SHARE
COPY LINK

ADOPTION

Adopted daughter left behind in The Gambia

A 13-year-old adopted girl has been left behind in her homeland of The Gambia by her adoptive parents. She had lived in Sweden since March 2007.

The girl is a Swedish citizen and is registered in Kronoberg county, Sveriges Radio Kronoberg P4 reported. She was left with relatives in The Gambia after what she thought would be a holiday in the country with her adoptive mother last summer.

According to local authorities in The Gambia, the girl was well, but Adoptionscentrum, Sweden’s largest adoption agency, is shocked that the parents will not take care of their adopted child.

In general, the municipality has a responsibility to support and follow up in cases of adoption, according to Inga Näslund at Adoptionscentrum. She assumes that the current municipality is doing what it can to ensure that the parents take responsibility.

“I assume that they made a report before the adoption showing that she was living in difficult circumstances in her home country,” Näslund told news agency TT.

“I think it is important that Swedish authorities do what they can to let her return to Sweden. She has begun to establish firm roots here, has been here for several years and gone to school.”

Social agencies must get involved and determine where the child will be placed, even if she is left with relatives, according to Näslund.

“You cannot just leave a child anywhere,” she said. “I think she has been betrayed twice, both by her parents and Swedish society, since nothing was done to rectify the situation for a whole year.”

The girl’s municipality has investigated the matter, but has decided not to pursue it further.

“We have completed our investigation and the girl is now with her biological father, who has custody,” said the head of social services in the municipality. “According to the consul general of The Gambia, she is well and goes to school.”

It has been a complex process to figure out what applies and the municipality had been in contact with a number of authorities when it made its assessment.

These authorities include the department of foreign affairs, the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) and the consulate general of The Gambia.

The adopted girl is a Swedish citizen, but she lives with her biological father, who still has custody, as well as her adoptive parents in Sweden.

There is a gap in international law and the municipality will highlight this matter to the Association of Local Authorities and Regions (Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting, SKL).

The Office of the Prosecutor in Växjö is currently investigating a case concerning an adopted girl in The Gambia, but did not disclose more details.

“We have asked The Gambia about whether a certain practice is a criminal offense under Gambian law,” said prosecutor Johnny Filipsson. “We cannot begin to investigate before we know what we can examine.”

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TRAVEL

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Monday 

Find out what’s going on in Norway on Monday with The Local’s short roundup of important news. 

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Monday 
Oslo Operahus. Photo by Arvid Malde on Unsplash

Norwegian government to unveil more details around Covid certificate 

On Monday, the government will issue guidelines on how exactly its Covid-19 certificate will be used domestically.

At 3pm, the government will hold a press conference where they will reveal more about how the Covid-19 certificates will work.

The certificate launched on Friday, but so far, the government have been sparing with details on how it will be used. 

READ MORE: Explained: How to access Norway’s Covid-19 certificate 

They have, however, revealed the certificate would be used for access to large events as well as tours and cruises within Norway. 

We will have all the details on how the certificate will be used covered in an article later today. 

Ministry of Defence: No signs of espionage 

There is no evidence to suggest that Danish data cables were used to actively spy on Norwegian politicians by the US, Defence Minister Frank Bakke Jensen has told parliament. 

At the end of May, Danmarks Radio reported that the US used Danish data cables to spy on politicians across Europe. 

“These are serious allegations that the government takes very seriously. Based on what we know, it does not look like there has been activity (espionage) directed at Norwegian politicians,” Jensen said in a statement. 

READ MORE: Norway summons US embassy top official over spying claims 

“Systematic espionage is completely unacceptable. We are clear to the Danish and American authorities about this. We are also in active dialogue with Danish and American authorities and services about the information regarding this matter,” he added. 

One in ten Norwegians plan summer holiday abroad 

Only ten percent of respondents to a new survey have said they plan on going on holiday abroad this summer. 

According to the survey by employer organisation, Virke, the majority, 60 percent, said that their travel plans have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Fewer children are being adopted from abroad in Norway 

In 2020, 46 children were adopted from abroad in Norway, half the number of foreign adoptions compared to 2019.

According to new figures from Statistics Norway, the number of foreign children being adopted in Norway is also less than 10 percent of what it was in 1998 when 795 foreign adoptions were registered. 

A total of 243 adoptions were recorded in Norway last year, almost 100 less than the year before. 

One of the reasons fewer foreign children are being adopted is that countries that have previously released children for adoption abroad can now take care of these children themselves, according to Statistics Norway.

96 new coronavirus cases

On Sunday, 96 new cases of Covid-19 were registered in Norway, 89 fewer than the seven-day average of 185. 

Fewer cases tend to be registered on weekends and public holidays than on weekdays. 

The R-number or reproduction rate in Norway is currently 0.9. This means that every ten people that are infected will, on average, only infect another nine people, indicating that the infection level is declining.

Total number of Covid-19 cases in Norway. Source: NIPH
SHOW COMMENTS