Foreign Adoption Resisted - Affected Countries Have Strict Rules

By Phuong Ly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 14, 2005; Page A13

The calls keep pouring in, some from people who never thought about adoption before, some from prospective parents who now want to consider a child from overseas, all from families eager to take in an orphan from a tsunami-ravaged land.

The response from many adoption agencies and lawyers in the Washington region has been: thanks, but no.

An estimated 1.5 million children were affected by the Dec. 26 tsunami -- many of whom lost one or both parents -- but the United Nations and governments of the South Asian countries say the strong interest in adoption from overseas could be premature and, ultimately, harmful.

"There'll be nothing like getting a kid over here and then finding out later that there's a parent," said Carl Jenkins, a Rockville lawyer who specializes in international adoption cases. "In this kind of chaotic situation, you don't have the necessary documentation to meet the requirements."

There has been at least one case of child trafficking in Indonesia, confirmed by UNICEF. And a Virginia-based missionary group came under criticism this week for its plan to move 300 "tsunami orphans" from the Muslim province of Banda Aceh to a Christian home in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital.

The Indonesian government, which has imposed restrictions on the movement of children, said it did not know about the missionary group's efforts. Soon after the tsunami, Indonesian officials said they would not allow children younger than 16 to leave Aceh unless they are with their parents or registered with authorities.

Many South Asian countries have strict rules regarding adoption by overseas parents, and several local agencies said they do not have a history of working in the places affected by the tsunami.

At Adoptions Together, an agency with offices in Silver Spring and Baltimore, workers say they are telling callers to consider orphans from other countries.

Sandy Rappeport, the agency's director of international adoptions, said that in the tsunami-affected countries, many relatives probably would want to raise any orphaned children. Some may have lost their own children in the disaster, which claimed more than 150,000 lives.

"There's very strong extended-family ethic in the culture. Aunts and uncles and relatives would certainly take the children and raise them and love them," Rappeport said.

"We would never want to interfere with that."

In India and Thailand, adoptions are often done locally, and overseas couples are preferred only if they are of Thai or Indian heritage. The Malaysian government does not allow non-Muslims to adopt Muslim children. Indonesia requires prospective parents to be residents of that country for a minimum of two years.

The Joint Council on International Children's Services, based in Alexandria, states on its Web site that although people interested in adopting from the region may be well-intentioned, "it is rarely possible or advisable, at least in the short term."

The group, which oversees international adoption organizations, said it could take months before the governments in those countries can determine whether a child is truly an orphan.

Many families were separated and may be at different refugee camps.

Adoptions also require a vast amount of paperwork from the governments of countries involved, and many records have simply been washed out to sea.

Also, with many children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, an international adoption so soon would not be in their best interest, the council said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A7848-2005Jan13

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