Tonight I got a phonecall from someone who had fust finnished reading my book.
‘Reads like a thriller’, she said.
And she was curious about the follow-up. Will there be a happy ending?
That remains to be seen…
A bit of follow-up can already be seen at
Search a Chil, Pay Cash, the Adoption Lobby (September 2009):
http://www.romania-forexportonly.eu/2009/09/suche-kind-zahle-bar/
First of all I wanted to congratulate you on your book that I just finished. I found it fascinating and impressive. At times I thought I was reading a novella… Thank you, I’ve seen the otherside of the story of adoption in Romania. I started to get interested in adoption in 1999 and had no Internet access to almost 2001. It was very enlightening.
Right now I heard the news on television. In Spain there are 34,000 homeless children in schools. Obviously these are not adoptable, the birth parents have not lost custody and is verydifficult to adopt. How ironic right?
The Spanish are going to all nations to adopt children and have 34,000 in our juvenile facilities.
Ireland is going to visit the U.S. to look into the possibility to take American children?
The world upside down.
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Antes de nada quería felicitarle por su libro que acabo de terminar. Me ha resultado fascinante e impresionante. En algunos momentos me parecía que estaba leyendo una novela…Muchas gracias, he visto la otra versión de la historia de la adopción en Rumania. Yo empecé a interesarme por la adopción en 1999 y no tuve acceso a Internet hasta casi 2001. Ha sido muy esclarecedor.
Ahora mismo he escuchado las noticias en la televisión. En España hay 34.000 menores desamparados en centros. Evidentemente no son adoptable, los padres biológicos no han perdido la patria potestad y resulta muy dificil adoptarlos. Qué ironía verdad?
Los españoles vamos a todos los países del mundo a adoptar niños y tenemos 34.000 en nuestros centros de menores.
Irlanda se va de visita a EEUU para ver las posibilidads de adoptar menores estadounidenses?
El mundo al revés.
A DRAMATIC, AND SOMETIMES INCONVENIENT TRUTH…, but it is an x-ray about the realities Romania faced all this tragic decade.
Roelie Post allows the reader a unique insiders view regarding the politics of international adoption. It was an eye-opening account that not many are willing to share to the outside world.In her experience with Romania’s orphan care and international adoption program, Ms. Post begins her journey as many do (innocent) and as her knowledge about the politics behind international adoption grows– revelations on the real truth behind the industry of international adoption becomes quite clear.
Never again can I look at the “black and white” pictures of the “poor orphans” that rely on us to “save” them with the same naïve eyes. This book offers amazing parallels into other international programs– including China. Ms. Post talks about the points system, safe-haven drops, attachment studies on orphans, media attention and the pressure from outside countries and NGO’s to gain access to Romania’s children… all of which are familiar themes in many IA programs.While it was heart-warming to know that there are many people who work very hard to preserve children’s rights, it is equally scary to understand the underlying situation that most will never get to see.This is a must-read book for anyone entering into the world of international adoption.
This book gave me an incredible and unbelievable insight into what is happening behind the scenes in Intercountry Adoptions. Sadly her experience matches with my field research into ICA.
Only after reading her book I started to see and understand how decisions are made at high levels in the so called interest of children. Since then I do better understand the scary results of my field research.
The book is a real Eye-Opener. Thanks to the author for having the guts to publish this.
Roelie Post publishes a remarkable book. A book about export of Romanian
children for adoption. A book, that when one reads the first chapters,
overwhelms you if the issue is new. Unfortunate for the undersigned it is
not. I even wished that a similar empirical and personal book had been
written by the sort of researcher as Roelie Post at the time in Korea and
now in China.
Roelie Post dares to describe a taboo-issue at a level that can compare with
the works of Noreena Hertz and the movie Constant Gardener. Unfortunately
such reporting in general does not receive a lot of media attention, because
of its political sensitivity. If you read the book, you find out why. A nest
of scorpions of big (business) interests interwoven with political and
social actors, and the large demand for adoptable children, creates indeed a
market functioning that until now was systematically denied. As a result the
discussion remained in the margins of society.
The introduction of the book about a mini-breakfast conference of her
children concerning this issue illustrates in my opinion that we have gone
far beyond the real and primary question, which still is: what is the
interest of the (adoptive) child?
When in 1999, Roelie Post started working for the European Commission on the “Romanian Orphan” dossier she could not have forseen the consequences of accepting that job.
In 1990, soon after the Ceausescu regime had been overturned, the world could witness ABC’s 20/20 documentary on Romanian Orphans. The shocking TV images gave rise to many initiatives to “save the children”. Most often started with best intentions, help to Romanian orphans during the 1990′s lead to a soaring market of international adoption.
Especially after 1997, when a point system was introduced, the Romanian adoption market was booming. With this system, adoption agencies could earn points by investing in social services. When enough points would be gathered the agencies would be given a child for international adoptions.
Late 1990′s the European Union had started the Phare project, which aimed at reforming Romania’s child protection system, needed for its accession to the EU. This project focused on closing down large institutions, setting up a foster care system and implementation of family preservation.
Against this background Roelie Post started her work for the European Commission, on changing the European Union’s projects for Romanian children, a job she held for eight years. Those eight years she describes in detail in her book: Romania – For Export Only.
From the onset she makes clear how the adoption lobby has one primary interest, delivering as many babies as possible to the adoption industry, all in the name of a child’s best interest.
The French business man Francois de Combret sets the stage in the story that reveals itself in the 270 pages of the book. With black and white pictures, showing horribly underfed Romanian Orphans, he bombards media and authorities to raise funds for his organization Sera. The pictures, not representing current Romanian situations, were actually taken years before Romanian child care reform had started.
De Combret has an adoption agenda and Post’s book unravels the workings of that agenda. She shows how several projects by NGO’s affiliated to or working with adoption agencies are doing little to improve child care facilities in Romania, but mainly focus on keeping status quo, while preparing babies for adoption.
The book takes an interesting turn when in 2001 Romania’s moratorium on international adoption starts, leading to 2004′s adoption laws. Because many adoption agencies working in Romania had already assigned children to prospective parents, the moratorium led to pressure from several countries on Romania to stop its moratorium.
Roelie Post takes us to conferences, diplomatic meetings and shows how trade negotiations and NATO accession negotiations were used to put pressure on Romania to change adoption regulations. We meet Baroness Nicholson, Special Rapporteur for Romania’s accession to the EU, who played a crucial rol in the 2004 Romanian adoption law and the moratorium leading to it. Post sketches a knowledgeable picture of the Baroness and reveals many of the political ins and outs of the political arena this British Member of European Parliament operated in.
She takes us to Romanian institutions too and tells us about the situations she meets, varying from maternities run by American adoption agencies, institutions with Renault “everywhere” and orphanages that don’t really care about the babies, because they will be adopted soon anyway.
Towards the end, the book takes a grim turn, when Roelie Post tells us about constant threats made against her. The pressure around her builds up as the Romanian accession reaches its deadline. Candid and well documented she describes how she eventually is forced to leave her job, due to political pressure on the adoption agenda.
Romania – For Export Only is a captivating book. I read it cover to cover over the week-end. It is a very well documented account in diary style of the wheelings and dealings over the access to Romanian orphans. At times it can be a tough read, because she gives many details of the Romanian case. Fortunately the book is much more than cold facts and figures. Roelie Post keeps closely focused on the child’s best interest, both in her work and in the story she has to tells us.
This book unravels not only the mechanism behind adoption, but also how the interests of rich parties dominate politics. The Dutch version of the book might be easier to read than the English one. Much recommended.
Applause for Ms. Post and her colleagues who stood up for what is morally right, against aggressive and powerful parties. If we could have counted on the fact that your kind is the only one, we might have voted YES [for the European Convention].
http://antiadoptie.blogspot.com
I have only just begun reading Roelie’s book. I cannot wait to complete it to write a full review.For now, I can say: This is a MUST READ for anyone interested in adoption or child welfare….especially anyone from one of the “importing” countries who is planning to adopt. It is “an insiders” view of the corruption and bureaucratic failures.Those of us in the industrialized world who think adoption is a win-win way to ‘save” and ‘rescue” babies need to read this! Every movie star should be MADE to read it!
Mirah Riben, author of “Shedding light on…The Dark Side of Adoption” and “The Stork market America’s Multi-Billion Dollar Adoption Industry”
