EVELINE RUTZ From the 1950s, the received wisdom among couples in Switzerland who wanted to adopt children was that they were giving someone the chance of a better life, not least if the child came from a poor country and a seemingly deprived background. It was seen as a humanitarian act. Interstingly, this positive spin persisted for a long time, says Andrea Abraham, professor at the Berne University of Applied Sciences. Reported abuses of the system barely registered in public debate. In Switzerland, experts, let alone the general public, have only started addressing the issue in recent years – unlike their foreign counterparts. Abraham: “This is astounding, given that child adoption has such a real-life impact.” “This wound will remain” Sarah Ineichen has played a key role in bringing the international adoption process under much greater scrutiny. Ineichen arrived in the canton of Nidwalden from Sri Lanka as a baby in 1981. When delving into her past many years later, she discovered that what she had been told about her roots was wrong. Instead of meeting whom she thought was her biological mother at her place of birth, Ineichen was confronted by a woman who had merely given her name to secure the necessary adoption papers. “I still don’t know who my biological mother is,” says the 44-year-old. She has no idea why she was given away as a baby, and whether her biological mother gave her away of her own accord. “This deep wound will remain with me until I die.” Ineichen went public in 2017, one of the first adoptees to do so. She and others founded Back to the Roots – an organisation that advocates for the rights of Sri Lankan adoptees in Switzerland. Newborns used to be snatched from their mothers and sent for adoption, she says. Some babies were even surreptitiously swapped for stillborn babies in hospital and handed over to adoptive parents. “They picked the children for the parents, not the other way round.” Officials turned a blind eye The international adoption process played on Western couples who were desperate to have children. Studies The heart-wrenching adoption baby trade The Federal Council wants to ban couples in Switzerland from adopting children abroad, arguing that it is the only way to prevent illegal practices. It is a highly charged issue. ing that time. Orphanages and women’s refuges in both countries played an active role in the international adoption process. These organisations would help expectant mothers to keep their pregnancy and the birth of their child secret. In particular, they would assist pregnant women who faced stigma because they were destitute or had conceived out of wedlock or as a result of rape. It was also not uncommon for them to organise the necessary adoption papers and coordinate the handover of Sarah Ineichen made irregular adoptions into a widely debated topic. The issue concerns her personally: “I still do not know who my biological mother is.” Photo: Keystone by Abraham and numerous others prove this, documenting illegal practices in 11 countries of origin from 1973 to 2002. They refer to suspected child trafficking, forged documents, missing declarations of consent from biological mothers, and cases of Swiss officials who turned a blind eye to systematic lawbreaking. Around 700 babies from Sri Lanka and 2,280 babies from India were adopted durnewborns to mainly Western adoptive parents. The adoption process moved abroad From 1973, more and more couples from Switzerland would arrive in these countries. Due to social factors and changes in the law, it was now easier for people who wanted to Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 14 Society
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