Dr. Aurangasri Hinriksson : Brave Lankan lady knighted for her battle against baby farm racket

Dr. Aurangasri Hinriksson receiving the Order of the Golden Falcon at the President’s House in view of National Day of Iceland 

During most of my adult life I was interested in international affairs, violation of human rights and the harm caused by  racial and religious prejudices

All adopted children have the right to find their biological parents, but the parents do not have the same right as they have signed a document giving up 
that right

In my opinion, a mass DNA analysis of the mothers  who gave away their babies for adoption, is the only way to locate some of the adoptees´ 
biological parents

Over the years I have formed a network of  searchers and informers in various parts of Sri Lanka

I also got inolved in raising funds to build a music school in Isafirdi using my eastern cultural knowledge and also managed to raise funds to buy a life-saving boat for the Accident Prevention Society. In appreciation of the above charitable activities, I was awarded immediate citizenship. Today my son and I are dual citizens

Some of the cases that I investigated, demonstrated that newborns were stolen from hospital from unsuspecting mothers and whisked away to Colombo and kept in safe houses run by the above said lawyer in Kotahena and in Punchi Borella, till such time they were ready to be adopted by a prospective adoptee parent from Europe

Adoptions these days are very few and mainly from the Czech Republic and last year there were none. The Icelandic Adoption Society became a registered legal binding institution during the years 1999 to 2000. The Society follows strict rules and regulations set out by the 1993 Hague Convention on intercountry adoptions

Nowadays, when I find a mother, I use different tactics. I tell her something like that she has won the lottery because her son or daughter living abroad is looking for her and the best period of her life has dawned etc. I say that her lucky stars are shining before I determine whether I have found the correct person or not 

 

In early 1980s, Dr. Aurangasri Hinriksson decided to settle down in Isafirdi, Iceland with her husband and little son. Her interests to serve the community were such that she not only taught English and Mathematics to her community, but even went to the extent of reuniting adopted children from Sri Lanka with their families. Back in the ‘80s, Sri Lanka was infamous for its baby farms and baby smuggling rackets. According to Dr. Hinriksson, during the 1985/86 period, Sri Lanka not only had baby farms, but there had been active child abductors, child agents and sellers who fell into the illegal child trade. On June 17, Dr. Hinriksson was bestowed with the Order of the Golden Falcon, the highest honour awarded by the Icelandic government to appreciate individuals who have done an exemplary service to society. In a candid interview with the Daily Mirror, Dr. Hinriksson shed light on how 
Sri Lankan babies were smuggled to countries such as Iceland, her experiences dealing with baby rackets and reuniting these children with their families and living the greater part of her life in one of the happiest countries in the world. Excerpts :

Q : Tell us about yourself and how it has been to live in a country like Iceland?

I was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka and educated at Visakha Vidyalaya. During my final school years I became the President of the Music Society and the Debating Society. After Leaving school, I studied German and Japanese and followed a Secretarial course. In the early 1970s I took up a job with the Food and Agricuture Department of the United Nations in Colombo. It was a secretarial and an administrative job.  Later I got involved in organising conferences and workshops. During that time, I met my future husband to be-Thorir Hinriksson-a Fisheries Adviser attached to the United Nations. My marriage to him was severely opposed by my family and only 100 people, mostly close friends and UN diplomats, attended the wedding. A year later, my only child, Neil Shiran Kanishka was born and with his birth my family reconciled. 
My husband took up jobs with the FAO, Danida and Norad which took me and my little son to various parts of the world. In whatever country we lived in, I strived to learn the local language and study their culture and cuisine. In India I completed a BA and MA in Telugu at the University of Andhra. After living in countries like Bahrain, Iran and travelling widely in the Middle-East, Far-East and Europe, we decided to settle down in Iceland during the early 1980s. During most of my adult life I was interested in international affairs, violation of human rights and the harm caused by  racial and religious prejudices. 
At first in Iceland, life was difficult for me because I did not speak Icelandic and because of that I had little choice in employment. Icelandic is a very difficult language to learn and I had no linguistic connection to any Nordic languages before. The family settled down in a north-western town called Isafirdi and soon the word spread around that I was good in Mathematics and English. For 20 years I helped students and then decided to become a teacher in the main stream education system. I completed a Masters in Pedagogy, a BA, MA and finally a Phd in English. I also got involved in raising funds to build a music school in Isafirdi using my eastern cultural knowledge and also managed to raise funds to buy a life-saving boat for the Accident Prevention Society. In appreciation of the above charitable activities, I was awarded immediate citizenship. Today my son and I are dual citizens.

Q : When did you first come across a child adopted from Sri Lanka?

I first got to know about the 1984/85 adoptions of children from Sri Lanka to Iceland, when a childless couple owning a lucrative bakery business in Isafirdi contacted me and asked me for advice. This family continued to become very close friends of mine ever since and I have found both parents of their adoptee daughter.

Q : Could you shed light on how babies were smuggled for adoption in Iceland back in the 80s?

In 1985/86 during which period most of the adoptions to Iceland took place, there was no proper Adoption Agency in Iceland, but an interest-based, non-profit making society without particular powers which was formed by some aspiring adoptee parents. They heavily depended on an infamous Dutch national called Damass for facilitating adoptions. Damass, ran an Adoption Agency called Flash based in Holland and he was working with a reputed (now disreputed) lawyer in Colombo. The latter had a sister working in the Child Welfare and Probation Department in Colombo who facilitated speedy approval for adoptions, legal as well as illegal. During this period there were baby farms in Sri Lanka, active child abductors, child agents and sellers who fed into the illegal child trade.  Some of the cases that I investigated, demonstrated that newborns were stolen from hospital from unsuspecting mothers and whisked away to Colombo and kept in safe houses run by the above said lawyer in Kotahena and in Punchi Borella, till such time they were ready to be adopted by a prospective adoptee parent from Europe. At any given time the lawyer had child providers scattered all over Sri Lanka as well as collection centres. I have been in contact with some of these agents and they are still  known as “Billas”. The lawyer’s laundry man, a guy called Bettage Gamini Fernando of Wadduwa signed as uncle or guardian to thousands of children. Thirty one (31) years ago I detected  false information given in adoption papers when Gamini was still signing for dozens of children. The fact that some of the children were recorded as born in two different hospitals and the parental names, ages and addresses were different in various documents, aroused my suspicions. Some of the adoptions to Iceland during this period were evidently illegal, though some were quite legal and currently tracing their parents is possible.

All adopted children have the right to find their biological parents, but the parents do not have the same right as they have signed a document giving up that right. The adoptees whose documents are false will not be able to locate their parents and as such their human rights have been violated. Further, some of the 1980s adoptions were to families who have failed in parental responsibilities in providing a happy home.  At that time, with regards to the above mentioned cases, the adoption agency and the Ministry of Justice have failed to determine the social, mental and financial stability of the adoptee parents, as well as scrutinise  the veracity of information given in the adoption papers. The relevant authorities have also failed in providing early, as well as continuous psychological support to adoptees whenever necessary. Today the Adoption Society is addressing the issue regarding psychological assistance to adoptees, as well as examining whether the adoptee parents are capable of providing a family environment comprising happiness, safety, love and understanding. Unfortunately, so far, providing assistance to find the parents or monetary compensation have not been looked into. In my opinion, a mass DNA analysis of the mothers  who gave away their babies for adoption, is the only way to locate some of the adoptees´ biological parents. This is a very difficult task as many mothers will not come forward and also, such a venture will involve an enormous cost. This raises the question as to who will bear that cost and who will locate the mothers.

Q : You have done a lot of work to reunite these children with their families as well as find their roots. Could you share your experiences with us?

I was very clumsy and ignorant of the dangers involved when I started finding parents of adoptees at first; 31 years ago. I used to visit villages and ask for the woman who got illicitly pregnant and gave away a child in the 80s. My bulldozer tactics have exposed me to danger and on some occasions I have got surrounded by irate villagers who were annoyed because I was trying to dig out a dark secret the family wanted so desperately to hide. Nowadays, when I find a mother, I use different tactics. I tell her something like that she has won the lottery because her son or daughter living abroad is looking for her and the best period of her life has dawned etc. I say that her lucky stars are shining before I determine whether I have found the correct person or not. Whenever there is a serious doubt, I do a DNA test. Though there is a Company in Colombo which does DNA analysis it is difficult to use their services as both parties have to be present at the same time. Presently, I go through a Holland based society called “Sri Lanka DNA“ to obtain DNA kits, which originally come from FamilyTree DNA in the USA.Over the years I have formed a network of  searchers and informers in various parts of Sri Lanka, whom I remotely instruct. I use my own personal resources to fund the searches. Some of the searches I do myself whenever I am in Sri Lanka. I visit slums, remote villages for my work and often interact with criminals, drug addicts, alcoholics, ruthless child abductors and agents and also simple village folk. Sometimes it takes a few days to crack a case and sometimes it takes as long as 8 years or more. No doubt there is a huge element of risk involved in my work, but it is challenging; specially when there are positive results, I find it immensely rewarding. On the other hand, when I pull out an emaciated, toothless and wrinkled mother out from a slum, the adoptees in Iceland- who have led priviledged lives- are visibly disappointed. I tell them that I am sorry that I cannot bring forward Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt as their parents!

Q : Are there any unforgettable experiences you could recollect?

Each case is different from another. Some of the stories that the birth mothers say are poignantly and palpably sad and heart wrenching, while others I find hilarious. For instance, I was trying to find the father of one of the adoptees and I sought information from the birth mother who claimed that she had no connection to the father of the baby after she became pregnant.  One day she said the father was “Bada”,  the next day it  was “Suda”, a week later she said it was“Kota” and I panicked as to how many DNA tests I had to perform to find the real father. One of the names given in her list was also that of a Buddhist monk! A half a dozen names were given to me, but luckily, the second DNA test confirmed that the father was “Hunga”, whatever that name means! Many of the destitute parents have been helped both by me and the adoptees.

Q : What are the inter-country adoption laws in Iceland?

In 1986 an Icelandic couple legally adopted a baby girl who unfortunately died in the hotel room the day before they were to fly home. The lawyer immediately substituted the dead baby girl with a new born baby boy. The papers of the girl was used for this purpose and the couple did not go to the courts again. On arrival in Reykjavik, they confessed about the substitution to the relevant Icelandic authorities. Adoptions from Sri Lanka were instantly banned. But what the authorities failed to do at that time and even now, was to examine the previous adoptions of 1985/86 adoptees to determine as to how many of their papers were false. After this incident, adoptions continued from other countries like India, Romania, Chile, Guatemala, China and Turkey. Adoptions these days are very few and mainly from the Czech Republic and last year there were none.The Icelandic Adoption Society became a registered legal binding institution during the years 1999 to 2000. The Society follows strict rules and regulations set out by the 1993 Hague Convention on intercountry adoptions. Eighty percent (80%) of the funding of the Society comes from the Ministry of Justice which is the Central Authority.Today, the Society runs a high-quality mediation service based on catering to the best interests of the children.

Q : You were recently bestowed with a knighthood by the Iceland government. How do you feel about receiving this accolade?

Receiving the Order of the Golden Falcon, which is the highest honour that the country could bestow on anyone who has done something exemplary, was the biggest surprise of my life. When I started putting families together, I did not even know that such an award existed and never worked towards getting that recognition. During the last years,  I have struggled with the Icelandic/Sri Lankan adoptees over their human rights violations and racism that they have faced in this country. Often I have acted as a psychologist to them, though that is clearly not my profession. In some cases, I am their mother and keep daily contact with them, giving them the moral support they so desperately need. To me, this Knighthood I received, is a recognition of human rights and the struggle against racism and I thank the adoptees and everyone including the Icelandic Media for having  brought my work to the attention of the President and the general public of Iceland. This award has humbled me and made me aware as to how much more work is required to assist the adoptees.

Q  You have been living in one of the happiest countries in the world for the greater part of your life. Do you think Sri Lanka would achieve this status in future?

Living in a highly developed and affluent country is a great priviledge and I am thankful to my late husband for having taken the decision to move to Iceland many years ago. As a foreigner or rather an immigrant, to become qualified and recognised as an academic was an up-hill task. I often became a sitting duck for work-place bullies and racists. I can safely say that racial hatred and professional jealousies are lethal. Though humble pie is not my favourite dish, I have often been forced to taste it. Those experiences devastated me initially, but eventually steeled my resolve to move on, work harder and achieve a few of my goals. During the years I have lived here, I promoted Sri Lanka, contributing to all kinds of cultural events for fund raising purposes. I am a Buddhist and I believe in Karma and I feel that I came to Iceland for a specific purpose, and that is to learn, to give my best to whoever who asks for my help and whatever short-time is left in my life, I will try my best to serve that purpose wherever I am. Though I have lived in Iceland for decades and I am a citizen of Iceland, heart and soul I am a proud Sri Lankan. Whatever hardships the country is experiencing Sri Lanka is my country and that is where I truly belong.
Iceland has been one of the top countries regarding happiness.  Happiness seems to be measured by the country‘s wealth, education and health systems and over all salaries. However, Iceland is one of the most expensive countries in the world and it is known that a significant sector of the Icelandic population is dependent on antidepressants and sleeping pills! Drug addiction is also an existing social problem.  For me, happiness is a state of mind and although financial prosperity can provide material objects and a good lifestyle, one can find happiness with lot less and by being contented with what you have. Sri Lanka has a long way to go to become a politically stable and an affluent country.  But I strongly believe that, “Sapathei, vipathei, nosalei, nothalei, ata lo dama huru helaya!”