Some readers have privately and publicly expressed concerns about Guatadopt posting stories that may not directly and immediately involve adoptions from Guatemala. So with that in mind, here is some perspective.
First of all I’d like to address the general idea of what the content of the site should be. While we try to keep it directly associated with adoptions from Guatemala, the fact is that we can often go long periods of time without there being anything “newsworthy” happening. So in order to fill in the time gaps, we will often turn to items related to Guatemala or adoption in general. This way it keeps the site vibrant, with there always being something new to read about. It is hard to keep opinions out of this because that would mean we would do little than provide links to stories appearing elsewhere in the press. But dissenting views and debate are always encouraged and appreciated, so long as they are constructive and not personal attacks. In addition, as I have posted before, it is important that the community of people involved with Guatemalan adoptions learn about the country and its current events as this is a responsibility that goes hand in hand with adopting a Guatemaltco.
Secondly, I do not believe that we can separate current day adoptions from Guatemala’s not-so-distant history. The fact is that the purpose of adoption is to provide families and permanence to children who need it. The overall goal of all of us needs to be that there are no children living without families that have the ability and desire to provide a safe, healthy, and loving environment. In that vain, one of the main reasons why there is such a need for adoptive families in Guatemala is precisely because the impact of the Civil War is still being experienced today. Guatemala has far from recovered from what the war did to its majority indigenous population. Most of the children being adopted come from an indigenous bloodline. These things are related. While I wish to adopt again from Guatemala, I yearn for the day when the country no longer has the need for foreign adoptive families because that means the objective is being met. I guess the point is that matters related to human rights in Guatemala are adoption related. If you read the works of Rigoberta Menchu, Beatriz Manz, and others, you will be able to understand what I mean about this.
Finally, our children are members of the Guatemalan-American community (no disrespect intended to our non-American readers). So things that impact that community by default impact our children. My main comment about the problems with the Weller-Rios wedding were because of the symbol it sends to the Guatemalan community in the United States. I did not say that they should not get married. I did not wish them ill harm. But I did state that I believe it is inappropriate for a member of the United States House of Representatives to marry the daughter of a genocidal tyrant, especially since she has not repudiated his actions, she has defended and/or denied them. Who her father is ultimately is not relevant, but her support of him is. Maybe the Bin Laden example went a little too far. I’ll make another one having come from a Jewish family. How do you think the Jewish population in the United States would react if a U.S. Representative married the daughter of a Hamas leader and was politically connected with her father and high up in his organization?
While I agree that adoption “news and information” are the main objectives of the site, we cannot be shortsighted as to what that really means. When there are items of interest directly related to adoption, they will certainly take precedence. But when there are lulls, turning to the bigger picture is a way to keep our community tied together, strong, and informed. As I mentioned earlier, debate and disagreement are encouraged. We all have an equal voice in the comments.
Suggestions for new adoption related topics are always appreciated as well!
Thank you not only for the explanation but also for all the Guatemala news. I live in the Midwest and Representatives' weddings do not typically make the newspaper and even if they did my 8 month old frequently makes reading the paper a challenge.
Again I thank you for all you do.
Cathy
Kevin,
I very much appreciate the "big picture" and hope that you will continue in this manner. This site has been and continues to be a vital source of information for me.
I did enjoy the "photo of the month" and hope you will consider continuing that as well.
I also want to thank Kelly for all that she has done in the past and thank you Kevin for continuing the site. I think the site will be in good hands!
Posted by: Lizzie at July 14, 2004 12:20 AMKevin,
I want to say thanks for ALL of your articles, comments, links, advice, etc. I agree that it's extremely important to learn not only about the state of adoptions in Guatemala, but also to learn about the history of the country and to keep abreast of current events. I have visited this website every day since I learned about it during the beginning stages of adopting from Guatemala and have so appreciated both your's and Kelly's valuable knowledge of Guatemala. I know many disagree with me, but I don't think your Bin Laden comment was to strong. I did not take your comments to mean you wished ill will to the Representative...more that maybe he should step out of politics if he chooses to marry a person who as you said "has not repudiated his actions, she has defended and/or denied them" in reference to the genocidal tyrant her father is. Please know how much I appreciate all of your work. I for one don't know how you work, are a father, a husband and still find time to keep us so informed about Guatemala.
Thanks for ALL of your postings.
Daena
Posted by: Daena at July 14, 2004 10:30 AMKevin,
I would like to thank you for keeping us up to date with the Guatemalan news. I do rely on this site to keep me abreast of adoption news and Guatemalan news and do appreciate your efforts.
Keep up the good work!
Linda
Posted by: Linda at July 14, 2004 01:48 PMKevin,
I appreciate all the Guatemalan news and adoption information. I like others use this site (as well as other sites) as a source of information on my children's birth country/ heritage. Thank you for all you do!
Julie
Posted by: Julie at July 14, 2004 01:57 PMHow can I become part of this site?
Posted by: Tammy Hamilton at July 14, 2004 03:25 PMKevin,
Have you heard any reasons why the US Embassy is, now, dragging their feet regarding pre-approvals? This is holding up the babies from completing PGN and coming home.
Posted by: Terri at July 15, 2004 11:04 AMI wanted to encourage the readers and Kevin to keep this kind of information on the site. It was always my goal for the site to be thought-provoking as well as informative in all aspects of Guatemala adoption. We have never expected to have everyone walk away with the same beliefs. But as adoptive parents, we do advocate knowledge of Guatemala and the relationships with other countries.
There have been times that I have not agreed with Kevin (though, we have amazingly been in-sync on our goals for this site). As odd as it may seem, it is a different perspective that teaches us the most!
Thanks Kevin for keeping the site alive and your continued effort to provoke thought!!! :-)
Posted by: Kelly Caldwell at July 20, 2004 08:56 AMI respect the need for, and appreciate the 'big picture' that you present. I look for Guatemalan news and frequently have trouble finding it. This site is a good source. I think it is incredibly important to realize that adoption does not occur in vacuum. In my opinion, to focus solely on adoption issues, at the expense of political and cultural ones, does a disservice to us and to our children. And, I also wanted to say, that I found your article on Montt's daughter to be very informative, well written, and fair. It was very similar tothe info presented by the New York Times. I do not believe that by discussing this marriage that we are being unfair to the congressman. After all, isn't transparency a part of being in politics?
Posted by: Elizabeth S. at July 20, 2004 10:19 AMHaving interesting stories or informative articles about Guatemalan culture seems good to me too and I enjoy them here as well. But do not forget this site is guatadopt and was built initially to support adoptive children and families - not to put the process at risk.
Those who are concerned about the welfare of the children involved in this process should be careful about the discussions we engage in on a site that is viewed by members of all political parties. We may agree or disagree with a persons's politics, but if the pro-adoption lobby becomes identified as being allied with a political party (or against one) then it loses credibility and in-roads that it may need down the road.
It may be fun for us to sit in our air conditioning and talk politics on our computers, but there are families waiting on kids, and kids waiting on families, and the adoption situation is anything but settled. I don't think that article advanced anyone's cause.
Maybe we can set up a new site where we could focus on political and social discussions and ideas. That would probably be a healthy thing to do, since as you say, there isn't a lot out there on Guatemala. I don't disagree with everything that was said, and I sure do agree we should be engaged in some other forum, I just don't think we should put these kids and our friends in Guatemala in the line of fire by tying an adoption to political partisanship.
-Shannon
Posted by: shannon at July 20, 2004 03:06 PMmy husband and i are leaving tomorrow (7/24/)for guatemala, to pick our daughter up, we are so excited but we do have one final question, how do we make phone calls to home, we want to get an international calling card but we cannot figure out where to go, is there an easier way to call home besides using a calling card and collect calls, i heard calling from guatemala is expensive and to e mail, but sometimes you just want to hear someones voice (like my mom's)
thanks in advance for all the help
suzanne
Posted by: suzanne at July 23, 2004 12:35 PMSuzanne: Just find a calling card that has a numbers on the back for both domestic & international calls. You can make international calls with the card from your hotel room, although it is less expensive if you use the house phone in the lobby. The hotel adds a surcharge for in-room calls, even when you use a calling card. I used mine frequently (to call my mom!) nd it was easy. Have a great trip!
Posted by: Elizabeth S. at July 23, 2004 10:02 PMSpecial Care http://home-shopping.gelago.de/cat215/Kosmetik/Christine-Kaufmann/Special-Care/
Posted by: Special Care at September 18, 2004 04:34 PM