My son is 8 months old

B turned 8 months old on the 25th. Nothing solid on the news front, we are still waiting to hear anything. I went into his room, its ready and waiting, and so am I. I hope there is some positive news soon.

Update

The latest update from J last week isnt all that great when I really get into it. J had a good point in her weekly email today. The Kyrgyz government may want a 'Treaty' but the US Dept of State pretty much already has a 'treaty' its called the Hague Convention, and doesnt really want to go outside of that on a percountry basis. The hope is that the Kyrgyz government will see the need for completion for the families in progress. J made excellent points regarding the support and fees we have already paid to the government. We have followed all of the rules set by the officials during our entire process so far. T is working on a letter to that effect. She is in contact with the Ambassador and the hope is that the Ambassador can make some push to 'grandfather' those families thru using the old laws and get our children home. Again, we are being told next week for more information. The press release last week gave the Kyrgyz government a deadline of March 31. Another deadline but, setting a deadline isnt a guarantee that they will keep it.

The latest from J

I got an update from J on a press release from Bishkek. I dont have the link for the report so it is posted here. The overall sentiment (from my perception) is that the Kyrgz government wants to have a treaty with those foreign countries it will allow children to be adopted to. J felt it would make sense to have some sort of interim agreement between the US and Kyrgyz to allow for the already matched children to be 'grandfathered' in and complete the adoptions considering the expense the families have already paid in fees to the government. We arent sure what type of treaty or agreement they are trying for but the deadline in the press release is March 31 (11 days after the initial March 20 deadline for the Committee's findings). J thinks that any permanent treaty would take a few months to determine from country to country. T talked to Ambassador Z and she said to wait a couple days and she would find out what kind of agreement the would want. So I guess we wait.. some more.

Kyrgyz Republic Government Addresses Regulation of
Adoption Procedures

BISHKEK (AKIpress) – Kyrgyzstan's prime minister, Igor Chudinov, has signed a Kyrgyz Republic (KR) government directive addressing child adoption issues. This was reported today, February 17, 2009, by the KR Government Press Service.

The document in question was approved with a view toward regulating the procedure for adoption of children who are citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic, and improving the Kyrygz Republic's legal framework in that area.

Given those considerations, and in accordance with Article 130 of the Kyrgyz Republic Family Code, the Government of the Kyrygz Republic resolves:

To declare invalid Section 3. "Adoption of Children Who Are Kyrgyz Republic Citizens by Foreign Citizens" in the "Statute Regarding Rules for the Placement of Children Without Parental Guardianship for Adoption by Cititzens of the Kyrgyz Republic, and by Foreign Citizens", as approved by KR Government Resolution No. 121 on February 22, 2006, "Regarding Confirmation of the Statute Regarding Rules for the Placement of Children Without Parental Guardianship for Adoption by Cititzens of the Kyrgyz Republic, and by Foreign Citizens".

Simultaneously, it is resolved that adoption of children from the Kyrgyz Republic by foreign citizens or stateless persons shall be authorized only if an international treaty exists between Kyrgyzstan and the foreign state.

The KR Ministry of Education and Science and the KR Ministry of Labor and Social Development have been assigned to submit by March 31, 2009, following established procedure, their proposals regarding improvement of those statutes that regulate child adoption.

Pursuant to this document personal responsibility for compliance with KR legislation in adoption matters is placed upon the heads of state administrations at the level of the republic's regions and districts.

It should be noted that this directive becomes effective immediately on the date of its official publication.

AKIpress

The UNICEF factor

This is a link to the UNICEF official postion on international adoption http://www.unicef.org/media/media_41118.html . To quote this document 'For children who cannot be raised by their own families, an appropriate alternative family environment should be sought in preference to institutional care which should be used only as a last resort and as a temporary measure. Inter-country adoption is one of a range of care options which may be open to children, and for individual children who cannot be placed in a permanent family setting in their countries of origin, it may indeed be the best solution. In each case, the best interests of the individual child must be the guiding principle in making a decision regarding adoption' Why then, are we famlies who have been through all the documentation requirements, met all the qualifications, expended individual humanitarian aid to the orphanages that our children are growing up in, being denied this exact option the UNICEF stands by. Why are Hague Accredited agencies not being allowed to continue with the adoptions that are in progress. The US department of State is involved to try to get things going again but we dont know, concretely, when things will happen. Meanwhile our children are getting older and more institutionalized.

Kyrgyzstan is not part of the Hague Convention community of countries. So UNICEF in its mission has lobbied to make Kyrgystan a Hague Country. Mind you, I dont think its a bad thing at all. In the long run it will be better for the children. It just sucks that they have to get involved NOW, couldnt they have waited 6months, until Ben was home? Here is a link to the Wikipedia definition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hague_Convention_on_Protection_of_Children_and_Co-operation_in_Respect_of_Intercountry_Adoption it has a pdf of the entire convention. The main objectives of the Convention are:
-to establish safeguards to ensure that intercountry adoptions take place in the best interests of the child and with respect for his or her fundamental rights as recognized in international law;
-to establish a system of co-operation amongst Contracting States to ensure that those safeguards are respected and thereby prevent the abduction, the sale of, or traffic in children;
-to secure the recognition in Contracting States of adoptions made in accordance with the Convention. I suppose my frustration is echoed by those who have gone before me when other countries have started their process to become Hague Accredited in the midst of their adoptions. I will continue to wait anxiously for news, knowing that I will hear nothing until March 20.

Not good news

I got an update from my agency and from the Dept of State. They say that the Kyrgyz government has created a commission whose responsibility it is to redefine policy. They are planning on giving their findings on March 20 to the government. What does this mean?: well it sucks but it means that they are not going to process ANYTHING til after March 20. With this news I am very sad and worried. I think that now, with this new news that Ben will not be home before May. They also said that they will, most likely, waive the 30day wait and will hopefully gear up court to process multiple families at once. Wewere also told that families should be getting info and measurements on him regularly. We dont know what else is to come. We are also not sure what impact the closing of the US Airbase at Manas Airport will be. Noone know but my agency thinks that these two issues are separate and doesnt think that they will impact each other.

I am learning that international adoption is full of bumps and detours. This is taking alot longer than I anticpated when I started 1 year ago.

Nothing, Nada

So nothing new on the adoption front. Still waiting to hear if the letters are being signed. I dont know what is going on but I am just waiting. Waiting for some good news.

I am also now on Facebook. Apparently Facebook is the place to be. Its not good enough that I blog now I need to be on Facebook. Its pretty cool though, and it seems that everyone is on there. I already have a few friends and have had someone throw beads at me (for Marti Gras) and start a pillow fight with me. I am waiting for a few friends that I havent seen for a while add me to there list so we can get back in touch. Its definitely got some 'six degrees of separation' potential. I will keep you posted on this latest endeavor.

I've been away from here a while

I know I have been away from the blogging world for a while but there really isnt anything concrete to say. My letter hasnt been signed, I havent had court and we dont really know when it will happen. We (all of my fellow adoptive parents) have heard multiple times that 'next week they will start signing letters'. These comments havent been truthful so I am hesitant to allow myself to believe this latest update. I want to believe what they are saying in Kyrgyzstan but I am a little 'gun-shy' so to speak. From what J says in her update to us this week, they are reviewing the dossier and our coordinator in country said he was certain that T's letter will be signed next week. I am very happy for her but sad for me at the same time. J says that they are prioritizing special needs children to get them home so they can get the medical care they cannot get in Kyrgz. I am fortunate that B is healthy and terrified that something will happen that noone is expecting. I try not to think about it but, lately with UNICEF 'trying to help' and comments that Americans are only taking the healthy children, I am scared that they will take him back and give him to a Krygz family. My mind tells me that there is no way they would do that but that doesnt stop the fear in my heart.
Below is what we heard yesterday from J.

Hi All,I talked to T a few minutes ago. This is the message...B literally saw that family dossiers were being reviewed at the MOE. He said he is certain they will sign the letter for T next week. They are prioritizing children with special needs who need medical attention.They do not plan to stop adoptions.Any families with documents submitted to court previously will have to go through court again. The dates of the progression of your approval have to be in the order the MOE dictates. Although the previous MOE administration was indifferent, now they are strict. The dossier and child's documents have to enter court AFTER the date the MOE approves your dossier. Most interesting is this... today's news is that the MOE will stay in charge of adoption. That about knocked me off my chair. Apparently some higher-up did not like the idea of the Ministry of Physical Culture/Dept of Social Protection taking over adoption and refused to sign off on a transition. So we and your files are all staying put in the MOE. This kind of suggests that my suspicion of a power struggle going on behind the scenes between the depts was true. T thinks this is what Ms S really wants. Who knows.