The news of the day, and yesterday, is of course the changes being made at the Central Authority. The Colom administration has replaced the people appointed by the Foreign Ministry and Bienestar. The rationale given revolves around ensuring that the people didnn't come in to follow their own agendas. I will not speculate on what that means.
We have heard the rumor, which has come from a normally very reliable source, that the CA could be disbanded, the new law scrapped, and back to the drawing boards. I have no evidence to point to this being the case and quite honestly it would very much surprise me. My GUESS is that there was an error in understanding, not someone trying to deceive anyone. It has come from at least one honest and trustworthy source.
I’ve also come across a few different versions of some meeting scheduled between the CA and the attorneys. I’ve seen versions where the CA called this meeting. I’ve seen versions where the attorneys were going to just show up to demand that registration begin. I do not know the truth of this. In addition, Ethica is reporting that they believe registration rules will come out next week.
In short, in-process cases will get completed and that most difficult thing of all – patience – is crucial during this transition period.
But my point in this post is to try to explain the bigger picture to everyone, integrating in the news above as related to it.
I am seeing many wanting to classify everyone (ie the CA BOD) as being either “pro-adoption” or “anti-adoption”, I’ve also seen people jumping to the conclusion that if President Colom and his wife Sandra (SOSEP’s role) removed a member who was classified as “anti-adoption”, then by default they must be “pro-adoption”. I do not believe this is an accurate portrayal and I don’t think it is fair to try classify President Colom as being for or against adoption.
One of the main reasons why I supported Colom for president was because he is an intellectual. In the speeches I’ve read, he seems to truly have his eyes set on improving the lives of the people in Guatemala who have struggled for so long. And he seems to want to do so in very strategic, pragmatic, and well thought out ways.
It is not the job of President Colom to be “pro” or ‘con” adoption. I will try not to interject US politics into this but an intellectual thinks things through and doesn’t come to black and white conclusions on most issues. They don’t go gangbusters in any direction. They realize that they don’t know everything and instead consult with experts in different areas, actually listen to what those experts have to say, and use the combined impact of those opinions to help them to formulate their position. Maybe that is why this was in the papers “Ronaldo Robles, Secretary of Social Communication of the Presidency, argued that the change was because there had been no consultations with the sectors involved in the processes of adoptions. ‘The most prudent was conducting this consultative process, and therefore were issued agreements and was appointed to other people,’ he said.”
It is the job of President Colom to care about adoption only in as much as it is part of improving the lives of those Guatemalan citizens it touches, namely the women who relinquish and their children. My guess is that he does not, and should not, care about PAPs in the U.S. in any manner outside of ensuring that Guatemalan citizens who are adopted and emigrate from his country to the US end up in good, loving families.
In judging or analyzing what is happening, let’s also remember what did occur. President Berger did, IMHO, have an adoption vendetta. I believe that he was too caught up in what the “world community” was pushing. I am hoping that President Colom’s very nature will make him more pragmatic about all of this. In addition, Berger made “midnight appointments” and got them sworn in just before leaving office. Say what you will but I can see why, given that this thing is to be built from scratch, President Colom and SOSEP would want to have people it trusted and appointed in the Central Authority.
So what does this all mean? For the first time in quite some time I have an inkling of optimism that Guatemala may find a way to implement this law and still make it feasible for children to join permanent families through intercountry adoption. While I know that some will disagree, I believe this law can be implemented in a way that ensures ethical processes, follows the Hague (ie gives preference to biological and domestic families), and ensures the human rights of Guatemalan women and children. But it will take time and if the new appointees are the people who can do it, then for the betterment of the future those of you stuck right now may need some patience. I am 99.99% sure your cases will be completed. Registration will occur rationally. And if they need to extend that 30 business day deadline, I am sure they will.
As so many of our readers go out of their way to read the Guatemalan papers, follow what’s happening, etc, I can not encourage you enough to separate yourself from it when you do, digest the info, analyze it and only then try to see what it means to you personally. And always, always remember that no matter hard it is, we must realize that Guatemala and its new president have huge challenges ahead - challenges far more relevant than adoption. Intercountry adoption is the effect of huge amounts of inequality, extreme poverty, lack of education, and more. There are far more children in Guatemala at-risk than could ever be adopted and no woman should ever feel that her only option to ensure her child’s well-being is adoption. Adoption is one avenue that can have positive results for a small percent of the total need. I realize this. President and First Lady Colom realize this. Thus no one should fool themselves into viewing this all otherwise.
Paz y Viva Guatemala!
Kevin,
Amen to your statement that intellectuals are people who don't see things in black and white and are people who consult experts in their fields before making decisions. Good policy making takes research and creativity.
I also hope that the amount of poverty in Guatemala can be greatly reduced.
Posted by: cheryl at January 17, 2008 07:10 PMKevin, great job on your perspective related to what the Guatemalan Govt is doing to move the process along, however our govt is dragging thier feet on DNA approvals so can you share what you know on this. This is my third adoption (twins this time) and the wait for clearance is uncalled for my our own govt.
Posted by: Sally Harrison at January 17, 2008 07:30 PMRespect, patience,and a good amount of hopefulness. I very much appreciate you perspective and strongly agree with your last paragraph.
Brett
Kevin, Thank you for the commentary. When i read the headline on the home page re the CA appointees being replaced, i just had to take a step back and and take a deep breath. Here we go again. But after reading your perspective, it all makes sense...logical sense. So an exercise in my patience is what is needed at this time.
Although I would second what Sally mentioned about DNA. We accepted our referral on August 30, 2007 and we are still waiting for the First DNA test TO BE SCHEDULED. Can you shed any light on what's going on with our own government? Guatemala is doing their own thing by getting their process together...but what's going on with the U.S.?
Posted by: Diana at January 17, 2008 08:26 PMThanks Kevin!!! I'm so glad you and Guatadopt are here :D
Posted by: airstar98 at January 17, 2008 08:46 PMExcellent reminder for we who deeply love the country and the children of Guatemala. As hard as it is, we need to make every effort to step away from our own personal journey and consider the journey and future of all Guatemaltecans, not just the small one whose future we hope will bring them to our own families. I appreciate the reminder of how complex the issues are. It is a massive job to decide how to procede without returning to the same questions that have plagued the process in Guatemala for a long time. Every day's news causes me to realize what a miracle it was that our daughter (11yrs) came home in November, just two days before our I71H expired and before receiving the extension we had filed for. I feel so sorry for those now caught in this confusion and pray those children already legally referred will be home before much longer. We could have been one of the families left hanging in the uncertainty, as we were caught in the Hague issues of 2003 with another adoption. As it was, it took over two years to bring both girls home in the ethical way their adoptions were completed. I pray integrity will be rewarded under the new system.
Posted by: Nancy at January 17, 2008 09:23 PMviva guatemala - my sentiments exactly
let's hope this new presidency manages to effect meaningful changes in the everyday lives of all people in guatemala, especially the most vunerable - i am thinking of my daughter's first family here and the millions like them - i am hoping their lives will be better in the future
Posted by: mk at January 17, 2008 09:53 PMThank you Kevin for sharing what you know. I appreciate the information. We just had to update our homestudy and reapply for our I71H because we have been working on our daughter's adoption for over 18 months now. This is our second, we brought our 8 year-old home at 5 months in 2000. Our attorney was told by the PGN that our daughter's case was approved but that the chief would not sign it for another 15 working days because of pressure by the embassy to hold onto cases for a certain amount of time. This was around December 10 and our deadline for a visa was December 18. My husband and I were in Guatemala with our two daughters trying to finish things up when this happened. Our attorney was very angry because she and I had gone to PGN with our 2 year-old and talked to them 2 weeks earlier and they had promised that she would be released on the 10th. So, I had to come home, to change a few unimportant dates and ages of siblings in our homestudy, pay a lot of money, and leave our daughter in the orphanage. I have been living there for a year with her. Now, PGN is saying they think she will be released next week. But, will they keep this promise? She was issued an abandonement decree in June. I am sorry if I sound angry, but I love Guatemala and care deeply about the people living there and making their lives better. I take back hundreds of dollars of material support whenever I go. I plan to spend my life working to improve life for everyone in Guatemala and throughout the world, but my family is suffering right now and my two year-old is growing up without her family being together. We are a pieced together family now and have been for 18 months. I think that we have to think about the children and families caught in the process right now wasting away. The effects of institutionalization and delayed bonding are well-documented. I think that patience is not going to save our children from the emotional stress they are currently feeling if they are in an orphanage and the later stress they will feel in adapting to new homes and surroundings. Our government is clearly not concerned about the children or they would not be dragging their feet to get preapprovals and DNA tests completed. They should be working around the clock to get the adoptions in process completed and start no more until Guatemala figures out what it is going to do politically. It is immoral to just leave the children and families in limbo while they figure out how to solve every political problem related to adoption. That could take many years. How long do we have to wait to be a family who loves Guatemala but lives together in our house in the United States?
Posted by: Beth Sanderson at January 18, 2008 12:07 AMThank-you so much for all the information posted on your web site. We have been matched with our daughter since May 14,2007 and we have been ko with previo twice. We have been very optimistic most of the time, but to hear some positive new is good too.
Thank-you so much for all the information posted on your web site. We have been matched with our daughter since May 14,2007 and we have been ko with previo twice. We have been very optimistic most of the time, but to hear some positive new is good too.
Beautifully said, Kevin. Thank you for reminding me to look further than the end of my own nose. I wish the Guatemaltecans I spoke with had your optimism about politicans. Cynicism is a slippery slope to ambivalence....something Guatemala, in my opinion, can not afford. I join you in your prayers for the Colom administration.
Posted by: mifamilia at January 18, 2008 02:27 AMKevin -- My case is in Family Court and the first DNA has not yet been scheduled. What makes you so sure that in-process cases will likely go through? Or, are you talking about pending cases that are already in PGN? Thanks. Laurel
Posted by: Laurel at January 18, 2008 06:09 PMThanks so much for what you do. It is good to read your well thought out view of things.
Posted by: Carolyn at January 18, 2008 09:32 PMthis sounds great for people already in process, but you didn't mention anything about changes or chances for someone to begin the process as a POP. Is Guatemala going to reopen for new cases? Are the criteria for eligibility changing? Any info would be appreciated.
dt263@yahoo.com
The reappointment from Colom is a positive sign more neutral parties have been put in place so maybe the focus can continue to be what it should be on which is the children with fewer power plays. Thats really what we all want.
Colom and the vice president appear to be genuinely decent people who care about their people. This is great news for Guatemala and although changes will take some time I am excited for its people and our children that a fresh start to a stronger and better Guatemala is underway. Agreed that adoption is a small piece of puzzle that the new administration has to focus on. If Colom's administration is successfull in the long term it should mean fewer adoptions where the cause was could not financially afford to care for their children and hopefully more domestic adoptions because people are financially able and hopefully open it. But hopefully unlike the Unicef method which is to close adoptions first without plans on how to care for todays children then try to solve internal problems Colom will address the underlying cause for so many adoptions. There will always be reasons for adoption regardless of how well any country is doing. But with a stronger better Guatemala there would not be as much need.
As a Guatemala AP I think about the chance my children may want to return to Guatemala someday. We will visit with them still for sure but that's completely different when they are under your care and just visiting. I want a Guatemala in the future I wouldn't have to worry about their safety or financial welfare if they returned on their own.
Posted by: lisa2 at January 19, 2008 02:59 PMThanks for the insights and for this blog. Same question as Laurel above. Our lawyer has presented papers and the Mom had her first interview in December, but first DNA not yet scheduled. Our lawyer is unconcerned - should we be? Thanks! And God bless all of you devoted to pure religion.
Posted by: Anna at January 21, 2008 06:24 AM