Months after the scandal that involved six aid workers from the French-based charity Zoe’s Arc, all of the Chadian children will be reunited with their parents. After it was discovered that they were not Sudanese orphans but Chadian children with parents that are still alive, they were temporarily placed in an orphanage until everything was sorted out.
The six aid workers were given eight years of hard labor by the Chadian courts. But, due to an agreement between Chad and France, the six workers are serving their sentences back home in France. It was also revealed that the extradition back to France was part of a deal for French military assistance to fight off Chadian rebels.
Zoe’s Ark was planning to fly the children out to be adopted by families across Europe. The six aid workers said that they were led to believe that they were orphans from Sudan where there is a lot of bloodshed still going on. On a side note, most of the violence and murder is concentrated on the Darfur region. In relation, the issue of Darfur is one of the major woes surrounding the 2008 Olympics set to take place in Beijing, China, this coming August.
The United Nation’s children fund known as UNICEF and the Chadian government are fronting the bill to fly the children back to their families. About 83 children have been sent back home.
Five of the children are actually Sudanese. So far, they will be placed in the temporary custody of the International Red Cross.
Currently, Zoe’s Arc is also under investigation. This charity had come under harsh criticism from the United Nations for this incident.