A British toddler remains in a Romanian orphanage after his mother took him from the UK and failed to return
Romania: A British toddler has been left in a Romanian orphanage after his mother, Mariana-Mirabela Neagu, took him from the UK. She had taken him from a care facility in Oxfordshire, claiming she would return him later. But she never did.
Instead, she traveled to Romania with her son and then came back to the UK alone. The little boy, just two years old, is now stuck in an orphanage, and people are worried about his safety. The memories of Romania’s orphanages from the past are still haunting.
Neagu, who doesn’t have a permanent home, was given a suspended sentence of two years in court. The judge expressed deep concern for the child, saying it was like she had abandoned him. Neagu was emotional during the hearing, which made the situation even more heartbreaking.
The toddler was born in the UK and was taken into care because authorities felt Neagu couldn’t look after him properly. When she took him out for a day trip, she just vanished. Authorities tracked her GPS and found she had traveled through several countries before reaching Romania.
Once there, she left her son with a boyfriend and returned to the UK, where she was arrested. While she was in custody, her boyfriend put the child in an orphanage, where he has been for over a month now. There are talks about bringing him back to the UK, but it’s still uncertain.
Romania’s orphanages have a dark history, and even though things have improved, the past still casts a shadow. Many children suffered neglect and abuse in those places, and the thought of a child being left there raises alarms.
The judge made it clear that taking a child to Romania and leaving him there is harmful. Now, efforts are underway to see if the child can be safely returned to the UK, but the outcome is still up in the air.
