Scandale Arche De Zoe

Zoé's Ark (French: L'Arche de Zoé) is a French charity organization with the aim of increasing awareness of the crisis in Darfur and providing aids for children who were affected by the conflict.

The group, registered as a non-governmental organization with the French authorities was originally created in order to help children victims of the December 2004 tsunami in Asia, especially in the region of Banda Aceh in Indonesia, the association is expanding its activities in Sudan and Chad in 2007, through "Operation Darfur " also known as " Children Rescue " operation.

During the operations of the association in Darfur, two related associations which gathering families and wishing to receive orphans from Darfur are created:

• The Collective of families for orphans from Darfur (COFOD) in France 17 July 2007.

• Kiro and Louna - COFOD Belgium 14 September 2007.

Recently, the organization was brought into the public's awareness with the arrest of six members and 11 others in Abéché, Chad accused of abducting 103 African children.

In this case we will explain the end of this scandal and its repercussions.

II. Background history

Zoé's Ark was formed "by motoring enthusiasts from the French four-wheel-drive community to aid victims of the December 2004 Asian tsunami". More specifically, Zoé's Ark was founded in 2005 by volunteer fireman Éric Breteau, former president of the French 4x4 Federation who named it after a girl orphaned by the December 2004 Asian tsunami.

Between 2005 and 2006, the association works on the re-establishment of affected areas in Indonesia after the horrible tsunami of the region. Then the association decided to build four refugee camps at Banda Aceh which is the main town in Indonesia. After this drama, the operation “Books for children” was created in order to give to 100.000 children the possibility to access to places of culture, intellectual enrichment and fulfillment.

Realizing the success of their project, the members of the Zoe’s Ark association decide to help others countries which face problems like wars, poverty, famine… That’s was the beginning of their first actions in the Darfur.

The Darfur Operation in 2007 aimed to collect funds and was intended to organize the evacuation of supposedly orphans under 5 years to make them obtain the status of asylum seeker by using host families nay to allow to these host families to make a simple or full adoption of these children providing that:

• The asylum was granted.

• The appropriate administrator who represents the child has made an application for naturalization.

• The naturalization has been accepted, allowing the application for approval and the attribution by the social services child welfare (ASE).

Donations to the association averaged €1,490 per family.

III. Scandal

On 26 December 2007, six members of the charity organization Zoe's Ark were formally charged by the government of Chad for child abduction. Eric Breteau, founder of the Zoe's

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