As you can imagine, international adoption is plagued with politics. I have intentionally avoided this topic on the blog as it can be very depressing and complicated and my objective was to stay focused on the joy of our journey. Well, I should have known this topic was unavoidable and now it has become extremely urgent. This week, the president of Guatemala announced that any adoptions not approved by 12/31/07 will not be processed under the current system and possibly even stopped. Now, this could change because this action is unconstitutional and violates the Hague Convention. However, it does not mean that he won't try and it could cause significant delays or even a temporary shutdown. Our agency anticipates that the start date of any new legislation will be pushed back to spring. But, there is no guarantee. The situation in Guatemala has been very unstable for a few months now, but we have been given reassurance all along by both the US and Guatemalan Governments that any adoption in process before any changes in law/procedures would be grandfathered in under the old laws. The US Department of State issued an announcement this week as well and basically said to all of us adopting parents "sorry about your luck, but you are on your own with this one." So, these announcements have created a huge panic in the adoption world and in our house as well. The situation is very complicated and I cannot go into all of it now, but it is a very critical time for our voices to be heard on the matter. You can read more about the situation on many of my blogger friend's sites listed on the right hand side and on the following sites:
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Please Help
The MOST important thing you can do right now is to sign the following petition urging the US to support legislation in Guatemala that protects the future of Guatemalan children. It takes a few minutes of your time and there are thousands of Guatemalan children at risk. Thank you for supporting all of us in this process.
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2 comments:
FYI: This weblink doesn't work as is. Just take out the second "http//". I just signed the petition and will keep all of my fingers and toes crossed that everyone's adoptions (and especially yours!!) go smoothly.
Steph- I've sent all my e-mails and letters through another bloggers information. We're behind you all and we are on our knees in prayer for Eli to come home!
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