This week, I am shocked to see a hot international adoption topic is that Russia is almost officially shutting down adoption to US families. The obvious victims are the hundreds and thousands of orphans in Russia - their chances of being adopted into a decent family is slim. Many Eastern European children who are given up suffer from a mild or debilitating form of fetal alcohol syndrome. Many adoptive parents struggle through it, but it's hard. Some fail. Russian adoptive parents also fail. But Russia still recalls the horrible American mother who returned her adopted child on a plane, unaccompanied. Rightly so, that has outraged Russians. It is sickening that any mother would do that.
The latest article
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/22/world/europe/russian-parliament-gives-final-approval-to-us-adoption-ban.html?ref=europe
Increasingly, international adoption is becoming harder and harder. The Hague Convention is supposed to improve things. But in reality, it has just provided more red tape. Legitimate prospective adopters jump through all the hoops. Sex trade and child traffickers bury themselves further and further underground. Yes, some orphanages have been caught stealing babies to put them up for adoption. But there is no good answer to explain why countries have thousands, hundreds of thousands of orphans, in need of good homes, and yet barely hundreds or a few thousand seem to be adopted internationally these days. Countries suddenly shut down all adoptions, or change the rules to make it harder and harder (like India), and the children fester.
Countries appear to feel embarassed their kids need adopting. But it is just a fact. It seems to have become part of politics again. It's very sad. The citizens of one country do not have the right to adopt an orphan child from any other country. But when that country doesn't have enough people willing to take on those kids, why not let them be adopted internationally? No good reason exists.
The path to Tara looms long, challenging and uncertain. I pray she is safe and cherished wherever she is.
The latest article
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/22/world/europe/russian-parliament-gives-final-approval-to-us-adoption-ban.html?ref=europe
Increasingly, international adoption is becoming harder and harder. The Hague Convention is supposed to improve things. But in reality, it has just provided more red tape. Legitimate prospective adopters jump through all the hoops. Sex trade and child traffickers bury themselves further and further underground. Yes, some orphanages have been caught stealing babies to put them up for adoption. But there is no good answer to explain why countries have thousands, hundreds of thousands of orphans, in need of good homes, and yet barely hundreds or a few thousand seem to be adopted internationally these days. Countries suddenly shut down all adoptions, or change the rules to make it harder and harder (like India), and the children fester.
Countries appear to feel embarassed their kids need adopting. But it is just a fact. It seems to have become part of politics again. It's very sad. The citizens of one country do not have the right to adopt an orphan child from any other country. But when that country doesn't have enough people willing to take on those kids, why not let them be adopted internationally? No good reason exists.
The path to Tara looms long, challenging and uncertain. I pray she is safe and cherished wherever she is.
