, they are at their own.

Time has come that the adoption world dares to admit their real interest instead 'helping' children. Children became objects of possession. But we are human beings !