Ghana's Social Welfare Department had approved an interim adoption and the couple began the paperwork to bring the children to Canada. The requirement included a copy of the mother's death certificate.
That's where things went wrong.
Bastin said the twins' 24-year-old "senior brother'' went to the family's village to get the document but was told he had to go to Accra. There, he paid an official to get the death certificate, which turned out to be invalid. Bastin and Segal said they later learned the bureaucrat had no authority to issue the document, which should have come from local officials in the first place.
The invalid death certificate raised alarms at Canada's high commission in Ghana, which handles visa and immigration files from a dozen African countries. Ghana is a hub for human trafficking, including children taken out of the country.
The couple said Canadian officials refused to provide documents allowing Bastin to take the twins back to Canada until the 44-year-old mother's death was confirmed.
Both Bastin and the boys' older brother obtained copies of the genuine death certificate from officials of the village, along with hospital records confirming how she died and affidavits from relatives saying she was indeed dead.
The boys' father, who Bastin said is in his 70s, also formally gave up his parental rights.
Labels: international, ghana, Canada, paperwork
Posted By: Aspen/CRC
