Dutch nun (89) accused of baby robbery: she told mothers that their child was stillborn

Dutch nun (89) accused of baby robbery: she told mothers that their child was stillborn.

CHILI

An 89-year-old Dutch nun is accused of baby theft and illegal adoption from Chile. In the 1970s and 1980s, she would have taken children without permission from the mothers for adoption in the Netherlands. Some Chilean adoptees and mothers have filed a report in recent years.

September 1979. An underage mother is admitted to the hospital in Paillaco, southern Chile, with her newborn son. She gave birth at home but lost a lot of blood. When the mother wants to breastfeed the next day, a Dutch nun and a Chilean social worker tell her that her baby has died. She can't see him anymore, his little body is already gone.

The 'deceased' baby ? Alejandro Quezada ? is, in fact, very much alive. He is now 43 years old and lives near Amsterdam. “My mother hated that she wasn't even allowed to take me to say goodbye. Because she started screaming, they drugged her. She came to three days later."

While his mother mourns the supposed death of her young son, Gertrudis takes Quezada to her childhood home.

The 'Dutch nun' has been identified in Chilean media for years as Sister Gertrudis. She has lived in Chile since 1971 and opened the children's home Las Palmas in Santiago at the end of 1976. There she takes care of children of mothers who work during the week, but also children who have been 'abandoned' by their parents and are being put up for adoption.

Her sister in the Netherlands sets up a foundation. Thanks to campaigns via the media and churches, donations are pouring in. Gertrudis' work is widely praised. She was knighted in the 1980s and readers of the Algemeen Dagblad choose the 'saving angel in Chile' for a jubilee prize from the newspaper. She receives a check for more than a thousand euros, which is spent on expanding the home.

.