As an adult who was adopted as an infant, I find myself drawn to stories of orphans and adoptions in the news. Since the earthquake struck Haiti there have been
impassioned pleas online from people wanting to reach out and help Haitian orphans. Yes, I do find images of suffering children moving, but international adoption is complicated. And it is further complicated when a natural disaster is involved. Anyone wanting to rush out and pick up a couple needy Haitian kids at the Piggly Wiggly is desperately premature. Thus far I have managed to hold my very opinionated tongue. But then the story broke last week about the U.S. Baptist missionaries who are being held for attempting to smuggle 33 Haitian children, at least two-thirds of whom were not orphans at all, into the Dominican Republic (
CNN story here). And I felt a rant coming on. So I jotted down and organized some notes on the subject.
1. The U.S. Department of State is a wonderful resource for anyone considering international adoption. There is even a website
devoted to it. The following italicized paragraphs are from a
press release about the Haitian disaster, and it discusses many of the points I wanted to make here. Hey government, thanks for stealing my thunder:
We understand that other Americans, moved by images of children in need, want to open their homes and adopt other Haitian children who had not been identified for adoption before the earthquake. The State Department advises against this course of action at this time. Intercountry adoption involves strict safeguards and legal requirements that must be met to protect children from illegal adoptions, abduction, sale and child-trafficking as well as to ensure that any adoption is in the best interests of the child.
Before a child can be legally taken to the United States for adoption, the Governments of both the United States and the child’s country of origin must first determine that the child is indeed an orphan. It can be extremely difficult during the aftermath of a natural disaster to ascertain whether children who appear to be orphans truly are eligible for adoption. Children may be temporarily separated from their parents or other family members, and their parents or family members may be looking for them. Moreover, it is not uncommon in an emergency or unsettled situation for parents to send their children out of the area, or for families to become separated during an evacuation. Efforts to reunite such children with relatives or extended family should be given priority.
In addition, some children who had been residing in orphanages before the earthquake were placed there temporarily by parents who could not care for them. In most of these cases the parents did not intend to permanently give up their parental rights. Even when it can be demonstrated that children have indeed lost their parents or have been abandoned, reunification with other relatives in the extended family should be the first option.
During times of crisis, it can also be exceptionally difficult to fulfill the legal requirements for adoption of both the United States and the child's country of origin. This is especially true when civil authority breaks down or temporarily ceases to function. It can also be difficult to gather documents necessary to fulfill the legal requirements of U.S. immigration law.
2. The layers of bureaucracy, paperwork, and red tape involved in adopting a child from another country should be directly proportionate to the level of internal chaos in that country. Meaning, you should have to jump through more hoops to adopt a children from countries in turmoil. On the surface that seems counter-intuitive since these kids would appear to be in greater need. But the easier it is to export children in chaotic situations, the higher the risk is for all children in that nation to be exposed to abuses, like kidnapping, trafficking, slavery, sex trade, pedophilia, etc. The State Department keeps a
list of Alerts about dangerous countries.
3. Paperwork is always in the best interest of the child. You, on the other hand, may not be. That's why there is a whole lot of research into your background:
to protect the best interests of the child. It is the only important tenant in the whole game. So if you are begrudging or bemoaning or resenting it all a little too much, maybe you should reconsider if international adoption is really the best choice for you.
4. Any process that sounds too easy or too good to be true probably is. You are best protecting children from human trafficking and yourself from fraud by using a large agency with a good track record and adopting from a nation with a well-established relationship with the U.S. Do your homework and ask questions.
5. Those folks at
Bastard Nation (an advocacy group for adults who were adopted as children) work fast. Please check out their
press release about Haiti as well. They make a good point that Haiti was in such a state of crisis even before the earthquake that Haitian children were already being kidnapped and trafficked. The disaster only amplifies the existing problem.
6. Five years ago when the Indian Ocean tsunami claimed the lives of 250,000 people, Indonesia put it's children under lockdown. No minors were allowed to leave the country without a blood relative and the documentation to prove the relationship. I remembered being impressed that they took an immediately strong stand to protect Indonesian children. And then I heard an interview wherein an official discussed the philosophy behind the decision. Tsunami victims had shared a common natural disaster, and it was deemed psychologically beneficial for them to remain surrounded by other survivors. Even orphans. They believed that the shared tragedy would actually help them cope and lend strength to one another.
Okay, I think that's all I had scribbled down.
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