As you may or may not know, there are currently about 900 families stuck in the process of adopting children from Guatemala. These families have "grandfathered" under the new law, but the grandfathering provision has been obstructed in many ways. An Ad hoc organization called the Guatemala 900 has organized advocacy for the remaining cases, most of which seem to have entered a deep hole. At the rate of 10 -20 visas a month (at best) it will be years before all of these children come home to their patient, waiting families,if ever.
Recently, another Hogar, Primavera, was raided. Primavera is owned and managed by Susana Luarca, who has been an outspoken and passionate advocate for children without parental care in Guatemala and a critic of the government and Unicef's adoption policies. Primavera has been known for its excellent care and is a showcase orphanage. That did not stop the authorities from raiding Primavera and taking all 17 children, most of whom have adoptive families committed to them, all of whom had court orders to remain in Primavera. The children were taken at gunpoint and spent at least 6 hours on the floor of the courthouse before they were dispersed to various children's homes.
Contact your members of Congress! Contact your Secratary of State! Do it today!!!!
I received this email from our adoption agency (who still have 5 families in limbo with their adoptions) today:
The Guatemala 900 has promoted this initiative. It is important to get as many congressional signatures on this letter as possible. We have to begin by holding the Dept Of State to a certain standard of action on behalf of you, the U.S. Citizen family and the well being of the child you are adopting. PLEASE also get as many friends and family involved in getting the attention and signatures of senators and congressional reps.
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TIME FOR ACTION: Senator Boxer has sponsored a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to address our in-process adoptions. The Senator has invited the rest of Congress to sign on – and needs to close signatures by Tuesday August 25.
WE NEED YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO ADD THEIR SIGNATURES TO THIS LETTER.
·Please contact the WASHINGTON DC offices of your Congressional reps. Contact info is here: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/index.html
·Ask for the Legislative Director, Chief of Staff or Staffer for Intercountry Adoption.
·Tell them to contact Senator Boxer’s Legislative Aide to sign on to the letter (contact info is below).
·Forward Boxer’s invitation to them via email or fax
The email conventions for Congressional contacts:
Senate: firstname_lastname@lastnamofsenator.senate.gov (with an underscore between first & last name)
House: firstname.lastname@mail.house.gov (with a period between first & last name)
If your reps have questions about the letter or about Guatemala adoption, they can contact Kathleen or Becky at Congressional Coalition on Adoption (202-544-8500).
Please reach out to them THIS WEEK: make the phone call and forward Boxer’s invitation, below.
Guatemala900 is very grateful for Senator Boxer’s leadership and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption’s support for this effort. Now we need to deliver the signatures, and make our voices heard.
Feel free to use this letter I sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:
August 19, 2009
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
Dear Secretary Clinton:
As a US Citizen with an internationally adopted child from Guatemala, I URGE YOU TO HELP the hundreds of families who entered into adoptions of Guatemalan children in good faith and with the sole intent of providing a permanent, loving home to a child in need. Due to recent changes in the adoption laws in Guatemala, these adoptions have stagnated for over 18 months, forcing the children involved to remain in institutions or temporary care. Furthermore, many of these cases have been subjected to requests for new information and additional investigation.
I applaud Guatemala’s decision to require that all adoptions meet Hague standards and I share Guatemala’s goal to see that all children and their birth parents are protected from exploitation. I also appreciate the State Department’s efforts to assist the government of Guatemala in its transition to the Hague and promote a transparent and efficient adoption process.
However, I am concerned that extended and unexplained delays in the processing of these pending adoptions and the subsequent extension of the time these children are spending outside the care of a permanent family may have long-term physical and emotional consequences. In several cases, families have been left without the information they need and deserve to protect their rights under the law.
I believe it is in the best interest of these children for the U.S. government to play an active role in ensuring that their cases are completed in a fair and timely manner. As such, I respectfully request that you take the following steps.
·Direct the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs to meet personally with Guatemalan officials with the purpose of achieving consensus on a standard process for remaining U.S. cases.
·Direct a senior member of Consular Affairs to engage in regular conference calls and emails with families who have pending adoptions in Guatemala to update them on Embassy efforts to resolve these cases.
I sincerely hope that you will work to ensure that intercountry adoption reform in Guatemala is being carried out in a way that protects the interests of children, birth parents, and adoptive parents alike.
Thank you for your consideration of these important requests.