GUATADOPT.COM
News about Guatemalan Adoptions: for parents, professionals and adoption advocates.
"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going." ~Anonymous
This morning, the US Embassy banned the facilitator commonly known as Athanassis. To my knowledge (and please correct me in the comments if I am incorrect), this is the first time a facilitator has been officially banned. I must admit I am curious how the US Embassy will attempt to enforce this since I don’t believe facilitators like Mr. Collias are actually involved in any paperwork that goes through the Embassy.
For those of you with cases currently in process that came from Mr. Collias, you should be safe so long as your case has already been presented to the Embassy. You would know that it has been if you have received your approval to conduct a DNA test. For anyone uncertain, I would recommend speaking with your agency.
As always, we do not know the exact reasons why Mr. Collias was banned. There was a raid done on his apartment several months back that generated some sensationalist press but did not uncover anything other than legal dossiers and documents.
I am sure the Embassy had good reason to ban Mr. Collias but would not want parents with children adopted through him to be uncomfortable. I personally know ethical adoption providers who had cases through him processed completely by-the-book. Not a defense of Mr. Collias, just sharing some perspective…
The Embassy’s official notice:
This is to inform all involved in Guatemalan adoptions that effective today, Mr. Athanasios Kollias, aka Athanase Thomas Collias, Athanasis Thomas, Thomas Collias, has been banned to act as facilitator in the submission and/or processing of I-600 (Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative)applications before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the American Embassy in Guatemala.
We advise all agencies to not accept any referrals from Mr. Kollias, as they will be rejected.
Any Guatemalan attorneys or notaries found to be involved with Mr. Kollias in attempting to circumvent this proscription will likewise be subject to similar action.
Sincerely,
Adoptions Unit
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
American Embassy / Guatemala
APO AA34024
Unit 3334
Fax 011(502) 2331-4342
Here’s a pic that I just couldn’t resist. This little angel is in process, so we’ll just call him Sami. But here’s a guy who knows what the world is all about and I’m happy to use Guatadopt to spread his word. Paz Amigos!
If you are planning on visiting Guatemala in the next few days, please be aware of the growing animosity towards the US over the free trade agreement CAFTA. Again, protests have been planned for this week which may effectively shut down businesses in some areas. In the past, busses and streets have been closed and workers have found themselves stranded for a time.
Visitors should be alert to the atmosphere and take extra caution when venturing out. Be cognizant of current events and be flexible enough to change your itinerary. At this time, I do not see a reason to cancel travel plans.
Posted by Kelly, webmaster and founder at 11:46 AM|Permalink
March 20, 2005
New Head of PGN
President Berger has appointed a new person to head the office of the PGN. From my translation of the story in Prensa Libre, it appears as though some are claiming Pres. Berger does not have this right. It would also appear to have some partisan politics involved.
We are hearing that the new appointee, Roberto Molina Barreto, is a constitutional lawyer with great respect for the Guatemalan Constitution which would certainly be a positive for those concerned with adoptions.
A group of attorneys in Guatemala is looking to put together a booklet of Guatemalan adoption stories. The request was made to Focus On Adoption following their recent conference in Guatemala. During the conference, a short booklet with about 15 sample stories was presented as evidence for "why adoption works". Apparently it made quite an impression and thus came the need for a more extensive booklet of stories that advocates for adoption could share with government officials, Guatemalan Congressional representatives, and basically keep "re-circulating" the positive image of adoption among newcomers to ICA issues in Guatemala.
PLEASE HELP by sending in your adoption story. The ultimate message of the compilation needs to be "Why adoption works". It should focus on how adoption has touched your lives and how you feel about your child(ren), elaborating on the life and opportunity that you would like to provide for your child(ren). Any stories of special needs adoption, older children adoption, sibling group adoption, etc. reaffirm the more extensive need that adoption can also serve. It would also be helpful if adoptive parents commented on how they feel private foster care may have made a difference for their child. Parents should also include 5-10 photos of their child/family. This not only pulls on anyone’s heartstrings, but also adds to the legitimacy of the stories.
I know that confidentiality is always a question. If you reveal your names in your written story, they will be included in the compilation. But we will not insert names, take them off of the envelope, or anything like that. So if you are only comfortable with your first names being used, don’t put your last name into the piece.
Please send stories saved on a disk or CD (also include photos) to:
Focus on Adoption, 312 S. Lincoln Avenue, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
Also please include a simple statement that says “I authorize Focus On Adoption to use and distribute our adoption story”.
From these stories, Focus On Adoption is also hoping to publish a more extensive booklet of Guatemala Adoption Stories and possibly a CD or video for distribution. We may also consider offering this collection of stories publicly to help raise funds for our advocacy efforts.
If you have any questions, please contact Jeannene Smith at ReachOutNJ@aol.com.
As many of you know and have been following, a new law proposal, endorsed by First Lady Wendy Berger, was presented to the Guatemalan legislature last month. As always, Guatadopt is working to provide you up-to-date information on the status of that proposal. Also as always, we would like to urge our readership to view this proposal for what it is – a proposal. This does not mean that it will be signed into law and if it was it would be challenged because of constitutional issues with some of its provisions.
Focus On Adoption has added a translation of this law proposal to their website. Special thanks goes to Chris Huber of Families Thru International Adoption for translating the bill. To read the bill, click here.
In addition, Focus On Adoption held a conference in Guatemala in January titled “In thebest interests of children: a permanent family”. The keynote speaker was Prof. Betsy Bartholet of Harvard Law School. A link to her homepage and a transcript of her speech at the conference can be found on FOA’s website. To see them, click here.
Guatemala Adoption Information and News
GUATADOPT.COM News about Guatemalan Adoptions: for parents, professionals and adoption advocates. "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going." ~Anonymous
« February 2005 | Main | April 2005 »
March 30, 2005
FACILITATOR BANNED BY US EMBASSY
This morning, the US Embassy banned the facilitator commonly known as Athanassis. To my knowledge (and please correct me in the comments if I am incorrect), this is the first time a facilitator has been officially banned. I must admit I am curious how the US Embassy will attempt to enforce this since I don’t believe facilitators like Mr. Collias are actually involved in any paperwork that goes through the Embassy.
For those of you with cases currently in process that came from Mr. Collias, you should be safe so long as your case has already been presented to the Embassy. You would know that it has been if you have received your approval to conduct a DNA test. For anyone uncertain, I would recommend speaking with your agency.
As always, we do not know the exact reasons why Mr. Collias was banned. There was a raid done on his apartment several months back that generated some sensationalist press but did not uncover anything other than legal dossiers and documents.
I am sure the Embassy had good reason to ban Mr. Collias but would not want parents with children adopted through him to be uncomfortable. I personally know ethical adoption providers who had cases through him processed completely by-the-book. Not a defense of Mr. Collias, just sharing some perspective…
The Embassy’s official notice:
This is to inform all involved in Guatemalan adoptions that effective today, Mr. Athanasios Kollias, aka Athanase Thomas Collias, Athanasis Thomas, Thomas Collias, has been banned to act as facilitator in the submission and/or processing of I-600 (Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative)applications before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the American Embassy in Guatemala.
We advise all agencies to not accept any referrals from Mr. Kollias, as they will be rejected.
Any Guatemalan attorneys or notaries found to be involved with Mr. Kollias in attempting to circumvent this proscription will likewise be subject to similar action.
Sincerely,
Adoptions Unit
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
American Embassy / Guatemala
APO AA34024
Unit 3334
Fax 011(502) 2331-4342
Posted by Kevin at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Quiero Paz
Here’s a pic that I just couldn’t resist. This little angel is in process, so we’ll just call him Sami. But here’s a guy who knows what the world is all about and I’m happy to use Guatadopt to spread his word. Paz Amigos!
Posted by Kevin at 09:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
March 29, 2005
Trade Protests
If you are planning on visiting Guatemala in the next few days, please be aware of the growing animosity towards the US over the free trade agreement CAFTA. Again, protests have been planned for this week which may effectively shut down businesses in some areas. In the past, busses and streets have been closed and workers have found themselves stranded for a time.
Visitors should be alert to the atmosphere and take extra caution when venturing out. Be cognizant of current events and be flexible enough to change your itinerary. At this time, I do not see a reason to cancel travel plans.
Posted by Kelly, webmaster and founder at 11:46 AM | Permalink
March 20, 2005
New Head of PGN
President Berger has appointed a new person to head the office of the PGN. From my translation of the story in Prensa Libre, it appears as though some are claiming Pres. Berger does not have this right. It would also appear to have some partisan politics involved.
We are hearing that the new appointee, Roberto Molina Barreto, is a constitutional lawyer with great respect for the Guatemalan Constitution which would certainly be a positive for those concerned with adoptions.
Click here to read the story from Prensa Libre.
This move will most likely mean that there will be a change to the PGN position that leads adoptions currently held by Sr. Merida.
As we learn more, we will pass it on...
Posted by Kevin at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
March 17, 2005
SEND YOUR STORY TO CONGRESS
A group of attorneys in Guatemala is looking to put together a booklet of Guatemalan adoption stories. The request was made to Focus On Adoption following their recent conference in Guatemala. During the conference, a short booklet with about 15 sample stories was presented as evidence for "why adoption works". Apparently it made quite an impression and thus came the need for a more extensive booklet of stories that advocates for adoption could share with government officials, Guatemalan Congressional representatives, and basically keep "re-circulating" the positive image of adoption among newcomers to ICA issues in Guatemala.
PLEASE HELP by sending in your adoption story. The ultimate message of the compilation needs to be "Why adoption works". It should focus on how adoption has touched your lives and how you feel about your child(ren), elaborating on the life and opportunity that you would like to provide for your child(ren). Any stories of special needs adoption, older children adoption, sibling group adoption, etc. reaffirm the more extensive need that adoption can also serve. It would also be helpful if adoptive parents commented on how they feel private foster care may have made a difference for their child. Parents should also include 5-10 photos of their child/family. This not only pulls on anyone’s heartstrings, but also adds to the legitimacy of the stories.
I know that confidentiality is always a question. If you reveal your names in your written story, they will be included in the compilation. But we will not insert names, take them off of the envelope, or anything like that. So if you are only comfortable with your first names being used, don’t put your last name into the piece.
Please send stories saved on a disk or CD (also include photos) to:
Focus on Adoption, 312 S. Lincoln Avenue, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
Also please include a simple statement that says “I authorize Focus On Adoption to use and distribute our adoption story”.
From these stories, Focus On Adoption is also hoping to publish a more extensive booklet of Guatemala Adoption Stories and possibly a CD or video for distribution. We may also consider offering this collection of stories publicly to help raise funds for our advocacy efforts.
If you have any questions, please contact Jeannene Smith at ReachOutNJ@aol.com.
Posted by Kevin at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
March 09, 2005
Translation of Law Proposal
As many of you know and have been following, a new law proposal, endorsed by First Lady Wendy Berger, was presented to the Guatemalan legislature last month. As always, Guatadopt is working to provide you up-to-date information on the status of that proposal. Also as always, we would like to urge our readership to view this proposal for what it is – a proposal. This does not mean that it will be signed into law and if it was it would be challenged because of constitutional issues with some of its provisions.
Focus On Adoption has added a translation of this law proposal to their website. Special thanks goes to Chris Huber of Families Thru International Adoption for translating the bill. To read the bill, click here.
In addition, Focus On Adoption held a conference in Guatemala in January titled “In thebest interests of children: a permanent family”. The keynote speaker was Prof. Betsy Bartholet of Harvard Law School. A link to her homepage and a transcript of her speech at the conference can be found on FOA’s website. To see them, click here.
Posted by Kevin at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)