courtesy: clay jar
First it was Malawi, now Uganda.
Adoption in the African subcontinent is a humanitarian affair, but at times certain locales suddenly become adoption hot spots, and that raises concerns that these countries might be allowing too many adoptions for reasons other than the welfare of the children involved.
Uganda is caught in a crunch: poverty, staggering and endless, and a very high birth rate. That translates in an unusually high number of children who are eligible for adoption due to neglect of the parent or outright abandonment.
After Russia loudly protested about its adoption policy and banned all outgoing adoptions destined to the US, Uganda is now suddenly a viable option.
China too has seen a tightening of the qualifications and a lengthening of the adoption procedure, which makes adoption daunting and lengthy.
Uganda then, is an alternative which promises a quick reward, since its adoption policies are somewhat lax, and the lapse of time between the request and the surrender of the child sometimes takes only a few months.
And that is because Uganda is not a participating member of The Hague international convention, which sets forth stringent rules for international adoptions.
No one can deny that most of the adopted children do find a better life after adoption, but the sudden uptick in numbers is troubling.
One of the things that is worrying international observers is the fact that Ugandan poor are so unaware of the adoption process that in most cases they do not understand what it means and the fact that it is permanent.
What however, is coming under scrutiny is the swirl of agencies and adoption centers around the business of adoption. This of course raises the red flag of the possibility adoption for luchre. If anyone has any doubt, all they have to look at is the exploding number of orphanages in the country. There are people that actually scout slums or impoverished areas and find children they think might be coveted and convince the villages to give them up.
There are in Uganda alone, almost 2.4 million orphans.
Local watchdog authorities are concerned: Ugandan children are being exploited in their eyes and too many are leaving. Ugandan children should not have to leave Uganda and their parents should not be so easily led to surrender them, in their opinion.
Source: Turner Broadcasting Network 3.2.13
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