Saturday, May 30, 2009

UPDATE: DOS Alert for Ethiopia - Addis Ababa Abandonment Cases


From:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children’s Issues


May 26, 2009

Adoptions of Abandoned Children Halted by Ethiopian Court

On May 4, 2009 the Ethiopian First Instance Court temporarily stopped accepting cases involving abandoned children referred by orphanages in Addis Ababa, citing a substantial increase in the number of children being brought for adoption. The number of abandoned children from orphanages in Addis Ababa has grown dramatically in recent months and Ethiopian authorities have become aware of possible cases of unethical practices associated with some of them.

Neither the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA) nor the First Instance Court had been accepting abandonment cases from any orphanage in Addis Ababa pending an inquiry. However, on May 23 the Court confirmed that while the investigation into cases of abandoned children continues, it has begun accepting cases of abandoned children referred from Addis Ababa government orphanages. These include the following orphanages:

  • Kebebe Tsehay Orphanage
  • Ketchene Orphanage
  • Kolfe Youth Center

Please continue to monitor adoption.state.gov for updated information on Ethiopia.


Source: http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia%20alert.html

Friday, May 29, 2009

Ethiopa Addis Abandonment Cases: Information and Support Resouces for PAPs


PEAR is attempting to bring you the latest in reports from Ethiopia and the US government. We suggest the following resources for PAPs and interested parties to keep abreast of developments as they occur:

Yahoo groups:
PEAR Newsletter Group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PEARnewsletter

Blogs:
Current News on Ethiopian Abandonment Cases http://ethioadoptionnews.blogspot.com/
PEAR's blog http://pear-now.blogspot.com/

Government Websites:
http://www.adoption.state.gov/news/notices.html

Support for PAPs affected by the current situation with abandonment cases from Addis Ababa can be found here:
http://www.adoptionboard.net

We also encourage all adoption service providers with Ethiopian programs to provide complete and accurate information to their client families.

If you have information to share, please contact PEAR at http://us.mc01g.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=reform@pear-now.org and Current News on Ethiopian Abandonment Cases at http://us.mc01g.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=EthioAdoption@gmail.com

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Ethiopia Update from US Embassy Addis Ababa


PEAR has confirmed that the following email was sent this week by the US Consular Section in Addis Ababa to all US adoption agencies for which the Embassy has contact information:

Dear All:

We contacted the Ethiopian Federal First Instance Court today. Court
President Ato Dessalegn told us that the investigation into cases of
abandoned children is still pending. But, the Court has begun
accepting cases of abandoned children referred from Addis Ababa
government orphanages. These include the following orphanages:
* Kebebe Tsehay Orphanage
* Ketchene Orphanage
* Kolfe Youth Center

I hope this information is helpful.

Regards,
Paul Cantrell
Consular Section Chief
U.S. Embassy, Addis Ababa

Updates will be published on the DOS website www.adoption.state.gov and by PEAR as we receive them.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Important Notice on the Hunagrian Adoption Process


The following notice was recently published by the Hungarian Central Authority concerning adoptions from Hungary. The US DOS website does not currently contain information on adoption from Hungary . If you are a prospective adoptive family currently working with an agency and hoping to adopt a young child (under 8) from Hungary, please forward this notice to your agency.

Information for the prospective adoptive parents about the number of the applications the Hungarian Central Authority can accept in 2009
:

"The Hungarian Parliament ratified the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption in 2005.

The Hungarian Central Authority has been dealing with intercountry adoptions since October 2005 and according to the three years long experience, the number of the children, their age and health status as well as the high number of the applicants being registered in the international registry the Central Authority determines how many applications they will accept in 2009.

The Central Authority is responsible for the applicants. We informed the accredited bodies several times the last months that there is almost no chance of adopting healthy children younger than 6 years old and in spite of this fact, we received applications wishing a healthy child under 6 even in the last days. There are more than 100 prospective adoptive parents in our registry who want to adopt a healthy child or a child with small, correctable problem under six. So far in 2008 we could only help three international adoptions of children with these characteristics. (There were some other young children, but they had older siblings.) There are plenty of applicants waiting in Hungary and the children under 6 can be adopted in Hungary as well.

According to the above mentioned facts, we do not accept applications in 2009 that are for the adoption of healthy children under 8 years old.

We accept 10 applications from every accredited body (competent authority) that are

* for the adoption of a child (or siblings) above 8.

We accept 5 applications from every accredited body(competent authority) that are

* for the adoption of a mentally disabled or ill child who is under 8.

We accept 5 applications from every accredited body (competent authority) that are

* for the adoption of minimum three siblings.

Regarding the fact that there are a lot of couples waiting in our registry, and according to the Hungarian rules the couples are privileged, therefore we do not accept applications from singles as we do not see any chance that they could adopt from Hungary.

Besides these we do not wish to start cooperation with any new country or accredited body in 2009 regarding the high number of the applications and the low number of the adoptable children in our registry.

We will look through our registry every year and we will inform You at the end of every year about the applications we can accept in the future."

http://www.szmm.gov.hu/main.php?folderID=16497&articleID=40767&ctag=articlelist&iid=1

Sunday, May 17, 2009

First Mother Letters


We were recently made aware of a project by one of our members at PEAR and we would like to share this idea with our friends:

First Mother Letters is a project of Weaving Families Adoption Ministry.

The First Mother Letter project as a way for adoptive parents, adoptees and first parents to share letters from the heart. Letters that for whatever reason are unable to be physically sent to the intended recipient.

PEAR encourages members of the triad to participate in this project. To do so, submit a letter or letters to be posted to letters@weavingfamilies.com You can submit letters either with your identifying information or anonymously. Please do keep in mind that your child’s history belongs to him or her and to protect the identity of your child’s birthparents if you do have identifying information.

For more information on this project and to view current submissions, please visit the website:
http://firstmotherletters.wordpress.com/about-the-project/

Thursday, May 14, 2009

UPDATE: Ethiopia


From the US Consular Office in Addis Ababa concerning the Ethiopian courts’ suspension of hearing cases involving abandoned children from orphanages in Addis Ababa:

"According to the Ethiopian First Instance Court and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA), the Court has temporarily stopped accepting cases involving abandoned children referred from orphanages in Addis Ababa, citing concern over a recent increase in the number of abandoned children being brought for adoption. The number of abandoned children from orphanages in Addis Ababa has grown dramatically in recent months and Ethiopian authorities have become aware of possible cases of unethical practices associated with some of them. Currently neither MOWA nor the First Instance Court are accepting any abandonment case from any orphanages in Addis Ababa pending an inquiry.

The Embassy is working with stake holders as well as Ethiopian authorities to further clarify the nature and impact of this suspension and to identify options for resolving problems. I would recommend that interested parties monitor the Department of State’s website at http://adoption.state.gov/ for updated information on Ethiopia.

Thank you again for your message and for bringing this issue to our attention."

Excerpted from May 14 Letter to PEAR from Paul Cantrell, Consular Section Chief. U.S. Embassy, Addis Ababa


Saturday, May 9, 2009

A Mother's Day Gift - Real Moms


I recently read this post on another adoption listserve and it touched my heart enough that I wanted to share it with our PEAR readers. So, with permission from the author, I give you all a Mother's Day gift, Gina Pollock, President, PEAR (please note, the author of this peice has chosen to remain anonymous to protect her privacy and the privacy of her children)

On an adoption-related list, someone posted that Mother's Day was for "real moms", i.e., not birthmoms. I would like to reply from the perspective of the many hats I wear: a birthmom, bio-mom, and adoptive mom.

I don't agree with limiting the title of "real mother" to adoptive moms. I truly wish that the phrase "real mother" be banished from the lexicon! I think about what that phrase means when one of my children, in momentary anger, say to me "You're not my real mom." It comes from wanting to hurt my feelings, and she knows it might get to me, even though she is just 7 years old. When we use the phrase ourselves, taking the title of "real mom", I believe that it is also meant to hurt the birthmother, even subliminally. Or it is meant to cope with our own feelings of fear or loss. But I don't believe that the term is ever useful or okay. Do we really need to say to our children that we are their "real" mom? Do we doubt for a minute our place in their emotional life? Choosing to celebrate birthmothers on a separate day, is, to me, like saying, "Oh, thanks so much for your sacrifice. Now go away and don't remind us that there is anyone else my child might have feelings for."

I am many kinds of mom, all of them "real." I have 4 children: a grown son, two grade-schoolers, and a toddler. All but one of my children have two real moms. My oldest son was born to me and was raised by his adoptive mom. I have another bio son that I am raising, and two girls who became my daughters through adoption. I try never to use the term real mom, other than to say that they have two real moms--the one who gave birth to them and the one who raises them. Each mom's meaning in their lives is different, and important, and how they feel about it will be different for each child.

As far as a "Birthmother's Day," the adoptive mom in me says it's a nice idea to honor her. The birthmom in me says it should not take the place of the other Mother's Day. Acknowledging a birthmother only on "Birthmother's Day" is, to me, just another way of saying you're not a "real" mom.

I knew I'd met the man I was going to marry when, the first Mother's Day after we met, he sent me a Mother's Day card with a personal thought written inside. My first child would have been about 20 by then. This was the first time anyone had acknowledged that I was a mother on Mother's Day. Sure, most regular Hallmark cards wouldn't make sense. But he found one that was simple enough, and it meant the world to me. I knew that a man that perceptive and sensitive was the guy for me.

I know that my oldest son doesn't think of me when he gets hurt, or when he remembers that special birthday party or Thanksgiving dinner. And that is how it should be. I love him enough to not be threatened by his secure love for his mom, but rather am happy for it. I’d like to think that she is not threatened by the love he has for me, because she shouldn't be. And I hope that my unique experience has taught me to let go and not be threatened by my girls' feelings for their own birthmothers. Not that I don't get a twinge here and there, that's for sure! But if I can't let my children express love for their birthmothers, as mothers, then to me it is like saying, in a way, that their birthmother doesn't love them like a mother. I can tell you that every day of my life, I think of my first child, and my love for him is no less intense than my love for the three children I am lucky enough to be parenting. I hope that is also the case for my girls' birthmothers.

I don't presume to speak for all birthmothers, and I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but I am glad to have this forum to express my take on things.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

UPDATE: Vietnam - DOS Statement May 1, 2009


http://www.adoption.state.gov/news/vietnam.html

Vietnam
Adoption Notice
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children's Issues

May 1, 2009


U.S. citizens are not able to register a new adoption in Vietnam at this time. The Government of Vietnam has stated its intention to introduce new adoption legislation and to institute reforms in the adoption process, and has indicated that the anticipated new legislation and implementing regulations may take effect in 2011. Establishing new procedures and ensuring that they are effective will take additional time. Adoption service providers and prospective adoptive parents should not seek or accept new referrals from Vietnam at this time.

On October 15, 2008, the Governments of Vietnam and the United States
jointly announced that intercountry adoptions were suspended until a new bilateral agreement is reached or Vietnam accedes to the Hague Adoption Convention. (Vietnamese law requires that a bilateral agreement or international convention must be in place; a previous agreement between Vietnam and the United States expired September 1, 2008.) This decision is based on evidence of significant irregularities, fraud concerns, and the lack of sufficient legal safeguards in Vietnam's current adoption process.

Nearly all adoptions for which an official referral had been issued before September 1, 2008 have now been processed to completion. The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi and Vietnamese officials are assisting families whose cases are still pending. Questions about these cases may be sent to http://us.mc01g.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=hanoiadoptions@state.gov.

The Governments of the United States and Vietnam are seriously concerned about the inconsistencies and deficiencies that led to a mutual decision not to renew our previous bilateral agreement. Vietnamese criminal investigations and U.S. field reviews revealed evidence of child buying, including forged or altered documents, cash payment to birth mothers (for other than reasonable payments for necessary activities), coercion or deceit to induce the birth parent(s) to release children to an orphanage, and children being offered for intercountry adoption without the knowledge or consent of their birth parents. Vietnamese criminal investigations into certain intercountry adoptions are still on-going as of May 2009.

The United States continues to meet regularly with Vietnamese officials to discuss intercountry adoption. Talks in Hanoi and Washington, D.C. have focused on the broad range of child welfare responsibilities encompassed by the Convention, the principles underlying the Hague Adoption Convention, and the practical requirements for implementing procedures that the Convention requires. During these meetings, representatives from both countries acknowledged that intercountry adoptions from Vietnam to the United States cannot resume until fundamental reforms are in place to ensure a transparent child welfare system that has the best interests of the children as its first priority, and which protects the fundamental rights of all parties.

The United States welcomes action by the Government of Vietnam to investigate and prosecute individuals responsible for illegal activities related to intercountry adoptions. The United States also strongly supports Vietnam's efforts to establish a comprehensive child welfare system that includes the option of intercountry adoption for children when family preservation or domestic alternatives are not possible. At this time it is not known when Vietnam will implement reforms sufficient to address the problems which led to the current halt in intercountry adoptions to the United States.

Friday, May 1, 2009

UPDATE: Nepal Signs Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption


From the Hague News Announcements April 28, 2009:

Nepal signs Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention

28-04-2009

"On Tuesday 28 April 2009, the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption was signed by H.E. Mr Pramesh Kuman Hamal, Ambassador of Nepal to the Benelux and the European Communities.

Mr Deepak Dhital, DCM/Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Nepal, also attended the short ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague, as well as Mr William Duncan, Deputy Secretary General, and Mrs Laura Martínez-Mora, Adoption Programme Co-ordinator, as representatives of the Hague Conference. "

http://tinyurl.com/NepalHague

PEAR has contacted the US Department of State and US Embassy in Nepal concerning any effects this may have on waiting parents and prospective parents considering Nepal as an option. Please know that Nepal has signed the Convention but there has not been a ratification or accession by the Nepalese government. Until Nepal enters the Convention into force, prospective parents should be able to continue with an I-600a process. We will keep you informed of any changes or information as we hear it.