Logo gvaCan adoption still be justified after the big scandals? “No one has the right to a child, but children do have rights”

0 Catholic adoption agencies pressured unmarried mothers to give up their newborn child. In three episodes, investigative journalist David Van Turnhout examines these practices, but he also looks at the consequences and the current situation. Today he speaks with Benoît Vermeerbergen of Binnenlands Geadoptteerd.

From 1945 to 1980, Catholic adoption agencies such as Thérèse Wante organised thousands of forced adoptions. Unmarried pregnant girls were usually put in touch with centres through clergy or Christian organisations where they had to hide during their pregnancy, because becoming pregnant without being married was a mortal sin. Those who had enough money to spare could give birth anonymously in France, after which the child was smuggled back across the border and placed with a Catholic adoptive family. In this way, they wanted to prevent the pregnancy from ever coming out and society from speaking shame about the girl's family. Those who were less well-off were often sent to Belgian centres, such as De kleine vos in Borgerhout or Tamar in Lommel. The birth was discreet, but not anonymous, as the mother's name was then mentioned on the birth certificate. In France, the mother's name was not mentioned on the birth certificate.

A total of 30 to 40,000 girls and young women are estimated to have given birth in domestic and French centres and hospitals. The number of adopted children still alive today may therefore be in the tens of thousands. Almost all adopted children have questions about their origins and identity. Their search prompted them to unite. In the meantime, there are Facebook groups in which thousands of members try to help each other find their biological mothers. Their cry for attention led to the first recognition in 2015. Both the Belgian state and the Church apologized for the practices they had organised and made possible for decades.

Mother known for 2.5 hoursApologies do not answer the many questions. To help adoptees and birth mothers, Benoît Vermeerbergen De Coninck and Debby Mattys founded the website and support group Binnenlands Geadopteerd around the same time. “With our platform, we primarily offer a listening ear, but we also stand up for the rights of domestic adoptees. We also include people who were brought to Belgium via an anonymous birth in France,” says Vermeerbergen De Coninck. “There were already a few initiatives for adoptees from far abroad, but not for our group.”Vermeerbergen himself was born via an anonymous birth in France and ended up with an Antwerp adoptive family. Although he grew up in a warm nest, the search for his identity and his birth mother dominated his adult life. It was only a few years ago that he met his birth mother for the first time, who was terminally ill. It was just one meeting. “Her husband didn’t allow any further contact. I didn’t know my birth mother for more than two and a half hours.”Benoit Vermeerbergen De Coninck.Benoit Vermeerbergen De Coninck. © Patrick De Roo

Just like with my birth mother, talking about forced adoption is very sensitive and difficult. After all, you must not forget that these events were covered up for decadesBenoît Vermeerbergen De ConinckAdopted DomesticallyVermeerbergen now shares his own experience with fellow sufferers as much as possible. “On our website, binnengeadopteerd.be, we provide advice on commercial DNA tests, genealogical research and adoption files. We do not do research ourselves, but we do guide people to the Ancestry Centre.” He also works there as a trajectory supervisor. “The Ancestry Centre was established in 2019 through a Flemish decree,” he says. “The centre offers professional services from psychological guidance and mediation to supporting DNA research. I guide and support adoptees throughout their entire search, but I also mediate between the parties involved. This is often necessary because some do not want to talk about the past. Just like with my birth mother, talking about forced adoption is very sensitive and difficult. After all, you must not forget that those events were covered up for decades. A lot of emotions come into play in such a process. Fortunately, I do manage to keep enough distance. Otherwise I would not be able to continue doing this. The biggest advantage of my own experience is that adoptees sometimes need fewer words to understand each other.”

Name changeIn addition to offering assistance, the defense of rights and the fight for recognition are the most important spearheads of Binnenlands Geadoptteerd. For example, Vermeerbergen De Coninck wants to make it possible for adoptees to change their family name. He recently did this himself by having the name of his birth mother, De Coninck, added to the surname of his adoptive father, Vermeerbergen. However, that did not go smoothly. “At the registry office I first received a no. I then sent my file, including the results of a comparative DNA test with my half-brother and aunt, to the Minister of Justice. Despite the negative advice from the administration, Minister Van Tigchelt approved the name change by royal decree. For me it is a wonderful recognition and a tribute to my birth mother. I hope to find a solution for other adoptees who are looking for recognition through their name.”Nobody belongs to anybody. If there is one thing we have learned from the past and the trafficking of children by figures such as Thérèse Wante, it is that children are not commoditiesBenoît Vermeerbergen De ConinckDomestically AdoptedFormer Minister of Justice Paul Van Tigchelt.Former Minister of Justice Paul Van Tigchelt. © Nicolas Maeterlinck

“Nobody belongs to anybody”Finally, Vermeerbergen De Coninck not only stands up for adoptees, but also for future adopted children. “For decades, politicians have been advocating the possibility of giving birth discreetly. This means that their children will never be able to find out who their birth mother is without their permission. This goes directly against the rights of the child. Everyone has the right to know who their parents are and it is not up to society to deprive them of this. If we do, we will continue to saddle new generations with the same questions and traumas.”Vermeerbergen De Coninck goes even further and openly asks himself whether adoption is always the best solution. “I am not radically against adoption, but why don’t we look more often at other options, such as foster care for example? I understand that many people want to have children, but we must never forget that children have rights and that having a child is not a right in itself. Nobody belongs to anybody. “If we have learned one thing from the past, and the trafficking of children by figures such as Thérèse Wante, it is that children are not commodities,” he concludes.

Call for witnessesDo you have more information about this case or about the activities of Thérèse Wante and would you like to say something about it? Please contact investigative journalist David Van Turnhout via david@defeiten.be. We guarantee the necessary discretion.If you have questions about domestic adoption, you can contact binnengeadopteerd.be or via nes.sous.x.via.wante@gmail.com.https://www.gva.be/binnenland/is-adoptie-na-de-grote-schandalen-nog-te-verantwoorden-niemand-heeft-recht-op-een-kind-maar-kinderen-hebben-wel-rechten/41832085.htmlhttps://www.gva.be/binnenland/is-adoptie-na-de-grote-schandalen-nog-te-verantwoorden-niemand-heeft-recht-op-een-kind-maar-kinderen-hebben-wel-rechten/41832085.html