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Latest update: 22/12/2010
- adoption - France - Haiti earthquake
French families arrive in Paris with adopted Haitians
Over 100 French parents arrived in Paris Wednesday with their newly adopted Haitian sons and daughters. The parents were forced to wait over a year to bring the children home after delays caused by January’s devastating earthquake.
AFP - A French government-chartered plane carrying 113 Haitian orphans and their adoptive French families arrived in Paris from Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, an AFP correspondent reported.
The plane carrying 105 parents and the children arrived at Charles-de-Gaulle airport in time for Christmas, with a second flight due to make the same trip on Thursday.
A total of 318 adopted Haitian children are included in a special programme to bring them to France after disruptions caused by the devastating earthquake that ravaged the impoverished country nearly a year ago.
The children were all in the process of being adopted when a massive quake struck on January 12, killing over 250,000 people and causing adoptions to be delayed with some records lost in the rubble.
They were met in Paris by a medical team including 10 pediatricians who will give them a clean bill of health following their arrival from Haiti, where a cholera epidemic has killed over 2,500 people.
"A priori the children are in good health and come from places where no cholera has been detected," paediatrician Patrick Daoud told AFP.
"This is a general check-up to verify that the children are not incubating any infectious diseases," he said.
They were given special consular documents allowing them to go to France, despite not yet having French passports. About 700 other children whose files were found to be in order have already been brought to France.
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(4) Reactions
Charity begins at home
Are there no French orphans for these parents to adopt that need homes and love? African children need to be adopted by black families. I have worked with several people one black one asian. Both suffered from identity issues and felt they did not belong anywhere. The intentions are good but they are hurting more than helping.
Haiti Children
I don't understand. Aren't any French childred that can be adopted?
Haiti children
Hear hear, to the comments above. The taking the children [next generations] from the country is not the answer. Yes a chosen few will undoubtedly be benefit themselves but these adoptions do not solve the problems of the lack of governmental infrastructure with Haiti. To throw money at the country is also a no-brainer because it [the cash] will never arrive where it should because of corrupt organisations who syphon away huge percentages under the guise of administration costs and fees. Sadly Haiti has nothing to offer, trade or barter with the rest of the world, they will for those reasons never become capable of sustaining themselves. That good people is exactly why they are in the state they are in and will continue to be in.
Haiti children
The adoption of Haitian children can encourage poor countries to give away their children especially for money.It would be more humanitarian to invest in these countries and not separate the chidren from their roots.