Redstate

Posted at 1:31am on Oct. 10, 2006 Olli, What About Romania's Children?

By RegenerationMinistries

With Romania's upcoming entrance to the EU, much is being done to make the country look presentable. Like the Chinese makeover for the Olympic games, don't let the facade fool you into thinking "it's not so bad!" Think again. Here is a recent press release congratulating Romania on their "progress" towards EU membership.

The big question in my mind is, what about the children whose lives are being grossly effected by the political maneuvering? What about the children, Olli? Will they congratulate you?

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Posted at 1:16am on Oct. 10, 2006 Must-see TV: coverage of Romanian institutions

By RegenerationMinistries

Recently, CNN has broadcast several reports about the current child welfare crisis in Romania. Their coverage has included shocking, recent footage of Romanian institutions for children, as well as a reporter posing as a "baby-buyer" in Romanian villages.

I was not able to find much on the CNN website to pass along to you. However, I did find videos on the website of the British news network that originally taped the footage. Their report aired on British ITV earlier this month, and is very similar to the report aired this week on CNN.

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Posted at 10:47pm on Sep. 24, 2006 Countdown to EU Membership: Romania's Forgotten Children

By RegenerationMinistries

Promoted from Diaries.

Do you remember the television documentaries a few years back, featuring young Romanian children, abandoned in metal cribs, wasting away in anonymity and neglect? Such images energized many in the west to find ways to help - but unfortunately, 17 years after the fall of Communism, Romania continues to struggle to find solutions that actually work.

In their bid for accession into the European Union (due to take effect on January 1, 2007) abandoned children are once again the last priority. Told by the EU to clean up their human rights violations, the Romanian Parliament banned all foreign adoptions, determining to manage the children through Romanian adoption, foster care, or re-unification. For many abandoned children in Romania these new laws continue to relegate them to a childhood without love or stability.

Tragically, many of the abandoned children are not sought for adoption by Romanian families due to a longstanding cultural prejudice – they are of Roma descent, and in Romanian society, the Roma people are often despised and viewed as inferior. As a result, many children are being consigned to an uncertain childhood in foster care. Many others are forcefully returned to their neglectful birth families, which the government cheerfully labels “family reunification.”

Read on...

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