A bribe for the adoption of a child has doubled over ten years

When a man close tome told that his friends, a childless family, want to adopt an orphan, and are told to pay 20 thousand manat for a child, I didn"t want to believe it; I assumed that the family or friend was mistaken about something. Maybe 20 thousand is not a bribe, but proof of the viability of their family, such as a deposit or certificate of bank deposit, which is demanded from emigrants. But he said that 20 thousand manat are extorted for a newborn, and a child of 3-4 years old was "worth" 10 thousand manat. I thought that some mediators might take a bribe, but social workers, government officials cannot sell the children openly.

But after revising several Azerbaijani websites I saw that there was no mistake. Media writes about bribery in adoption in Azerbaijan, and state organizations do not refute what is written.

"The problem is that, pending the decision of the adoption committee, you do not know at what stage the process is, where the documents are at the moment, who is reviewing them. You just wait, not knowing whether there will be a result. And the "headache" begins: suddenly they report that we have no right to choose a particular child, and we cannot even clarify who we want to adopt, a boy or a girl. If you express indignation, you are immediately offered a "solution": to pay a certain amount, and then the process miraculously budges. Depending on the amount, it is possible to choose the child"s sex, and even to adopt a particular child," said a couple that had adopted a child.

In the article below, Natalie Alexandrova tells what happened in February 2018.

http://1news.az/news/osobennosti-nacional-nogo-usynovleniya---pochemu-v-etoy-sfere-stol-ko-tainstvennosti

Families that faced with bribery do not call their names for fear of losing the "bought child", because by giving a bribe you become an accomplice of the crime, and that means adoption was illegal. What is the fault of the child who will be taken away and returned to the orphanage?

In 2014, they launched a topic "How much does it cost to adopt a child in Azerbaijan?" in Disput.az. One of the disputed participants explained: "They have a good excuse - there is a long line of people willing to adopt a child, and you like overpay for acceleration. Otherwise they will tell you: "wait." And here is the cry of the soul: "How has humanity come to this: they are bidding for children .... as if this is a commodity! What future awaits us if we follow this path! Where are the officials are looking, don't they feel sorry for the children who do not see the caress of parents, these kids have no joy! " And then the advice: "Try to write a letter to the first lady, Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva. Describe all the difficulties created by those who are obliged to solve such questions to you immediately and free of charge."

https://www.disput.az/index.php?app=forums&module=forums&controller=topic&id=642048

The price of adoption in Azerbaijan is constantly growing along with the rate of manat and inflation. In 2008, Yusif Bekirov, chairman of the League for the Protection of Children, said: "It"s not a secret to anyone that we have to pay for each certificate, and not everyone can afford it. Walking around various instances, bureaucratic red tape. It costs approximately $ 6-7 thousand to adopt a child to Azerbaijani citizens".

This year, a child in Azerbaijan is "worth" 20 thousand manat, or about 12 thousand dollars. In 2008, the price was 6-7 thousand dollars. The growth of the amount of bribes for 10 years has doubled.

Some statistics on the topic. The number of adoptions is growing in Azerbaijan. Last year, 877 children were adopted in the country, which is by 13.5% more than in 2016. Sadly, the number of adopted boys increased by 15.9%, and girls only by 10.8%. In total, 466 boys and 411 girls aged 1-17 were adopted in 2017. Children of up to three years of age are adopted more often than other ages, and this is understandable, since parents want children taken to their homes to call them father and mother. 420 children under the age of 3 years old were adopted, 172 children up to 3-5 years old, 167 children 6-10 years old, 118 children 11-17 years old. In 2017, foreigners and stateless persons adopted 28 children in Azerbaijan, including 12 girls.

Is it difficult to adopt a child? This question is being asked by many families who have suffered the trouble of childlessness. "It is necessary to collect certificates and the necessary documents about incomes, health, living space, after which these documents are submitted to the bodies dealing with adoption issues, for consideration. If desired, the entire package of documents can be collected in a week, but the question is that not everyone who wants will adopt the child anyway, even if they meet the necessary requirements from the guardianship authorities. I have repeatedly spoken with families who were denied adoption because they were unable to pay bribes. It is not a secret for anyone that going to different instances is a real bureaucratic red tape, which often serves as a reason to refuse adoption. We have created a wonderful structure in our country - Asan Hidmet. Why not to pass the adoption procedure to this structure? I think that if it ever happens, there will be one problem less in our country, but for now hundreds of people who want to adopt an abandoned baby in our country are left behind," Yusif Bekirov, chairman of the League for the Protection of Children, told reporters.