Part of this story:
The Terre des Hommes (India) Society was established in Calcutta by British national Milton McCann and a Swissair pilot from Switzerland, Kurt Bürki. It was registered as an organisation in 1976. Milton McCann had already founded his first charity, the Bengal Service Society in 1968, and was active in the slums of Calcutta. In 1972, he began working with the Swiss children's charity Terre des Hommes in Lausanne, which placed foreign children for adoption in Switzerland.
At this time, there was disagreement within Terre des Hommes about the development approach the charity should take. Differences of opinion on the topic of intercountry adoption led to a split. Edmond Kaiser, who had established the foundation in 1960, continued to place children for adoption through the section in Lausanne. Those who chose to leave joined forces in the organisations Terre des Hommes Switzerland in Basel and Terre des Hommes Switzerland in Geneva and integrated the well-known label into their new names. From 1972 onwards, Kaiser worked closely with Milton McCann to arrange adoptions of children from India. According to the Swiss embassy in New Delhi, he also served as Terre des Hommes’ official representative in India.
For around a quarter of a century, Milton McCann was active placing numerous Indian children for adoption in Switzerland. The collaboration proved problematic on multiple occasions in which scandals were revealed involving Milton McCann. Following an allegation of paedophilia, Terre des Hommes broke off their collaboration in 1996 and pressed charges. The trial launched in 1997 began in 2001, but never reached an outcome. The accused continued to work for two other Swiss children’s charities right up to his death in 2011.
Sources / literature
- https://davel.vd.ch/detail.aspx?Id=836505
- https://dodis.ch/52022
- https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/charity-rejects-cover-up-claim-in-paedophile-case/1607256
- Bernard Imhasly, "Konflikt um ‘Terre des Hommes’ in Indien", Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 11. 8. 2000, p. 13, and "Pädophilen-Skandale im Kinderhilfswerk", Der Bund, 11.8.2000, p. 5.
- Jean-Claude Péclet, "Une accusation de pédophilie déchire deux oeuvres d'entreaide suisse en Inde", Le Temps, 22. 1. 2001, p. 31.
- "Rundschau" publication of the Swissair airline pilots association (aeropers), November/December 1985, 32/259 (1985), p. 42.
- https://usthi.ch/wer-wir-sind/.
- https://www.we-care.ch/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/jahresbericht-we-care-2011.pdf.
- Sabine Bitter, "An Analysis of 24 Adoption Cases of Indian Children in the Cantons of Zurich and Thurgau", in: Andrea Abraham, Sabine Bitter, Rita Kesselring (ed.), Mother Unknown. Adoption of Children from India in the Swiss Cantons of Zurich and Thurgau, 1973–2002, Zurich 2004, p. 197–220.
