[NancyAshe]

The top story on many news sites in Canada (and around the world) these days is about a 22-year old woman named Alexandra Austin. Adopted as a 9-year old from Romania by a couple in Canada, she is now a stateless person and her baby is also stateless. What happened?

According to news reports and a documentary film about her ("Return to Sender"), her adoptive parents returned her to Romania 5 months after the adoption, after they adopted a Romanian baby. Just sent her back. By herself.

If there are loopholes in adoption law and practice, it appears that Alexandra Austin fell through every one. No longer legally related to her birth family in Romania, she was not able to go to school, have access to services, or even marry. Romania did not consider her a citizen, and neither did Canada (no automatic citizenship on adoption).

And she's suing. She suing her adoptive parents, she's suing the Ontario and Canadian governments, and she's suing the airline that carried her back alone to Romania. She's suing for "years of hardship and loss of identity." She's suing for $5.7M (US) - $7M Canadian.

Read news reports on this story.

She also has her own Web site.

[numbr1dbcksfan]

GOOD FOR HER! This whole thing is just sickening. I hope she is able to salvage her life...

[Shellemarie]

Bless her heart. I am glad she has the strength in her to fight back. This story has really bothered me! The Canadian family who adopted her definitely need to be accountable for what happened to this poor child. I can't believe that they thought what they did to her was actually an "OK" thing to do. How did they sleep at night??? How are they not in jail for neglect, or abandonment, or contributing to the deliquency of a minor, or SOMETHING!!!
Good Grief!
Shell