Die SOS Kinderdörfer und die verschwundene Kinder in Syrien

Der Skandal um die SOS Kinderdörfer in Syrien geht weiter. Und nicht nur dort, sondern auch in Österreich und Deutschland gerät die Organisation unter immer größeren Druck, wurde doch jetzt auch bekannt, dass ihr Gründer, Hermann Gmeiner, selbst in Fälle von Kindesmissbrauch verwickelt war.

Über den Stand in Syrien berichtet die Byline Times:

The recent investigations into Syria’s “stolen children” have uncovered a bleak truth. Documents and testimonies indicate that children “disappeared” under Bashar al-Assad were hidden in so-called orphanages, including facilities run by the global charity SOS Children’s Villages. Many were not orphans, but the sons and daughters of detainees and regime opponents.

The centres were used to extort and punish their families. Reporting by Lighthouse Reports, the Observer and the BBC details mothers denied answers, records altered, and children’s identities changed. The Syria scandal demands answers, but what SOS truly needs is a reckoning with the very foundations of its model of care.

SOS is not a small organisation. It is a federation operating in more than 130 countries which presents itself as the world’s largest provider of care for children without parental care. With revenues of €1.64 billion in 2023, the organisation operates with a level of power and influence comparable to some governments. That same year it claims to have provided “a range of care options” to about 69,000 children, while supporting 103,500 families to prevent separation, according to its own impact data.

At the heart of its system are the “villages”, clusters of houses where one SOS “mother” cares for up to ten children. Marketed as “family-like care”, these villages are essentially residential institutions. The idea is not new. A century ago, Barnardo’s in the UK built “cottage homes” on the same model, later abandoned because children were stigmatised and segregated from community life. SOS has repeated this model for many decades on a global scale. With tens of thousands of children in its care, it holds enormous influence yet operates without democratic oversight.

The Syria scandal is not the first time SOS has faced serious questions. In 2021 SOS commissioned independent reviews of historical abuse after allegations surfaced across the federation. The organisation issued apologies and pointed to stronger safeguarding, but survivors and whistleblowers continue to ask who has been held accountable and how decisions were made. The federation highlights reforms including a revised child safeguarding policy, a strengthened code of conduct and the creation of a global ombuds system. Yet these measures raise questions about whether they represent genuine cultural change or reactive crisis management.