Adoptive mother of children from the Congo: "I couldn't have children because of cancer. The fear and uncertainty were immense"

The adoptive parents are suffering and explain that they waited in vain for years to have a Croatian child before they decided to go abroad. "There is an unacceptable hunting of people," said the 44-year-old.

Due to the complex bureaucracy and the small number of children for adoption in their country, some Croats turn abroad. But the recent arrest of four couples in Zambia reveals the inconveniences that can be encountered in complicated countries, writes French AFP about the case that raised a storm in Croatia.

Eight Croats were arrested in December when they were trying to leave Zambia with four children from DR Congo. In the meantime, they were accused of human trafficking .

An official of the Congolese Ministry for Gender Equality, Family and Children told AFP that people smugglers may have "stole" the children, who were then taken to Croatian adoptive parents.

Croatian adoptive parents believe, on the other hand, that they have proper Congolese documents.

The whole case has caused concern among the Croatian authorities and citizens of the Catholic country with less than four million inhabitants, in which there are heated discussions about the morality of adopting children in poor countries, writes AFP.

The scandal is particularly damaging to Croats who have already adopted children from DR Congo. Accusations of "buying" minors and "pedophilia" flooded the media and social networks.

Verified: ?ur?ica Krmeli?, adoptive mother

The Provveren reporter spoke with three families who adopted children from the DR Congo: "My daughter told me that she was afraid that someone would ask if I bought her."

"If you pay thousands (of dollars) for adoption, there is only one name for it: child trafficking!" is one of the headlines published in Ve?ernji list, reports the French agency.

Adoptive parents feel ostracized.

In the past decade, Croatian families have adopted between 93 and 131 children from the Congo, depending on different Croatian sources.

Fear and uncertainty

The adoptive parents explained to AFP that they had lost hope that they would be able to adopt a child in Croatia, so they decided on that African country, where two-thirds of the 100 million inhabitants live below the poverty line.

In Croatia, they encountered a long bureaucratic path, and there are few children for adoption.

But they admitted the process was stressful, starting with having to travel to third countries like Zambia and Kenya to pick up the children because of what they claim is instability in the DR Congo.

"Uncertainty and fear were huge, we didn't know if everything would end well," said one woman who adopted several children from the DR Congo, talking about many sleepless nights.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she had been working with a Congolese lawyer to gather a raft of documents so she could finalize the adoption.

"I wanted to be a mother," she emphasized and explained that she could not have biological children due to cancer.

"There are many children who need a family."

But since the arrest of four couples in Zambia, difficult questions have been raised about the regularity of the adoption process.

It is not possible to adopt children from DR Congo

Since 2017, foreigners are not legally allowed to adopt children, Gauthier Luyela, director of child protection at the Ministry of Gender Equality, Family and Children, told AFP in Kinshasa.

The Family Law was revised and pending the establishment of an agency for international adoptions, they were suspended.

Vesna Vu?emilovi?

The head of the parliamentary committee: "No one in Croatia knows how many children were adopted from DR Congo."

"It is not possible to consider any international adoption," he said.

Gauthier Luyela also denied that adoptive parents could be entitled to any exception.

"It applies equally to everyone, it is not decided on a case-by-case basis. I don't know how they managed to get decisions," he said, referring to the arrested Croats.

He said that it is possible that smugglers "stole" people's children from their parents before bringing them to Croatian families.

DR Congo has long been a very poor country, affected by armed conflicts in the east of the country and widespread corruption. According to Transparency International, the country is 166th out of 180 countries in the world when it comes to the perception of corruption.

Illegal hunting of people

The Croatian parents claim that they thought they had received proper Congolese papers.

"If it was illegal, why didn't the authorities ask questions or prevent it?" asks one adoptive mother.

The Croatian authorities have promised to help those arrested, whose trial in Zambia will begin at the beginning of March.

"The situation is serious and I am worried," Croatian Justice Minister Ivan Malenica said recently .

"We are in contact with the ministers in Zambia and are trying to help in all possible ways."

At the same time, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovi? called on Croats to avoid hate speech directed against the transgender defendant.

"I condemn such attacks, especially when it comes to children," he said.

In the meantime, the adoptive parents suffer, explaining that they waited in vain for many years to have a Croatian child before they decided to go abroad.

"There is an unacceptable hunting of people," said Ana, a 44-year-old lawyer from Zagreb, who is hiding behind a pseudonym.

She is still trying to adopt a child in Croatia, but there has been no progress for years.

"My phone isn't ringing," she said.

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