The Adoptee Rights Demonstration Update

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Hello everyone!

July 22nd is fast approaching! Here is the update for the Adoptee Rights Day demonstration in New Orleans. We will be posting frequent updates so folks will be in the loop with schedules and what the plan of action is for the next two months, and while in New Orleans attending the demonstration and Exhibitors Booth.

New Orleans demonstration updates:

• The permit for Lafayette Square has been paid for and is in our possession.
• The demonstration and march will be held Tuesday July 22nd beginning at 9:00 am (more details soon).
• The Exhibitors Booth has been paid for and the Adoptee Rights Committee will be in booth #246 on the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday following the demonstration.
• We have received over $3000 in donations! Thanks to everyone for supporting ARD.  Our goal for a full page ad in the print version of the New Orleans Times-Picayune listing adult adoptees and their friends and family who support adoptee rights is still in progress, if you haven’t done so already add your name to the list!
• To add your name and/or supporting ARD go here: DONATE TODAY!
• A writing campaign to Legislators starts on Friday June 6th (information and instructions will be available on the evening of the 5th).
• We are asking for volunteers to assist the organizers while at the event, if you can help us out in New Orleans please let us know.
• If you haven’t done so already hop on over to our mailing list where you can get immediate updates about our Writing Campaign starting tomrrow Friday June 6th, as well as interaction with all of the other protesters and supporters of Open Records and the Demonstration.
• ***We regret to inform people that Bastard Nation is no longer one of the Adoptee Rights Day sponsors. We wish them well and thank them for their efforts thus far. **
• The days are counting down and the time is near, so much work is coming together and it couldn’t have been possible without you.

Thank you.

The Adoptee Rights Committee

For any questions about the demonstration, please contact admin@adopteerights.net

A Case For Adoption Reform

Straight from the horse’s mouth.

I’d like to thank Lori Tay, a somewhat recent commenter to Anti-Adoption, for her very honest and poignant comment.  It took a lot of courage and guts for her to be so truthful about how infertile couples TRULY feel about adoption and the little adoptees they may someday choose to bring into their lives, and I think it’s this type of hard-hitting, brutal honesty that we all need to see exactly why adoption isn’t the great thing that it’s hyped up to be.

Thank you, Lori.  Honestly.

For those of you who haven’t seen Lori’s comment, here it is, copied for you:

Anti-adoption advocates hate infertile couples in general, seeing us as the problem. What they fail to realize is that many, many infertile couples have NO desire at all to adopt. For us, adoption would only be a VERY LAST RESORT.

That’s right, birthmothers - your child would be a last resort for us, whether you like that or not. Your child is not the great prize you may think he is. What most of us want most is our own biological child!

Thank God for advances in reproductive medicine. IVF success rates are improving all the time. I predict in the future there will be a lot fewer people adopting or fostering children, because they will be able to have their own child.

What Lori said is so deep and profound, it makes one wonder why ANYONE would place an innocent child in the home of an infertile couple.  Kind of dispels the myth of the “win-win” situation, doesn’t it?

But what Lori brings up here is a fact that far too many adoptees already know…that we really ARE second best, we ARE the last resort, that our adopters really would have rather had their own.  Too many adoptees are growing up in homes where they are not treated well, are not loved, and are, well, to put it frankly, either physically or emotionally abused because their adopters chose the consolation prize…adoption.

Thanks Lori for bringing it to us straight from the infertile horse’s mouth.  What so many adoptees have tried to say, and has fallen on deaf ears, might finally be heard from the infertile mouth itself.

DON’T stop telling your truth, please.

How in the world could any adoption agency or social worker in good conscience, ever place a child in the home of someone with this much anger and animosity toward that very child?  But it happens, it happens every day, and who pays the price?  That innocent baby.  That second choice, that last resort, pays the price for not being the biological offspring that their adopters wanted SO badly.

And if we complain, if we want to know OUR biological family, oh boy, do we hear about it.  Shut up and be grateful, don’t hurt your adopters, you know the drill.  Can’t win either way.

So it’s attitudes like this that lurk just below the surface…hidden, festering, simmering, eating away, but only a few, like Lori, have the guts to be honest about it.

I wish more did.

Maybe then we’d stop ripping families apart just so that someone else could get their consolation prize, and what little consolation it turns out to be.

Wellsville couple retain custody of toddler - Salt Lake Tribune

I am furious. I will be writing a letter to someone, somewhere about this. The judge, the editor, this is an outrage. When will adoptees and the fate of our lives matter? To our home countries, to our adopted states, this is an outrage. A complete outrage! Of COURSE its from Utah, the most corrupted state for adoption of all.

Focus on Children adoption
Wellsville couple retain custody of toddler
Kansas family argues that new evidence called for another look at child’s placement
By Pamela Manson
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 05/21/2008 09:15:22 AM MDT

LOGAN — A 1st District judge declined Tuesday to reopen a case that gave custody of a toddler from China to Scott and Karen Banks, of Wellsville.
A lawyer for a Kansas couple who want to adopt the 3 1/2-year-old girl and an attorney appointed to protect her interests both argued to Judge Stanton Taylor that newly discovered evidence - recent claims by a teacher that an adopted son of the Bankses had been neglected - called for another look at what would be the best placement for the child.
Both attorneys said a teacher contacted them after reading about Taylor’s decision at the end of a February trial to award custody to the Utah pair. The woman contended that a boy with cerebral palsy who had been adopted years ago by the Bankses had teeth in such bad condition that he cried when he tried to eat, according to the lawyers.
In addition, Steven Kuhnhausen, who represents Curry and Mary Frances Kirkpatrick, of Overland Park, Kan., said the teacher told him that she had learned the boy was fed table scraps at home.
“The past is the best predictor of the future,” Kuhnhausen said in arguing for the chance to present more evidence on the best placement for the girl.
Marlin Grant, the Bankses’ attorney, denied the allegations and said an investigation by the Division of Child and Family Services in 2002 found that a report by the boy’s teachers of possible neglect was
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unsubstantiated.
Taylor cited that finding in his rejection of the request to reopen the case.
The decision made moot an additional request by Roger Baron, an attorney with the state guardian ad litem’s office who represents the girl, for evaluations of the Bankses and Kirkpatricks. Baron said he is concerned because both couples have a background of getting children and giving them away.
The adoption of the girl - called Amanda Mei by the Bankses and Ameyla Frances by the Kirkpatricks - was arranged for the Kansas couple by Focus on Children, an agency operated by the Bankses.
Soon after the then-14-month-old came into their household in December 2005, she began biting and hitting the Kirkpatricks’ twin infants. With Mary Frances suffering from postpartum depression, the Kirkpatricks said they asked the Bankses in June 2006 to arrange respite care.
They contend they tried to revoke the arrangement a few weeks later, but the Bankses refused. The Bankses, who had brought the child to their home, claim the Kirkpatricks abandoned her and filed a petition to adopt.
At the trial, Kuhnhausen argued that criminal charges pending against the Utahns could send them to prison and leave the girl without her caretakers.
He also pointed out that three of the Bankses’ adopted children, all born in Romania, had been sent away from their household.
Two of them were sent at a young age to live with a friend in America Samoa, and the Bankses had not seen them since, Kuhnhausen said. He said the third child, the boy with cerebral palsy, was placed in a Utah County care facility when he was 12.
Scott and Karen Banks have testified that the boy and girl sent overseas, who are 18 now, had an attachment disorder. The child with cerebral palsy became too big for them to handle, according to the couple.
Taylor declined to grant an adoption to the Bankses while criminal charges are pending against them but instead gave them custody. The judge said that if they are acquitted or the charges are dropped, they can file an affidavit with the court and the adoption will be granted.

Adoption Corruption - Preet Mandir and associates

I read this article tonight and I thought it would be the perfect time to start tracking more corruption in the industry.

If you start to research adoption agencies you’ll begin to see these umbrella-style associations between a LOT of groups of agencies. I’ve been checking into agencies for my own personal interest for about a year now and I have learned a lot! Let me tell YOU something!

Many people aren’t aware that 990 forms are available online for public viewing. 990 forms are the account of agencies expenses and salaries for any given year of operation. I find this tool to be incredibly useful when I want to look into an adoption agency, and I usually start looking into agencies when they come up in the headlines of my google news alerts. So after you’re done reading this, your homework assignment ( because I’m too tired and ready to go to bed ) will be to 990 form search the below agencies and see how much their Directors and CEO’s are making. No director of any non profit adoption agency should be making 6 digits annually, in my opinion.

During my research for an upcoming show on Vietnam, I wanted to find what agencies were linked between countries coming up with numerous accounts of reported corruption. I found 3 agencies in Guatemala and Vietnam: (Adoption Priorities, Adoptions from the Heart, and Journeys of the Heart Adoption Services.)(There could be more, I may not know how to track all of them, I’m still new to this.)

I wanted to find agencies working in both countries because on a *hunch* I think that child traffickers who are in it for the money, would be in as many places, as they could, making as much as they could, while the holes in the system remain wide open. Although I haven’t uncovered “child trafficking” rings between the above 3 agencies, they did lead me to some interesting discoveries which I’m about to reveal to you below.

A bit of history first:

Sardar Joginder Singh Bhasin is the director of an foundation called Preet Mandir. To my knowledge this foundation facilitates 4 organizations / agencies: AC International Child Support (AC Børnehjælp), Family for You, Adoptions from the Heart, and Meiling ) A simple google of Preet Mandir and up pops many accounts of child trafficing. Despite numerous significant documentations of corruption Preet Mandir keeps getting licensed and continues practice. It is even alleged that he has paid the hotel bill for the head of CARA. *PAP ALERT* This is nobody to be doing business with especially when its the business of children.

Adoptions from the Heart (One of the agencies in Guatemala and Vietnam)

Adoptions from the heart not to long ago mentioned that they were working with Preet Mandir on Project India to provide a home to 100 orphans and another home for mothers.

I emailed them yesterday(5/19/0 inquiring about the status of Project India and their relations with Preet Mandir. They replied today and said that they hadn’t been working with Preet Mandir for some time and never had any donations for project India.

A quick review of their agency on Adoption Agency Ratings shows that there are many unhappy “customers” even on the adoptive parents side of things. Calling them “Adoptions from the Heartless”, “miserable experience” “run the other way” and “not recommended.”

This agency continues to operate in: PA,NJ,VA,DE, Kazakhstan,Ukraine,Russia, China(applications on hold),Guatemala(applications on hold), Vietnam(no longer taking application), and India(no new applications accepted.)

They are a member of the Joint Council on International Adoptions, as well as accredited by China Center of Adoption Affairs. They are also a member of Three Rivers Adoption Council(along side of Adopt-A-Child Inc and Bethany Christian Services)

Journey of the Heart Adoption Services
(Another agency in Guatemala and Vietnam)

They operate in Portland, Oregon, Chicago, Illinois, Seattle, Washington, and Honolulu, Hawaii although they can work with anyone in any of our 50 states. They handle international adoptions in Guatemala ( not currently,)Vietnam (not anymore,) Taiwan, and Samoa.

They have been accredited by CARA and CCAA and worked with AMREX (more on Amrex below.)They’ve worked with Hands of heart ( busted in 2001 for child “lifting”)as well as worked with Madras Social Service Guild (busted w/ Hands of Heart in 2001.)*Inside sources* have also told me they’re affiliated with New Hope Child and Family Agency, an agency now closed, once linked to a CPS worker also on paid salary with the agency, alledgedly bringing in children for adoption. This however hasn’t stopped the US Department of State from accrediting them.

Family For You(Preet Mandir affiliation)

Founded by Petra Fembek in 2000. They have a history of relations with AMREX and Crossroads Adoption Services and Precious Moments(Petra adopted through PM). If you don’t know about Amrex, read here. Family For You, is a member of Euradopt They also founded the CCC, Child Care Center in Ethiopia. They have been accreditted by CARA, ICAB(Inter-country adoption board), Slovac Republic, Department of S. Africa( I can’t find a site for them, anyone got one?) and The Moldovan Adoption Committee(no site for them either.)

As you can see form the “history of relations” they’re not doing “humanitarian” work.

Meiling(Preet Mandir affiliation)

Also a member of Euradopt, sponsored Christ Faith Home for Children, Accredited by CARA and CCAA, and the Ministry of Justice in the Netherlands. What I’ll be focusing on tonight though, is its connection to the Malaysian Social Services.

The Malaysian Social Services facilitates adoptions in Malaysia for Meiling, and Pauquette Children Services. CARA has also accredited The MSS.

I am almost to my point…

May 17th an article came out in the India Times called Adoption Kingpins in CBI cradle covering :

Making fresh breakthrough in the illegal child adoption case, the sleuths of CBI’s anti-corruption bureau on Friday arrested the chairperson of Malaysian Social Service Agency (MSSA) and its manager Somasundaram. Both Vatsala and Somasundaram were arrested by the central crime branch of city police in 2005 during a crackdown on MSSA’s illegal activities including kidnapping and selling of children to couples abroad.

and more…

In May 2005(article here), the crime branch of the city police had arrested Somasundaram, Vatsala and Ravindranath along with 10 others. Somasundaram was charged with signing fake documents to help the agency sell about 40 children to foreign couples and for his involvement in the kidnap of a child from a government hospital in Salem in 1999. The cases of illegal adoption came to light in the first week of May 2005, when the Otteri police received specific information about kidnapping of children from residential areas. They busted the racket, exposing the malpractice in child adoption

My point being, when in the heck are the governements going to open up their eyes and stop “accrediting” these agencies, and allowing them to continue practice ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD? I am convinced that the government of the US could care less about its children, the US hasn’t even enacted the convention on the rights to the child. Is it even illegal to sell a child in the United States? I recently watched a speech and presentation called “What really happened in Cambodia” by Richard Cross, Federal Senior Special Agenct for US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. He was on the case of Cambodia adoption scandals of Lauryn Galindo and Lynn Devin(google them for taste of vomit in your own mouth. Busted for child trafficking, hid over a million dollars in cash, children found with dried feces on them, crying, no care, falsified documents and child trafficking and she gets 18 months in jail aka a slap on the wrist.)Just minutes into his presentation he talks about how human trafficking doesn’t deal with baby buying, that you can’t get charged w/ baby buying in the United States and most people don’t understand that. Its not illegal.

I repeat: Its not illegal.

All of these agencies I’ve written about tonight are a pinch of the corruption in the industry. These types of “crime rings” are all over the place. They’re getting away with it, because we’re letting them.

Tighter laws, no accreditation, adoption agency monitors, all of this needs to start happening MORE. We can’t give people slaps on the wrist for taking away hundreds of identities of children, for stealing children from families and separating families who want to be together. Making millions off of innocent families and raping them of their heritage is not okay. This is worth far more time in prison than consequences currently being given. Some just have licenses “suspended” able to pick up practice 2, or 3 years later and start again. What is going on here? When are child traffickers going to be held accountable? REALLY held accountable? I mean, no more practice, 25 to LIFE in prison, “you take my life, I take yours” type of punishment?

Enough is enough!

I challenge everyone to think outside of the conventional american adoption box tonight and give some ideas on what you would like to see implemented into law to make the act of providing for a child who needs providing for ( separate from his/her natural family ) ETHICAL?

We have got to start somewhere. Because somewhere, right NOW a child has been stolen from her family, and she is crying for them and she wants to go home. Somewhere a child is sitting in a puddle of urine with a freakin child trafficker in possession of her, and these people need to be stopped. They need to be stopped NOW not tomorrow, not next week, not a slap on the wrist and allow them to continue, it is time to stop them NOW.

Sometimes…

When I’ve been looking at adoption, and humanities involvement in it, I want to give up, because for a moment my faith dwindles. How can you fight against THAT MUCH evil. I dream for a minute about helping Polar Bears through WWF instead.

www.giveWWF.org

Its almost too late.