PS-Nupes MP for Tarn-et-Garonne, Valérie Rabault filed a request for a ministerial inquiry when she was approached by adoptive parents, Véronique and Jean-Noël Piaser. They discovered four years ago that the baby they had legally adopted in Sri Lanka in 1985 had been stolen from his parents. A sector that other European countries have brought to light and denounced. France, not yet…
Noting that international adoption experienced serious dysfunctions from the 1970s to the 1990s, particularly in Sri Lanka, Valérie Rabault, PS-Nupes MP for Tarn-et-Garonne, requested a ministerial inquiry. She was approached by Véronique and Jean-Noël Piaser, adoptive parents from Verdun-sur-Garonne.
They discovered four years ago that their daughter, the baby they had legally adopted in Sri Lanka in 1985, had been stolen from her parents. A cataclysm for them, parents of two first children, who saw adoption as a humanist approach. “We felt that there were enough children on the planet and that we were acting as responsible citizens by adopting a child who needed a parent.” retraces Véronique Piaser.
But when their daughter, in 2018, wants to find her biological parents, the family discovers with amazement that the child has been torn from her parents. She’s not the only one. Other countries have investigated, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the same intermediaries have been unmasked: the so-called director of the orphanage, her assistants, the locals… Everything is there. “It was the same crooks for all of Europe, explains Jean-Noël Piaser. Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium a fortnight ago recognized the facts and the State apologized“. In France, nothing. Despite the steps and complaints of the Piaser couple.
“It is regrettable that France has so far not followed this movement of transparencysays MP Valérie Rabault in the reasons for her request for a ministerial inquiry. On December 15, 2021, the Secretary of State for Children nevertheless undertook, before the Senate, to “put in place, in the first quarter of 2022, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice, an interministerial mission inspired by the model of the Commission for Information and Research on the Children of Creuse” to investigate these illicit adoptions. However, this mission has not yet been formally implemented.
Between the 1970s and 1990s, 11,000 and 14,000 Sri Lankan children were adopted, including approximately 1,500 in France. The MP continues:it has now been proven, as the Sri Lankan government itself admitted in 2017, that many abuses and shortcomings have plagued adoption procedures in the country, without the knowledge of the adoptive families: false documents in the files , surrogate mothers hired to give consent to adoption in court, existence of “baby farms”. All countries receiving adopted children are now concerned by these issues.
For the member, France has a duty of truth and it goes through the establishment of a ministerial investigation mission. Its objective: to shed full light on these illegal practices and on the mechanisms that made them possible.
“If we fight as adoptive parents, it’s because we want the recognition of these factsexplains Jean-Noël Piaser. Until it happens, our children may think we bought them.” The Piaser spouses did not suspect anything at the time. Their file was complete, in order. “We legally adopted adds Veronique. We are victims because we have been manipulated. The French State should have verified a certain number of documents”.
“France is the homeland of human rightsrecalls Valérie Rabault. On these issues, it cannot remain inactive. It is therefore our imperative duty to allow these adopted children, who have now become adults, to know the truth about their origins. It is also essential to provide answers to the French families concerned who thought they had adopted legally.
Other European states have assumed their responsibilities and recognized the facts. Switzerland and the Netherlands in 2020 and 2021 even apologized to the deceived families. Belgium has just recognized these dysfunctions. Sweden launched an investigation in October 2021. The testimonies overlap. The players in these sectors are the same in all these extremely serious cases… We are talking about child theft.
The French State, alerted for several years by families, is now alerted by parliamentarians. Will he remain in denial or will he choose transparency and accountability? For these suffering families, this ministerial inquiry is the last hope.
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