Dozens of Children for Thousands of Dollars: The Baby Trafficking Affair Shakes Armenia

The case investigated the suspicion that more than 30 babies were delivered to adoption in Italy under the pressure or deception of their mothers, some of whom were said to have died at birth or shortly thereafter. Central suspects deny the charges, while hundreds of other families are wondering if their children also have a similar fate

Dozens of Children for Thousands of Dollars: The Baby Trafficking Affair Shakes Armenia

(In the video: Revealing "Where's the Child" Affair)

Investigating the suspicion of selling dozens of Armenian babies to foreign families is at the center of the most widespread illegal adoption scandal in the history of the former Soviet Republic, leaving hundreds of women to wonder about the fate of their lost children. The defendants in the case deny everything attributed to them.

Local police are suspected of fraudulently removing babies from their mothers' authority in what is another stain on the prosperous international adoption market, in the background of fierce calls for his total closure to prevent such further incidents. Although the extent of the problem is difficult to estimate, child protection experts say deals with up to $ 100,000 adoption fees are set in a black market where children from around the world are sold. Anti-slavery human rights organizations consider illegal adoption, where a child is taken to another country in violation of regulations or as a result of an offense, as a form of child trafficking.

The scandal in the Caucasian country arose in November, when authorities revealed that more than 30 children were sent for adoption in Italy between 2016 and 2018, after pressing their mothers to give them up. Some women were forced to give birth even though they preferred to terminate the pregnancy, while others lied that their babies were dying, according to a statement from the Armenian security services.

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"The case should serve as an urgent wake-up call." Armenian Government in Yerevan (Photo: Reuters)

Armenian Government, Yerevan, May 3, 2018 (Photo: Reuters)

The investigation, described by a UN expert as "very disturbing," has pushed hundreds of Armenian mothers on the journey following the fate of their lost children. "I'm sure my baby is still alive," Hyakui Khatatryan said. The third is born dead. ”It’s not just my maternal instinct. There is nothing to prove otherwise, ”she said in a telephone interview to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Investigating authorities have told the foundation that more than thirty mothers who feared their children were adopted without their permission have been contacted since the incident was revealed. Detectives are now investigating all adoptions made by foreigners in the country since 1991, said Naira Hrutionyan, a spokeswoman for the National Enforcement Agency, the Armenian Investigation Commission.

UN Special Researcher on Child Trafficking, Maud de Bour-Bucichio, who raised her fears of adoptions in Armenia as early as 2015, said the affair should serve as an "urgent wake-up call." It seems ... there is a bakery that relates to children As a commodity and generates economic profits from child trafficking. It's absolutely outrageous, "she said in a telephone interview." There is a real need for clarification and the mothers are entitled to know what has happened to their children. "

Up to $ 20,000 per child

According to the UN, international adoption should be a last step for children who cannot be admitted to foster families or adopt within their country of origin. However, five-digit amounts collected from adoptive parents in the West often seem too tempting, leading to unethical conduct in poor countries, she says. Yara de Wit, child trafficking specialist at the Dutch children's rights organization "Child Protection".

"They say one of the reasons for interstate adoption is poverty," she said in a telephone call, "but with the thousands of euros that adoptive parents have to pay for a child ... the original family could have supported and raised their child."

De Bor-Bucicchio said in her visit to Armenia in 2015 that she envisioned children growing up in orphanages because their parents did not have the money to raise them. In relation to some, the description of disabilities was exaggerated to discourage local efforts, she said, but without an international agency in Armenia, foreign efforts relied on them for unregulated intermediaries.

Detectives are now looking at all foreigners' adoptions since 1991 (Photo Archive: Reuters)

Demand in Yerevan, capital of Armenia, against rising electricity prices, July 1, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)

Moshe Hobspesian, assistant to the Armenian welfare minister, said the government is examining various reforms, emptying orphanages and strengthening the foster care system. "We hope that in the near future we will be able to declare that selling children in Armenia is not possible or the risk of this has been reduced," Hobspian said in a statement.

The Armenian Commission of Inquiry said five people, including managers of a private mothers clinic and a public orphanage, were arrested as part of the affair. The suspects face charges such as illegally separating a child or a girl from their parents, according to the Erotionian. In at least two cases, the adoption was accompanied by up to $ 20,000 in payments, she said.

The attorneys of Razmic Abrahamian, director of the Yerevan Republican Maternity Hospital, and Liana Carapatian, director of the Children's Home in the capital, said their counterparts deny the "illogical and baseless" allegations. The Thomson-Reuters Foundation has been unable to contact the lawyers of the other three suspects, the names of two of which have not been released so far. The Ministry of Health said it would not be able to respond to an investigation involving a private clinic. The Italian ambassador to Armenia, Vincenzo del Monaco, said Italy was ready to cooperate with investigative authorities.

One last hug

Meanwhile, a growing group of mothers is seeking answers. A Facebook group called "Armenian Mothers" set up by Khachatryan organized demonstrations demanding a thorough investigation of the affair. The 33-year-old Khattrian said she had suspicions about her son's death after medical staff repeatedly refused to show her his body and later requests for a DNA sample were rejected. "I asked to hug my baby but was told it was impossible" , She said, "I will fight as much as I can (get it back)." Hatchetrian's lawyer, Susanna Sarasian, said she has contacted relatives of more than 600 children whose parents are said to have been born dead or have serious illnesses.

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Mania Hubbhanisian, 36, wants to find out if one of her children has been sold - and expressed hope that a new era of openness in the former Soviet Republic may even lead to answers. "In the past, sharing this kind of story was like sharing it with the wall. You would hear your echo back," she said in a phone call from Germany, where she now lives.

She said she was told her eldest daughter died days after her premature birth in 2010, but now she doubts that this is indeed what happened, given that she had never seen the baby's body. "The most important thing for me is knowing that my daughter is alive and somewhere."