Thanks Kevin for your great insite and truth. I personally was at the meeting with Senator Norm Coleman, and I must say that there was a blanket of worry draped over the room. I personally am very happy that the Senator is taking action, but I also get really annoyed with the media and how they make things seem so gloomy and hopless. The Senator said many things that were of value, but he made sure that we (PAP) did not misunderstand his message. The Senator made it very clear that he was going to "find clarity" for us PAP's.

On a second note, I am finding out that the Media really knows nothing! They make a way bigger deal out of things, and they don't speak of the good things that are happening. That's just my personal opinion.

As always, I thank you Kevin, Kelly and Troy for your work and truth. Keep it up!

Kevin,

I really appreciate and respect your not posting every story as it does add to our daily stress. This way, if I want to step over to the ADA site and read more stories I can etc. I know it would seem easy to say "just don't read it then", but for now, guatadopt is our bible and if its posted or featured here in the news, then I feel an obligation to read it in its entirety, just in case it has a big impact on our inprocess cases.

Ah salute! That's me tipping my glass to you. ~Melissa

I had seen the reports in the newspapers that you are referencing, and have read the latest ADA post. I was not impressed with the ADA post...trying to address the issues by mudslinging the 'leftist' groups. These are the same 'leftist' groups that have stood up to the system in the past. In may respects it would be hard to believe that organized crime would not involved in adoptions in Guatemala. They seem to have a hand in everything in Guatemala that involves money and power. And organized crime involvement would certainly help with the code of silence about wrongdoing. Hearing reports like this makes me more determined to find my son's birthmom and hear her story first hand.

Kevin,

I agree with you, well said. In my opinion, the best approach that PAPs can take is to be skeptical of anything reported in the media, whether in Guatemala or the US, until it has been verified. The flood of stories are often negative and sensationalist, which the media considers to be more newsworthy because they are more dramatic than positive stories. It is fueling the anxiety of PAPs, which is already high. PAPs shouldn't assume eveything which is reported is true.

When most of our country fees go to support the orphanage where our children lived (four now home), and out of that is paid food, medical, staff salary, private school tuition, lawyer, etc. it's obvious there is too much money being made by lawyers in the notorial process. Where does it all go? If a lawyer completes approximately twenty cases/month, as we've been told, and they pocket even half of the country fees, anyone can see what they have to lose if notorial adoptions cease or continue only under the most ethical circumstances. Someone truly needs to get to the bottom of this and make certain Guatemala adoptions get back to what they were intended to be, finding families for children who truly need them. And I believe that as Americans, we need to be very careful that our own desires don't contribute in any way to other human beings being taken advantage of. The process has become tainted over the years, we truly believe. One day the truth is going to come out about the corruption and adoptive parents will discover that not all media reports were sensationalized, I fear. I worry about the impact this will have on all the Guatemalan children placed with new families. There is poverty, there is a need for some children to find new homes, but there is much awry in this process that simply has to be addressed. What we learned during our recent trip makes us more than angry at the wealthy taking advantage of children and families.

There are a lot of stories out there right now and it is very confusing. Can you help clarify something - did the Guatemala Congress vote on anything last week? Is the Guatemala Congress now out of session until January?

I am having a hard time deciphering this.

Thanks!

I called Senator Coleman's office today and tried to verify the article in the tribune where he said that he talked to officials in Guatemala and he is now satisfied that pending cases will go through. They would not verify that he was told by Guatemalan officials that there would be a grandfather clause, just that he was optimistic. So far, our case has been thrown out of PGN again this time because the medical record is old. We will have to go through all the steps again. Am wondering if this is happening to other people?

Kevin,
I very much appreciate all of your thoughts and opinions. However, I am a bit stummped by your optimism about cases continuing after 1/1/08. Do you know something we don't? Nothing official has come out of Guatemala stating they will continue and as posted on JCICS today, the adoption law is yet again, stalled in Congress due to politics. I don't know if this is good or bad. What happens 1/1/08 if there isn't a new law with a grandfather clause? That seems to be the million dollar question. Do cases progress or stop? We lived through the Hague mess of 2003 and did bring our son home at close to 10 months of age. We are now in process again (yes, we pick the best years to do this!) and have been in and out of PGN since August. We are currently back in PGN and I pray we get out soon--but we all know how PGN can be.
Hopefully we will have some resolution to this soon.

Jen and others,

Please read this a couple of times as I know it is all really hard to keep straight.

Guatemala has a current law. Guatemala has reaffirmed its prior Hague accession, I believe setting a Jan 1 date.

The Hague Treaty only applies between two Hague countries. The US will not be a Hague country until April 08.

When a couuntry implements the Hague, they do it legislatively two ways. One way is like the US, where a separate set of laws will govern adoptions between Hague countries. Non-Hague adoptions are not impacted. The other way is to pass a new law that governs all adoptions and is compliant with the Hague. This manner, which Ortega appears to be, makes all adoptions Hague compliant, even if they are not covered under the Hague (as would be the case with adoptions to the US if Guatemala implements Ortega Jan 1).

So...

If no new law passes, even if Guatemala says it is in the Hague Jan 1, adoptions to the US are not impacted. There is no legal basis for it. There is no new law governing all adoptions, Hague or not. The US is not in the Hague thus adoptions to the US need not comply with it.

If a new law, ie Ortega, goes into effect Jan 1, then it would be for the Constitutional Court of Guatemala to decide whether a grandfather clause is legally needed, since the Constitution prevents a law from being implemented retroactively (with the exception of criminal law, which this is not). But that doesn't matter most likely because all indications point to a grandfather clause being a part of any new law implemented.

Anything can happen. So please don't shoot me if I end up wrong. But I do believe strongly that in-process cases will be completed. I see no indication that they won't be. I see no one out there screaming that there be no grandfather clause. Unicef supports it. The Hague supports it. US DOS supports it. Berger supports it. The law says they must do it. The best practices manual of the Hague says to do it.

At the moment, the only folks I see raising doubt are the media and all of their human interest stories. And in the meantime, the real story that needs to be covered is what has the Hague actually done to children worldwide. Has it succeeded in making adoptions cleaner, more transparent, and accessible? What kinds of laws are countries like Guatemala feeling obliged to implement? Okay, I could go on and on about this.

I hope that my novella helps to keep heads from spinning...

Kevin
Guatadopt.com

I just want to say that in a truly just world, Kevin and Kelly and Marie would be the arbiters for adoptions in all Hague compliant countries. Your combination of passion, patience and prudence make you the obvious choice for a righteous system.

God bless each and everyone of you.