CBS News Investigates Serious Questions about the Legitimacy of Some Ethopian Adoptions
By Armen Keteyian
Questions are being raised about the legitimacy of Ethiopian adoptions after a girl claims an agency bought her in Ethiopia and placed her for adoption in the U.S. Armen Keteyian investigates.
(CBS) Videotapes showing poor orphans from third world countries melt the hearts of prospective parents every day in this country.
Three children, sisters from Ethiopia are shown in a video - ages, you are told, 7, 4 and 6. Their mother is dead, their father dying of AIDS. A life of prostitution is all but assured - if not adopted - saved - by a loving American family.
It was just such a pitch that spoke to Katie and Calvin Bradshaw, reports CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian. They adopted all three girls through a U.S. agency, Christian World Adoption.
“Aside from the gender of the children, everything else proved to be a complete lie,” said Katie.
In truth, the three sisters, Journee, Maree and Meya - were actually much older: 13, 6 and 11.
While their mother was dead, their father was healthy and very much alive. He was living, by local standards, a middle-class life - an extended family able to take care of the girls as middle sister Meya showed us first hand.
“My godmothers, my aunt, those are my mom’s friends, my uncles, my dad, my dad’s friends, that’s my brother,” she said.
In the last year adoptions from Ethiopia to the U.S. have skyrocketed - growing faster than any other country in the world. They have risen from 731 in 2006 to more than 2,200 last year. That’s nearly six children per day.
Now a CBS News investigation has discovered that growth has turned Ethiopia into fertile ground for child trafficking - a country in which some American agencies and their staff engage in highly questionable conduct.
Adoptive families allege that many children brought to the U.S. are not even orphans, that prospective parents are misled about a child’s health and background, that local families are recruited - and sometimes even paid - to give up their kids.
Which the Bradshaw sisters say is exactly what happened to them.
“Your dad was paid,” Keteyian asked Meya.
“Yes,” she said.
“From Christian World Adoption,” Keteyian asked.
“Yeah,” she replied.
“For you to be adopted?”
“Yup.”
“You were sold?”
“Yeah,” she said.
Christian World Adoption is one of 70 agencies licensed to operate in Ethiopia. Beyond the alleged payment to their father, the Bradshaw sisters say they were told by local employees of Christian World they were only coming to America for an education; that they could return home when school was out. Not true. In fact it’s virtually impossible to reverse an adoption in Ethiopia.
“I thought I was going to be kind of like an exchange student,” Journee said. “Honestly, I never knew that I’m going to be here forever.”
“We have watched our kids grieve and cry and scream and melt down from the bottom of their souls over the loss of their country and their family,” Katie Bradshaw said.
A 2007 video shows Christian World representatives entering an Ethopian village and appearing to recruit children from poor villagers - an unethical practice against Ethopian law.
“If you want your child to be adopted by a family in America you may stay,” said Michelle Gardner. She spoke those words on a tape produced by Christian World for American parents seeking to adopt in Ethiopia. And now says she deeply regrets it.
“I was aware of a number of times when things were problematic,” she said. “And several families where children came over and the children didn’t understand that the adoption was permanent.”
Christian World was founded back in 1991 by Bob and Tomilee Harding. In 2008, records show, the non-profit agency took in nearly $6 million dollars - charging a fee of about $15,000 per child.
Citing ongoing litigation, the Hardings declined to speak with CBS News at their offices in Charleston, South Carolina.
One such case, filed last month, includes charges of “wrongful adoption,” “fraud” and “intentional misrepresentation.”
“How do you respond to charges that CWA knowingly deceived or misled adoptive parents through the adoption process in Ethopia?” Keteyian asked.
“Those allegations are completely unfounded,” said Curtis Bostic, attorney for CWA. He told CBS News he was prohibited by law from discussing specific adoption cases.
“I’m talking to parents who are really upset,” Keteyian said. “Who are devastated with their dealings with CWA.”
“Sometimes, people are upset when they just simply misunderstand things,” Bostic said. “I believe that’s exactly what you’re hearing. There have been thousands and thousands of adoptions conducted by CWA all over the world. Is there going to be a handful of folks who misunderstand, who - or who aren’t happy with their adoption? There’s going to be, and we regret that.”
The Bradshaw family lives with its own set of regrets. Parents who trusted and believed they were doing the right thing. The three young girls are learning to adopt a life far from the country they still call home.
February 16th, 2010 at 5:41 am
The fascist and racist Zenawi is engaged in a thriving business of modern slave trade. Zenawi and his cronies are making millions through exporting young girls to the middle east where the latter are abused as slaves. The number of slave girls Zenawi and Co. are exporting to the middle east is increasing. Lured by the news of better lives, many of the exported non-Tigrean slave girls end up in horrible situations where they are forces to work for 7/24. There are many who commit suicide and end their tragic lives this way. The export of children as adpoted ones to the west especially the United States is the other business Zenawi and Co. are expanding at the moment.
Volumes can be written on the crimes and violations of the fascist and racist Meles Zenawi and his tigrayan security forces. All Ethiopians must put up stiff resistance and end the tragedy unfloding in Ethiopia.
February 16th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
This is not new for the regime in Ethiopia. The regime gets paid for every child adopted, estimated amount of income from child trafficking from Ethiopia, the regime makes no less than $20 million a year. There is also serevant trafficking to the Arabian countries, the recent plane crash off the the Lebanese shore was a testament to Ethiopian ladies serving in the Arabian world, where they are abused and killed sometimes and other times raped and driven into suicide, the regime makes over $200 million a year. Ethiopian regime is also engaged in Genocide of the Ethio-Somalis, no food is transported to the Ogaden region where majority are Somalis. All NGOs are kicked out of the region, they were told for security reason. When they ask for the food distribution in the region, the regime took it upon itself to do the distribution, the fact is the food donated for the Ogadenia region is diverted and sold to Djibouti for half price.
February 16th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
let me see your teeth….wow…that is what i call modern time slavery…woyanes not only destroy our country they destroy the future of Ethiopian,since all eye is on woyane from shooting now he decide to sell the hope of Ethiopian children ..
woyanewech fenduuuuuuuu….
February 16th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Another fraud, another under cover “Operation Moses” to offer a home in a developed world to Amaras and Tigrians children. Bet on it that most of the children recruited for adoption by North Americans, Australians, Europeans would be certified Amaras and Tigrians, jus as those Christians who said they were felashas were from Amara and Tigray. I mean, there were some felashas but most were Christians who were educated to say they were felashas. In fact, most the true felashas are still in Ethiopia. This frausd was only disovered, known to the outside world, only later, especially after the Amara/Tigrian Israelis were racially diascriminated. One incident was that their bolld was dirty and sick with HIV/AIDS, as a result of which they were banned donating blood to hospitals acorss Israel.
I looked at the Admin expression of Christian faith, much in line with Meles who said that Ethiopia is Christian. It’s name is Zagie Girgis Church, but Admin gave it a national name and called it “Ethiopian Church”. Fanning religious extemism. Where will you go, who will take you in, after burning your house?
February 17th, 2010 at 9:18 am
Shame on the country of Ethiopia for selling it’s people to other countries and not taking the money to improve schools, medical clinics or training so the people become self-sufficient.
And a big SHAME ON YOU to Adoption Agencies that fuel this industry with dumb white American money. Christian World made $5.92 million in 2008, the least they could do is pump money back into the Country of Ethiopia….but then that would stop their free flow of available and desperate inventory for sale.
The other thing this story didn’t touch on is how baby mills have popped up in Ethiopia. Many white couples from the west are getting referrals for babies that are barely 1-2 months old.
Seems that the babies are pre selected BEFORE they are born.
Babies that are healthy tend to get more money.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Only those of us who decidedly behave irresponsible to our community treat the above triablist groups with soft gloes. Shame on us!!
Most Ethiopians understand the depth of Amara and Tigray ethnocentrism and have taken measures to reduce impacts on their lives, specifically by communal and political organizing, rejected these groups’ false rhetorics through their various relgious, communal and political organizations.
February 19th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
this is sad , we have to do something
February 22nd, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Tigrean People’s Democratic Movement (TPDM) fighters on Feb. 17 carried out a successful military operation against Woyanne forces in Tigray, northern Ethiopia.
The TPDM fighters attacked Woyanne’s 31st army division that was stationed at Adi Dahero Woreda (district) in western Tigray, killing 43 and wounding 24 enemy troops.
During the fighting that took place from 7 AM – 1 PM, the TPDM fighters captured sniper rifles, AK47s, hand grenades and other types of military hardware. More at TPDM’s web site: demhit.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjCK5JtwraM