Throng

Thursday, February 22nd at 8:30pm

Part two of this gripping documentary reveals how Kiwi nurse Alana Cleland and her adopted son Iani have become trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare; and why Romanian authorities are panicking about inter-country adoptions, Inside New Zealand: The Rescue Of Iani, Part Two, screening Thursday, February 22nd at 8:30pm.

When Kiwi nurse Alan Cleland was ordered to return her adopted son Iani to the Romanian authorities early 2005 it appeared to be a human rights tragedy. This is a landmark case that has shocked New Zealand and made headlines in Romania.

It is of particular current interest since Alana and Iani are among several hundred families from around the world that have been devastated by Romania’s decision to end all international adoptions.

When New Zealand paediatric nurse Alana Cleland volunteered to work in a Romanian orphanage as a 22-year-old, she fell in love with ten month old gypsy baby, Iani Lingurar, and was determined to give him a new life in New Zealand.

Then, Romania suddenly slammed the doors on inter-country adoptions leaving Alana and Iani in limbo. Its government claimed Alana had stolen the boy and demanded Iani be returned.

Alana says she has met Iani’s birth mother – a Romanian gypsy who had given birth to possibly 11 children, nine left in hospitals or orphanages.

But the background even to seemingly straightforward adoptions is often complex and riddled with human rights abuses against Romanian parents – initiated during the reign of former Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu.

Alana and Iani’s story will also help shed light on the greater tragedy, the Romanian orphanage system, and the reasons why Romania is closing its doors to international adoptions.

Tune in to the second part of Inside New Zealand: The Rescue Of Iani, screening Thursday, February 22nd at 8:30pm.