misunderstood
I am having mixed feelings about the current Vietnam situation. One the one hand, I want to make sure that as many children as possible are united with families that will love and nurture them. On the other hand, I think it imperative that we are certain that said children are truly in need of such unification and weren't placed into the orphanage through some horrible string of greed related events. A transparent, ethical process is what we all need. The question is about creating systemic change that will facilitate ethical practices. I hate to say it, but I think that such change is extremely difficult to implement. Of course, baby steps are being taken. Meetings are being held with the right people. The Vietnamese government seems to be on board. Even today a meeting is being held by JCICS and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption to bring the Vietnam issues, among other things, to light in hopes of gaining support for an interim agreement between the US and VN. That is a good thing.
My concern lies with our representatives.
Over the span of several months I sent numerous faxes, emails, and letters to Mark Pryor, Blanche Lincoln, and Vic Snyder. Hey, guess where I live? I left messages with their aides via phone, and encouraged friends and family to do the same. Blanche Lincoln signed the letter to Sec. Rice in support of VN adoption reform and backing an interim bilateral agreement. Pryor and Snyder did not. No, sir. Instead, Vic Snyder's office sent me not one, but 6 letters thanking me for supporting his work with Vietnam Veterans. What?? Did they even read the first two sentences?!?! Pryor's office sent me at least five printed and bound copies of the MOU that I referenced in my letter, and a copy of the state department's info page on Vietnam, stating that I should "find these resources helpful if interested in adopting from Vietnam". Dude, thanks. Clearly I needed a copy of the agreement since I'd never read it before. Oh wait, yeah, I had read it. In fact, I'm pretty sure I mentioned it in the effing correspondence! OMG! It's no wonder my reps didn't sign the letter to Condoleeza. They probably won't go to the big hoedown today either, as their aides are clearly incompetent. At least, I'm hoping it is just their staffers. Sheesh!
Speaking of folks who didn't take the time to sign, McCain's name is conspicuously absent. Interesting to me as he is not only a member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, but an adoptive parent himself. And before you site his campaign as the reason he couldn't find the time to sign, both Clinton and Obama managed to pick up a pen.
I know that our agency is above board. They have a separate humanitarian license for Pete's sake. I am good with Dillon. I believe that our adoption was ethical. When we were in VN the I600 process was a bit different and we had an interview with the head of I600 processing in HCMC. She assured us that our agency was fantastic and that there was no history of problems with their referrals. Always a nice thing to hear.
However, I am certain that corruption exists. Poke around on the internet and you can find numerous stories of corruption on both sides of the ocean. It is heartbreaking that a few bad people are shutting down an entire system, effecting untold numbers of children. I believe that there are many legitimately orphaned children that need homes. Many more benefit from the humanitarian aid that adoption agencies help bring to the country.
Right now, in Vietnam, our agency knows of 160 children who are in desperate need of various heart surgeries. These children are not all orphans, though some surely are, and they need help. Yesterday I was told that eight of these kiddos are now considered to be critically ill, and without donations there simply isn't funding for the surgeries. The cost? A mere $2500 per operation. Staggering, I know. Yet these are not the only needs. Daily care of the children in the centers is roughly $35/month. Not much, but multiply that by the hundreds of children cared for, and the sum quickly becomes substantial, especially if humanitarian aide dollars are dwindling.
We chose Dillon International, in part, because we appreciated their humanitarian efforts. Even when a program shuts down, they stay in country and care for the children to whom they are committed. They do not close centers because intercountry adoptions have ceased, rather, they raise funds to continue their programs. I'm certain that other agencies do the same. Some, at least, but not all. I fear for the repercussions that this impending shut down will have on the humanitarian side of things, and I pray that resolution happens quickly. Not for the sake of potential adoptive parents, but for the sake of the kiddos trapped in the middle, and for the birth parents that made a decision to relinquish their child into the care of an orphanage . Those parents placed their children there with purpose and we owe it to them to honor their intent.
Personally, I would like to see an interim agreement that would allow intercountry adoptions to continue in a more transparent way. I only hope that congressional confusion doesn't muddy the waters too much.
My concern lies with our representatives.
Over the span of several months I sent numerous faxes, emails, and letters to Mark Pryor, Blanche Lincoln, and Vic Snyder. Hey, guess where I live? I left messages with their aides via phone, and encouraged friends and family to do the same. Blanche Lincoln signed the letter to Sec. Rice in support of VN adoption reform and backing an interim bilateral agreement. Pryor and Snyder did not. No, sir. Instead, Vic Snyder's office sent me not one, but 6 letters thanking me for supporting his work with Vietnam Veterans. What?? Did they even read the first two sentences?!?! Pryor's office sent me at least five printed and bound copies of the MOU that I referenced in my letter, and a copy of the state department's info page on Vietnam, stating that I should "find these resources helpful if interested in adopting from Vietnam". Dude, thanks. Clearly I needed a copy of the agreement since I'd never read it before. Oh wait, yeah, I had read it. In fact, I'm pretty sure I mentioned it in the effing correspondence! OMG! It's no wonder my reps didn't sign the letter to Condoleeza. They probably won't go to the big hoedown today either, as their aides are clearly incompetent. At least, I'm hoping it is just their staffers. Sheesh!
Speaking of folks who didn't take the time to sign, McCain's name is conspicuously absent. Interesting to me as he is not only a member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, but an adoptive parent himself. And before you site his campaign as the reason he couldn't find the time to sign, both Clinton and Obama managed to pick up a pen.
I know that our agency is above board. They have a separate humanitarian license for Pete's sake. I am good with Dillon. I believe that our adoption was ethical. When we were in VN the I600 process was a bit different and we had an interview with the head of I600 processing in HCMC. She assured us that our agency was fantastic and that there was no history of problems with their referrals. Always a nice thing to hear.
However, I am certain that corruption exists. Poke around on the internet and you can find numerous stories of corruption on both sides of the ocean. It is heartbreaking that a few bad people are shutting down an entire system, effecting untold numbers of children. I believe that there are many legitimately orphaned children that need homes. Many more benefit from the humanitarian aid that adoption agencies help bring to the country.
Right now, in Vietnam, our agency knows of 160 children who are in desperate need of various heart surgeries. These children are not all orphans, though some surely are, and they need help. Yesterday I was told that eight of these kiddos are now considered to be critically ill, and without donations there simply isn't funding for the surgeries. The cost? A mere $2500 per operation. Staggering, I know. Yet these are not the only needs. Daily care of the children in the centers is roughly $35/month. Not much, but multiply that by the hundreds of children cared for, and the sum quickly becomes substantial, especially if humanitarian aide dollars are dwindling.
We chose Dillon International, in part, because we appreciated their humanitarian efforts. Even when a program shuts down, they stay in country and care for the children to whom they are committed. They do not close centers because intercountry adoptions have ceased, rather, they raise funds to continue their programs. I'm certain that other agencies do the same. Some, at least, but not all. I fear for the repercussions that this impending shut down will have on the humanitarian side of things, and I pray that resolution happens quickly. Not for the sake of potential adoptive parents, but for the sake of the kiddos trapped in the middle, and for the birth parents that made a decision to relinquish their child into the care of an orphanage . Those parents placed their children there with purpose and we owe it to them to honor their intent.
Personally, I would like to see an interim agreement that would allow intercountry adoptions to continue in a more transparent way. I only hope that congressional confusion doesn't muddy the waters too much.
