Vietnam police bust baby trafficking gang
(excerpt)
Vietnamese police have arrested four people this week for trafficking babies, including one yet to be born, for adoption inside the country or in China, authorities here said Wednesday.
Authorities believed the gang bought Vietnamese baby girls for $500 each and boys for $1,000 and sold them for about twice that amount, the police officer told AFP.
31 Responses
I think this article is clearly stating that there is human traffiking happening in Vietnam. Of course, this is due to my bias, this shows me that there is child buying happening in Vietnam. This reinforces my desire to see American adoption agencies adopt practices that shut down the market, rather than encourage it.
There is no doubt there is human trafficking in SE Asia, including baby trafficking. Very nice to see the VN government has processess, policies, and people in place to deal effectively with this problem.
I also am very interested to see how the baby boys brought twice what the baby girls brought.
Would someone be willing to write up a post saying that PAP’s requesting healthy baby boys are fueling the human trafficking problem? I think we need to get on top of this.
If these babies are going to China, perhaps baby boys are considered a rarity in Chinese adoptions so are considered more valuable? I know you were being sarcastic but I think China’s one-child policy DOES fuel this particular issue (amongst many many others).
Unfortunately, I think your comment is as true as it is sarcastic- at least in China. The government limits on children lead many families to abandon daughters in favor of sons. Families are more likely to keep their baby boys. In the meantime, you have thousands of families who have chosen China for one reason or another, and are seeking a baby boy. The need is created by the desires of the adoptive families waiting anxiously, and the baby traffickers seek to fill the need and turn a profit.
I think the one important thing to notice about this story is that these children were bought for adoption within the country or possibly China. These are not babies going to orphanages or to be adopted by Americans. While fighting for children anywhere and everywhere is important, the thing is I would be more concerned if these babies were bought for the purpose of sending to America. We have baby buying in our own country too. I guess my point is that while I find this very sad, it has less to do with the issues with adoption. We cannot do much about baby buying or selling that does not involve us. We can choose ethical agencies, we can demand transparency, but that will not stop all baby buying, it will only mean our children were not bought or sold. I hope that all came out right.
I’m not sure we can ascertain from this article the purpose for the child trafficking but I also don’t think we can necessarily rule out that these children will end up in American homes either. There HAS been discovered child trafficking into Vietnamese orphanages. There has been child trafficking both into and out of China from Vietnam for the purpose of international adoption. It would be difficult to trace this back to Americans specifically in most cases but I don’t think its a big leap to assume that, since Americans make up the VAST majority of the world’s international adoption “market”, that trafficked infants can and do end up in American families.
I think you are mis-interpreting the intent of that sentence. It is not implying that the babies will *only* be bought or adopted by people who *live* in Vietnam or China. It is simply stating that the babies that are being bought are being bought to populate the adoption processes of each country. With the United States being one of the largest and richest sources, if not THE largest and richest source, of adoptive families, I would say that it is at least a possibility, and arguably a likelhood that these babies do end up in the US. This is an extreme example to be sure. Most of the corruption is much more subtle- but there is no reason that all parties should not be working diligently to ensure the process is handled ethically. There are enough babies, enough adoptive families, and enough money to go around without the corruption. I don’t understand those who take the position that it either A) simply does not exist and is nothing more than a conspiracy theory, or B) it exists, but not with MY agency, or MY baby, or OUR country.
My point is only that the article specifically states:
Vietnamese police have arrested four people this week for trafficking babies, including one yet to be born, for adoption inside the country or in China, authorities here said Wednesday.
We can do a lot less to prevent trafficking within the country than we can do to prevent it from coming into our homes. Domestic trafficking happens in America too. I am not say that trafficked babies never come into American homes I am only stating that this article is about babies who are trafficked for domestic purposes. I suppose they could be winding up in China and then coming to America, but I think the fact that they are charging more for boys (okay – this whole way of discussing it buying, selling, charging, is makin me ill) probably indicates these boys are for people who are having trouble conceiving a son.
So what you are reading is that these trafficked babies are being bought and sold for domestic (vietnam or china) adoption purposes. I see where it can be interpreted that way, particularly in China where families might theoretically bypass the “risk” of giving birth to a daughter by buying a son. You may be right.
I read it a bit differently: these babies are being trafficked “inside the country or in china” for adoption purposes. I think the “market” is much greater for child trafficking into international adoption than domestic adoption, especially in Vietnam where domestic adoption rates are incredibly low.
Mary, With all due respect, I must agree with Tony & Nicki that you may be misinterpreting that sentence. Where it says “adoption within the country or China”, I believe that “within the country” means adopted in Vietnam, as opposed to adopted in China. It does not state that the children are being adopted *domestically*. It is SO much more likely that the babies were desitined for international adoption, IMHO. With the value of the dollar, I can’t imagine that a trafficker would not be looking for the highest profit possible. They are criminals, after all, and only care about the bottom line. In fact, why would they even care who adopts the children — they are only looking to get paid.
I have not heard or read anything about domestic adoption in Vietnam. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but does anyone know any details on the frequency?
As for Natalie’s comment, I would only like to add that I am so tired of the baby girl versus baby boy argument. At this point, I think it’s pretty obvious that *any* healthy baby is a commodity in a Vietnamese orphanage and those who think they are guilt-free because they request a boy (or no gender) instead of a girl, are deluding themselves. There are plenty of PAPs waiting a long time for a boy, too, and there’s plenty of “demand” out there for either gender.
There seems to be a disagreement over interpretation. I would simply point out that while the article does not say “domestic” it also does not say “international”. Both are merely opinions on the interpretation of a not very well written article that is reported in a language other than the native language of the country in question. Lots of interpretation issues could be in play here.
And, since no one seems to doubt that trafficking is taking place, it is, indeed, good news.
I would be interested to know what provinces they were working in…
I think an important point to make here is that there is a positive side to this news story. It is evidence that the VN authorities are taking steps towards stopping the corruption in VN. Baby steps? Possibly. It sends an important message to anyone trafficking in VN, and a vital message to our government that VN is serious about upholding critical parts of the MOU.
This is a very imperfect world. The important thing is that everybody keeps working towards making it a better one.
I agree. The first thing I thought when I read this was that hopefully this will jump start the CIS into finalizing the rest of the applications they seem to be sitting on. They busted the ring, made some arrests. Now lets get these babies that are already committed to loving homes INTO those homes.
I believe that the higher price paid for infant boys is a
reflection of Viet Nams preferance for boys, so it would
of course make sense that those paying for infants would have to offer a higher price for infant boys. I read that the statistics of the Ha Noi health department showed that the gender gap was becoming larger, with over 108 boys being born for every 100 girls. Gender discrimination and advanced technology have made it a simple matter to determine the gender of a child and have contributed to an increased rate of abortion in the city.
I also read in a different article that the traffickers were from Ha Tay Province and from northern highland Son La Province. It said that the premium price was VND3 million (US$187.5) for a girl and VND15 million ($937.5) for a boy. It also stated that one child was “ordered” while the woman was still pregnant. The police reported that the childrens mothers were told that the children would be placed for adoption in places like Ha Noi. The article did say that the children were going to China to be sold.
Penny
Penny – do you have the link to the article you referenced? It sounds like it had much better details that the article linked to from this post.
The following article does not distinguish whether the children in the above-mentioned article were intended for domestic or international adoption. It does, however, point to child traffickers that “deal” in children for domestic adoption.
http://www.thanhniennews.com/features/?catid=10&newsid=35901
I haven’t come across any convincing evidence that Vietnam actually has a preference for boys, as China does. I believe an equal number of males and females are relinquished/abandoned. I’ve also been told by my agency (who helps facilitate domestic adoptions) that Vietnamese PAPs tend to adopt more girls than boys.
From my own personal experience, my ex-husband is Vietnamese and his family said that they hope for a boy for luck reasons but that they hope for a girl who will help take care of the duties of family. Maybe this is something that varies by province, religion, etc. It does seem to me that the preference for gender, therefor, should be mostly evenly distributed however I have also read the stats that Penny posted.
I wasn’t sure if I should put the link in or not…sorry.
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01CAS200208
This site has a lot of info on it so for those that haven’t been there take a look around.
Penny
Here’s a little more to the story…
http://www.thanhniennews.com/features/?catid=10&newsid=35901
I don’t understand while we PAPs have to wait longer for a placement of baby girl from the orphanage, there are trafficking with more costly *premium price* for baby boy… Is it the needs of China, not Vietnam?
I find it interesting that after the US has changed its investigative process (I-600) that we are now starting to see the arrests ( and various articles) in a number of areas. This evidence does point out the need to put continual pressure on our agencies and both governments to make sure that they are investigating the process in VN to assure that children are not trafficked. I think we are splitting hairs about gender and price on many levels. The issue is that there is a premium price being paid thus creating a market that ultimately will ebb and flow in gender and age. These conditions will ultimately lead to what most do not want— closing VN to international adoptions. We should all be leaping to support both governments and our agencies to uphold high standards for relinquishments and abandonments.
My biggest fear is that we (PAPs and APs) will get bogged down in arguing the points — domestic vs international, boys vs girls, infants as young as possible— rather than stating that in any case the practices are wrong and if any trail leads to a US agency everyone involved should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. We should vocally support the VN govt for investigating their situation rather than the US Embassy stepping across diplomatic boundaries. If the laws and penalties are not tough enough, let’s advocate to toughen them further.
With data, our voice in this process can truly make a lasting change and answer the questions about ethical practices our children might have.
Thanks for posting the articles. I hope all reading recognize the opportunity.
I know this is an American blog but there are people outside of your country who also adopt from VN and read this. We have same worries about the problems and if these children are adopted into our lands. One thing that I notice is that in US you can chose a gender. It is not allowed in most of Europe adoption systems- maybe some, and my country absolutely not. I’m not saying it’s better, we have our own problems with our system, but maybe it is something to think about. If no one is able to choose then maybe it would help the ‘demand’ for certain babies.
Thank you for voicing your opinion. I’d love to hear on a more frequent basis from those adopting from Vietnam who reside in other countries. I’d love to hear more about your country’s standards and methods for adoption in order to better compare, learn and apply them to our own (and vice versa, where necessary). Child trafficking and ethics in adoption is truly a global issue, definitely not just an American problem.
I was reading through this article and it occurred to me how powerful the words surrounding adoption are. I took the beginning of the article and changed a word here or there. Notice how it completely changes it.
Adoption is so complicated. It is distinctly gray. Few issues are black and white. I’ve noticed that there is a bunch of controversy on this board and similar ones on the intranet. I’m really not trying to take sides, and I hope it doesn’t come off that way. I’m just trying to point out how truly complicated international adoption is. I also want to point out the power of the language we use to describe adoption. The motivations for having biological children are also very complicated. Most Bio parents, however, never really have to delve into those motivations. Having biological children is just something you do, not really think about. As adoptive parents looking to adopt in Vietnam, we can’t afford to not deal with our motivations to adopt.
The original quote is enclosed by **. My quote is directly below each direct quote.
Shad…
**According to a investigation conducted by Thanh Nien reporters, Nguyen Thi Thuyen, who lives in Ung Hoa District’s Vien An Village of Ha Tay Province, has been manipulating and luring countless youngsters for nearly 14 years to not commit abortions and instead give birth to prized “human goods†to be purchased and traded widely.**
According to research by Thanh Nien reporters, An Adoption Agency, who operates in Ung Hoa District’s Vien An Village of Ha Tay Province, have been recruiting countless youngsters for nearly 14 years to not commit abortions and instead give birth, so their children can be adopted by loving families.
**“I’ll send your girlfriend to a place in Ha Dong City,†Thuyen told Thanh Nien reporters, who approached Thuyen as a couple wanting to put their newborn up for sale.**
“I’ll send your girlfriend to a pregnancy center in Ha Dong City,†An agency told Thanh Nien reporters, who approached the agency as a couple wanting to place their unborn child for adoption.
**“Don’t worry. I’ll loan you about VND500,000 to VND600,000 every month until the girl gives birth and I’ll even take her to the hospital myself.â€**
“Don’t worry. We’ll give you about VND500,000 to VND600,000 every month to cover expenses until the girl gives birth and I’ll even take her to the hospital myself.â€
**Thuyen said the baby could be secretly sold to a Hanoi couple, as the husband became infertile after an accident.**
An agency representative said the baby could be privately adopted by a Hanoi couple, as the husband became infertile after an accident.
**“Since this couple cannot let their relatives know, when your girlfriend is about to give labor, I will set up the lawyer’s wife to stay next to her in the hospital. Your girlfriend must leave in secret upon giving birth so that this family can officially prepare paperwork for the baby,†Thuyen explained.**
“Since this couple lives on the 1000 miles away, when your girlfriend goes into labor I will have a nurse stay with her in the hospital. Your girlfriend can sign the adoption papers upon giving birth so that this couple can formally adopt the baby,†An agency explained.
**According to Thanh Nien sources, this network maintains five to six baby suppliers in the village of Vien An.**
According to Thanh Nien sources, this network maintains five counseling centers in the village of Vien An.
**A female baby is usually purchased at around VND8 million while a male one is worth VND10 million.**
The expenses incurred by agencies for a normal pregnancy are around VND8 million while a pregnancy with complications is about VND10 million.
**Thuyen then resells the infant to another family, at a price of between VND20 million and VND25 million.**
Agencies charge adoptive families between VND20 million and VND25 million to adopt a child.
**To boost the babies’ prices, Thuyen even advertises the infants’ real parents to the buyers, especially if the parents are educated and considered to be “good looking.†She moreover owns at least five residences located across Ha Tay Province where she houses over 10 young pregnant women.**
Adopting privately through an attorney is the usually the most expensive type of adoption. Adopting through a state agency is very inexpensive. In fact, many states provide subsidies to parents adopting special needs children in state custody. The agency we spoke with has five pregnancy centers located across Ha Tay Province where they house over 10 young pregnant women.
Shad-
Is your point to say how *gray* the adoption world is?
Otherwise I am not sure what point you are trying to make…
Sorry if I’m causing confused looks and question marks. My point is that by changing a word from “price” to “fees” or “purchased and traded” to “adopted” the entire context of the article changes. Likewise, if you changed the words on any US adoption agency’s website in a similar manner, they’d sound a lot more like the vietnamese “baby broker” featured in the story.
I have adopted daughters from China and Vietnam so I try to keep up with what is going on in both countries. With all of the recent mess in Vietnam I have been intrigued with a blog by a father with 3 adopted Chinese daughters who does research in China for adoptive families. His name is Brian Stuy and he has been reporting of corruption in Chinese adoptions for some time.
Brian says that domestic adoptions in China is on the rise because of the rise of incomes. However, domestic adoptions are in competition with international adoptions which often bring the orphanages more money. (The orphanages receive a $3000 Orphanage “donation” fee with each international adoption.) Because many orphanages would rather send the children to be adopted internationally, there is a shortage of children available for domestic adoption. So many of the baby trafficking reports you hear about in China are actually for domestic adoption. Boys are definitely more coveted there so the higher price for the male infants in the article leads me to believe that at least some of these babies were going to China for domestic adoption.
I am including the link to Brian Stuy’s blog so you can see the articles.
http://research-china.blogspot.com/
I haven’t seen much talk about this and was wondering if anyone else has seen it?
http://www.thelocal.se/9847/20080201/
“A major child smuggling ring is suspected of bringing dozens of children from Vietnam to Sweden, prosecutors say.”
At first I was surprised to see this happened in Sweden. But then again, I shouldn’t really be surprised at anything, anymore.
I followed up on the article link posted by Amy about a ring of human smugglers in Sweden involving adults and children from Viet Nam. The trial started today. I am posting the link to today’s article. I want to stress that although this whole subject is distubing this does not involve families being paid for children in VN to be taken to Sweden for adoption but “Others also brought over children they claimed were their own but who were in fact children whose parents had paid large sums of money for them to be brought to Sweden in search of a better life.” The rest appears to involve marriage fraud.
Here is the link : http://www.thelocal.se/10266/20080304/