Case Family in Hong Kong

For those of you unaware, in February of 2007 we started the process to adopt from Guatemala. Over $12,000USD spent and 15 months later and we hear this:

May 7th in the New York Times:

Guatemala has ordered a one-month hiatus in foreign adoptions, to investigate potential fraud. A law that took effect in January created a government adoption authority to replace an adoption system handled by private lawyers. The suspension affects 2,300 adoptions that began earlier. The attorney general, Baudilio Portillo, said the cases, most of them involving American parents, will be individually reviewed, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Under the country’s new adoption law, which took effect Jan. 1 to comply with an international treaty to prevent human trafficking, adoptions will be taken out of the hands of agencies and lawyers and handed over to Guatemala’s notoriously sluggish courts and the National Adoptions Council.

On January 10th we were told this by our adoption agency:

We have been assured by the U.S. State Department that the Guatemalan government will honor and proceed with adoptions started before December 30th 2007.

Some in the government who oppose the adoption process have decided to object to this “grandfathering in process”. They know that they can’t change the law, so they have decided to fight the system with a number of new regulations, knowing they will eventually be forced to comply with the law, but in the mean time they succeed in causing problems. The main regulation they have implemented is that all cases, new and old must (obtain an aviso) register with the Central Authority. As of this moment, a Central Authority does not exist. Therein you can see that changing the rules is merely a pretext to cause problem.

On April 23rd our adoption agency posted the following on their blog www.eaglesnestint.org :

Why can’t we get answers? The officials are in their offices, so let’s just pray they will do their jobs. All they have to do is sign the adoptions. Why don’t they care? The “Blame” is NOT with lawyers, or the home, nor SDI; it is with the officials in high places. Mixco civil register is bribing others and us in order to get a Birth Certificate they are asking for a laptop or $$$$. This is not right. Most towns the BC is given the same day or the next week, Mixco says 6 weeks or longer unless you PAY!

PGN has 44 of our cases. There is no need for them to sit there and not sign. The babies want to be home, the families want them, we want them to go and the officials don’t want to care for them. Let’s all just pray that this week all will be signed! SDI is hurting for you all. Nido needs your prayers, and Larry and I wish we could do something.

On May 9th we received the following statement from SDI’s Attorney in Guatemala:

The PGN has decided to stop the approval of pending cases. They have decided to conduct interviews with each and every birth mother of children in the adoption process in PGN, the final court. This is one of the new requirements by the Hague that mothers be interviewed. The current cases are supposedly “grandfathered in” according to the State Dept. and now with this, it’s almost like the cases are not grandfathered in. They have not given the exact order in which they plan to begin the interview process of the more that 2000 cases in PGN, however 3 of Pedro Cabrera’s cases are scheduled for this Friday.

As for now Pedro’s office is calling contact people and informing them that they need to find and brief the birth mothers and inform them of the upcoming interviews. We are confident we will be able find all the birth mothers, however there will be a cost involved in locating and paying the time and travel expenses of the birth mothers, contacts people to travel to Pedro’s offices and to Guatemala City for the interview. After talking to the attorney, we expect this will cost an average from start to finish of an additional $1,000.00. We also understand that the children are going to be with the mothers during the interview and there is that possibility that the mothers may be made to feel guilty and they may also change their minds. Please keep this in your prayers. We know that many of you have waited a LONG time to get your child and this latest delay is very critical.

We have asked Pedro several questions that many of you are probably already wondering about:

1.If the family decides to NOT pay the $1000 for expenses for the birth mother to come in for the interview, what will happen? If you do not pay, the mother does not come in and the case is lost.

2.If the family pays the $1000 for the mother’s expenses and she changes her mind or the PGN doesn’t like her answers what will happen? The case will also be lost.

3.If the Attorney does not get the mother in for her appointment, the case may also be lost. (We are checking on this right now) The PGN is notifying the Attorneys and they have to pick up the paper that tells them of the date and time of the appointment.

4.If our case is abandonment, what will happen? In abandonment cases, there is no mother, but there will still be interviews with the attorney, the child and Ana, the legal representative of Eagle’s Nest.

5.If the interview is positive and the case is approved, how long will it be before it’s signed and the case is “OUT”? At this time, Pedro doesn’t have any idea when the case will be signed, it might be next week for these 3 that have interviews tomorrow, or it could be longer, we just don’t know.

In January our orphanage also told us this:

If adoptions are delayed so that we are unable to finalize cases, we will have insufficient funds to run the children’s home within 60 days. Families whose cases exceed 6 months are sending childcare, but that is a fraction of the needed to care for these cases. Total cost for 60 children is $15,000 per month, which is $250 per child/month. Maybe someone reading this might want to help with childcare for one or more children during this very difficult and uncertain period. If so, please send a tax deductible check to:

Eagle’s Nest

310 W. Central

Suite 211

Wichita, Ks. 67202

It would not hurt for families to apply pressure by contacting the State Department, US Senators and Congressmen to remind them of their assurances to the families in process before Dec 30 2007.

Needless to say it’s been an emotional day around here…