The authorities in Haiti have given permission for 109 Haitian children to go to the Netherlands for adoption.

Adoptive parents have yet to be found for nine of the children, and they will be placed in temporary foster homes. Development and adoption agency Wereldkinderen and the Netherlands Adoption Foundation have chartered a plane to collect the children.

Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin decided at the weekend to fast-track the adoption procedure for the Haitian orphans, and all that was needed was permission from Haiti. Under normal circumstances it might have taken years for the Haitian authorities to process all the paperwork.

Nelleke Polderman of specialist adoption and parenting agency Basic Trust warns that the children will need extremely careful attention to help them cope with the double trauma of their earthquake experiences followed by the transfer to a completely alien environment.

Jan Peter Balkenende in interview with Vanessa Mock for Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 2009