Sri Lankan baby trade

Minister admits illegal adoption trade

London: Sri Lankan authorities have admitted in a Dutch documentary that thousands of babies born there were fraudulently sold for adoption abroad in the 1980s, reports BBC.

Up to 11,000 children may have been sold to European families, with both parties being given fake documents.

Some were reportedly born into "baby farms" that sold children to the West.

Sri Lanka's health minister told the Dutch current affairs programme Zembla he would set up a DNA database to help children find their birth mothers. About 4,000 children are thought to be have ended up with families in the Netherlands, with others going to other European countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the UK.

One adoptee called Rowan van Veelen, told the BBC earlier this year that he had travelled back to Sri Lanka to try to find his birth mother 27 years on.

He was part of a Netherlands-based social media network that tried to match Sri Lankan birth mothers to their estranged adopted children.

"The adopted children and the mothers got the wrong information, which makes it really hard," he explained.

"We want to make a DNA bank with all adopted children from [the] Netherlands who can search if we have siblings there.

"Then we could ask other countries like Sweden, Denmark and Germany to give their DNA also in the bank too."

The Dutch filmmakers from Zembla started looking into the allegations after the Dutch Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles

advised the government in November 2016 to consider banning foreign adoptions because of unethical practices in some of the children's origin countries.

Norbert Reinjens, a researcher for Zembla, told the BBC that they had found evidence that all kind of documents were falsified by adoption authorities - including birth certificates, the names of children and the identity of biological parents.

"In some institutions there were 'acting mothers' who were paid to pretend to be the biological parents while handing them over," he said.

In the documentary locals allege that some hospital workers worked alongside the networks. Some new mothers at a hospital in Matugama, western Sri Lanka, were reportedly told their children had died, when they were actually sold abroad for adoption.

One woman told the documentary makers she was paid 2,000 rupees (£23; $30) by someone connected to the hospital to act as a baby's mother.

Many mothers had come to the western coastal city of Negombo from all over Sri Lanka in search for answers. They had heard of a visiting group trying to find their missing children.

They had barely any documents. One mother had a picture of her child taken in 1989, but had no other information on the child's adoptive family or location.

Sri Lankan baby trade

Minister admits illegal adoption trade

London: Sri Lankan authorities have admitted in a Dutch documentary that thousands of babies born there were fraudulently sold for adoption abroad in the 1980s, reports BBC. Up to 11,000 children may have been sold to European families, with both parties being given fake documents. Some were reportedly born into baby farms that sold children to the West. Sri Lankas health minister told the Dutch current affairs programme Zembla he would set up a DNA database to help children find their birth mothers. About 4,000 children are thought to be have ended up with families in the Netherlands, with others going to other European countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the UK. One adoptee called Rowan van Veelen, told the BBC earlier this year that he had travelled back to Sri Lanka to try to find his birth mother 27 years on. He was part of a Netherlands-based social media network that tried to match Sri Lankan birth mothers to their estranged adopted children. The adopted children and the mothers got the wrong information, which makes it really hard, he explained. We want to make a DNA bank with all adopted children from [the] Netherlands who can search if we have siblings there. Then we could ask other countries like Sweden, Denmark and Germany to give their DNA also in the bank too. The Dutch filmmakers from Zembla started looking into the allegations after the Dutch Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles advised the government in November 2016 to consider banning foreign adoptions because of unethical practices in some of the childrens origin countries. Norbert Reinjens, a researcher for Zembla, told the BBC that they had found evidence that all kind of documents were falsified by adoption authorities - including birth certificates, the names of children and the identity of biological parents. In some institutions there were acting mothers who were paid to pretend to be the biological parents while handing them over, he said. In the documentary locals allege that some hospital workers worked alongside the networks. Some new mothers at a hospital in Matugama, western Sri Lanka, were reportedly told their children had died, when they were actually sold abroad for adoption. One woman told the documentary makers she was paid 2,000 rupees (23; $30) by someone connected to the hospital to act as a babys mother. Many mothers had come to the western coastal city of Negombo from all over Sri Lanka in search for answers. They had heard of a visiting group trying to find their missing children. They had barely any documents. One mother had a picture of her child taken in 1989, but had no other information on the childs adoptive family or location.