Jyoti (37) from Deventer and Yanien (50) from Apeldoorn about temporary adoption ban: 'Trade must stop'

A temporary ban on the adoption of children from abroad is a step in the right direction. But it does not give Jyoti Weststrate (37) from Deventer a sense of justice. For Yanien Veenendaal (50) from Apeldoorn, it feels like a small victory.

They let this know in response to the decision by outgoing minister Sander Dekker (Legal Protection) to immediately suspend the adoption of children from abroad. That became known Monday morning.

In the opinion on the Dutch adoption culture and the role of the government in this, reference is made to 'serious abuses'. According to Dekker, the Dutch government has fallen short of looking away from abuses for years. The committee identified child theft, child trafficking, corruption, forgery and theft of documents, unethical acts of civil servants and the transfer of children to the Netherlands under false pretenses.

Presented to a priest

Weststrate was about 2 years old, although she does not rule out the fact that she was older, when she was taken away from her biological parents in India and 'given' to a priest . She ended up in Zutphen, where questions about her origins have been waiting for answers for a lifetime. Now she tries to expose abuses in international adoption.

Behind the adoptions lies so much suffering, the abuses are gigantic. As long as identities of children are being mixed up, it must be stopped immediately

The Joustra committee focused mainly on adoptions of children from Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Much to Weststrate's dismay. She previously sent a letter to Joustra to also bring India with her. “125 files of adoptees in India were found at the Dutch permit holder. It is best to research this. There are a lot of strange things in those files. ”

Conversation with the minister

Previously, researcher Peter Daalmans reported to her that the committee did not investigate individual adoptees like Weststrate. She will not stop there. She asked Minister Sander Dekker for an interview, but received no response.

The recommendations to temporarily halt adoption give her mixed feelings. “On the one hand, it is a good statement. Behind the adoptions lies so much suffering, the abuses are gigantic. As long as children's identities are being mixed up, it should be stopped. But the fact that India has not been included bothers me. ''

Yanien found her mother

Yanien Veenendaal was kidnapped from Java at the age of 10 for adoption to the Netherlands. After a call on Indonesian television, she found her biological mother. "I have different emotions, but I finally feel that we are supported and that feels like recognition."

She doesn't need an official apology, she wants more than just sweet words. “Recognition alone is not enough. Now it is the case that we have to pay ourselves to find out where your family is. But there must be a subsidy to be able to find your family. That is not easy, you often do not know where your roots are. ''

Is there fair adoption?

According to Weststrate, there are hardly any 'fair' adoptions. As far as she is concerned, a temporary stop will be turned into a permanent ban. “When a lot of money is involved, trade is created. That has to stop. If parents have died or are unable to take care of their child, you have to find carers in the country itself.

Now it is the case that we have to pay for the crimes that have been committed ourselves, to find out where your family is

Yanien Veenendaal

Veenendaal shares that opinion. “There is no watchdog. You have to deal with different countries and so much goes wrong. Even today. The system will never be 100 percent waterproof. I had already given up hope a bit, but this is a form of recognition. ''

After the exhibition also a podcast and a documentary about Jyoti

The story of Jyoti Weststrate was shown at the end of last year in the exhibition Power to the Models in the Stedelijk Museum Breda. She is also working on a podcast and a documentary, for which she is leaving for India later this year. “In this way I want to provide insight into the problem. It's about me and the other children of the home where we come from. ”

By using milk cartons with photos of adopted children like Jyoti herself, whose files have been lost, she hopes to find her family. “We make a milk carton with Project Milkbox for each seeking adoptee and offer it at specific points around the orphanage, refugee camps and hospitals in India, for example. In this way we increase the chance of finding our families. A DNA test can take place if possible. Maybe I wasn't helped, but someone else was. ”

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