INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION

Abstract

Intercountry adoption, sometimes perceived as a rapidly growing modern social phenomenon, is in fact long established. Itwas and continues to be associated with the disruption to normal family life caused by war and civil unrest. The subjects are often orphans or refugees fleeing danger for sanctuary in any country offering safety and protection. This has recently been the experience of children in the Balkans following the violent breakup of Yugoslavia and is presently the case in Somalia, the Sudan and other parts of Africa. It does not necessarily involve the complete and permanent severance of a child’s links with their culture and kinship networks as some may well be absorbed into the homes of displaced relatives or friends of their birth parents.