Adopters-in-waiting keep hopes up for Acehnese orphans

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

People continue to line up to adopt Acehnese orphans, although the government temporarily prohibited the adoption of the homeless children amid concerns of possible trafficking.

The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) reported that it had recently received at least ten applications from couples, mainly from Java.

"We have told them that we will submit these applications to the Ministry of Social Affairs, but we don't know whether they will be allowed to adopt the children," said Ihya, who is in charge of adoption applications at Komnas PA.

Dewi Sahid, who lives in Surabaya, said that she wanted to adopt an Acehnese orphan because she does not have any children herself.

"I have four stepchildren and they have all grown up. The smallest child is already in the last year of high school and besides I want to help those children I saw on TV.

"They (the children) must be suffering a lot now that they have nobody in the world and I just want to help by providing love and care, a new home and give them an opportunity to go to school," Dewi told The Jakarta Post.

She explained that she and her husband already had a plan to adopt a child before the Aceh disaster, however, she had not got around to contacting any adoption agencies such as the government-accredited Sayap Ibu children foundation.

"I hope I can adopt a toddler because if the child is already over that age, she will face greater pressures from our society about her origin," Dewi said.

Similar thoughts were also express by Turmaeti Sapdono, who lives in Cilacap, West Java.

"I only want to share the pain that these children are experiencing," Turmaeti said.

She added that her only child was a boy of 13, therefore, she wanted to adopt a girl to be companion for him.

"I've wanted to adopt a child ever since my brother adopted one, but every time I go to Sayap Ibu in Yogya, they said that they would prioritize childless couples," she said.

Turmaeti said that she and her family visited the foundation each time her son celebrated his birthday as he wanted to have a little sister himself. However, she always received a rejection from the foundation.

"I don't mind if the adopted child is still a baby, toddler or in kindergarten already. It doesn't matter because my sole intention is to help," she said.

She added that currently she had two foster children who were the same age as her son.

"If the government does not allow us to adopt the children, me and my husband won't mind being foster parents," she said.

Both Dewi and Turmaeti said that they would not mind waiting for years to adopt the orphans.

"It won't change my intention to help them," Dewi said.

Meanwhile, the city administration in Padang, West Sumatra, opened a registration desk for couples wishing to adopt the Aceh orphans.

The administration has registered around 343 couples since the desk was opened on Monday.

These couples also have various reasons to adopt the Acehnese orphans. Some feel sorry for the children, while some have other reasons like they want children because they are not physically able.

Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar acknowledged the government's regulation for a temporary adoption ban for the children, but the registration measure was only meant for preparation, until the government finally gives the green light for the adoptions.

"It is our idea to seek foster parents, because we received information that there are many children in Aceh who have become orphans and will be sent to Padang," Fauzi said.

However, Fauzi added that if the government were to cancel the plan to send the children to Padang, he would disregard the registration.

There are around 35,000 orphaned children in Aceh who lost their parents in the earthquake and tsunami disaster that struck on Dec. 26.

The country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has said it had prepared at least 14 Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) to accommodate 1,000 orphans while the Sayap Ibu foundation had orphanages that could take in 2,000 children.