social worker student saskia. saskia and her brothers were adopted after being rescued from their birth family. saskia. in their adoptive home, they suffered physical abuse and neglect for a decade. saskia, tell me about your brothers. so, max is the oldest. he is 2a, then i m 11 months younger than max, i m 23. and toby is 18 months younger, he is 22 at the moment. but we are all very, very close, very tight unit, always kind of been that way. when the adoption broke down, saskia and her brothers went back into council care but they didn t stay together for long. all three of us were in different placements, different areas, and it was quite strange as well
doing this film, i ve seen so many children in care estranged from their siblings and clearly substantial change is needed before more lives get affected forever. but this can t rely only on the goodwill of people on the front line. decisive action is now crucial. going on thisjourney, i see that the system is under pressure, so much pressure and social workers i think i ve got a new level of sympathy for them because they are so stretched, they are so overworked. i think one of the most encouraging things i will take away from meeting someone like saskia is from having the brothers in the union, even though i grew up not knowing my siblings, i now have the chance to meet with my family. i now have the chance to be. and create the life i want, and sometimes it will be blood, sometimes it won t, it doesn t actually matter.
because myself and max were obviously still attending the same school. oh, that must have been so awkward. it was really strange. at what point did the contact breakdown completely for all three of you? i would have been 1a, 15 and toby 13, yeah. i lost such a key part of myself i think because it was us three against the world, it always has been. and so being so far away from them, it is like i m not as strong any more. sometimes siblings is all you ve got left, and if you take those away, you re taking the last thing away. the last bit of hope. yes, yes, the last bit of your identity. saskia says they don t normally talk about their separation but her younger brother toby has agreed to meet me for a chat. are you going to sit like that while filming? yeah.
he is 22 at the moment. but we are all very, very close, very tight unit, always kind of been that way. when the adoption broke down, saskia and her brothers went back into council care but they didn t stay together for long. all three of us were in different placements, in different areas, and it was quite strange as well because myself and max were obviously still attending the same school. oh, that must have been so awkward. it was really strange. at what point this contact breakdown completely for all three of you? i would have been 1a, 15 and toby 13, yeah. i lost such a key part of myself i think because it was us three against the world, it always has been. and so being so far away from them, it is like i m not as strong any more. sometimes siblings is all you ve got left, and if you take those away, you re taking
someone like saskia is from having the brothers in the union, even though i grew up not knowing my siblings, i now have the chance to meet with my family. i now have the chance to be. and create the life i want, and sometimes it will be blood, sometimes it won t, it doesn t actually matter. as long as you have people you love to love you back, i think that s enough.