Child adoption and war: ‘Living disappeared’ children and the social worker’s post-conflict role in El Salvador and Argentina

The illegal removal of children from biological family life during conflict has a longstanding history. Briefly overviewed are the Vietnam Babylift and a more recent child abduction attempt in Chad. Then, turning to the history of child abduction and adoption history in Latin America, the conflicts of El Salvador and Argentina are presented and ‘living disappeared’ children – those who disappear into adoption networks during war – are discussed. The post-conflict social realities in both nations are explored. The role of the social worker and specific practices are identified and discussed in context of generalist social work practice.