The good and the bad.......

Good news first. Annie's DNA was taken Feb. 5th and Gideon's social worker interview with the birthmom was done then also. These are both good steps in our process! I am still waiting on pictures and a video, but I am told they are in the mail.

Now some potential bad news. Guatemala is possibly going to enact a "Protocol of Good Practice." This sounds good, right? Well, not really. To enact this would mean major changes for the current adoption process. Here's what the ADA (the Association Defenders of Adoption) has to say about this protocol:

Statement Of ASSOCIATION DEFENDERS OF ADOPTION -ADA - regarding the intentions of President Oscar Berge to “legislate” a “Code of Good Practices”.

On January 29th, 2007, the Guatemalan newspapers Prensa Libre and Siglo Veintiuno published the interview made to the Vice President Eduardo Stein, regarding the intentions of the Executive to enact a Code of Good Practices, to toughen up the adoption process, “to avoid the commercialization of children”. While the government does not care for the welfare of the children whose parents cannot support them, it feels entitled to violate the Constitution and abuse its powers, making up rules that will only hinder an uphill road that is the only way out for those children. With the support of the Attorney General, who has claimed that “adoptions are a thorn on his side”, that “his life would be so much easier if adoptions were forbidden”, and that “he plans to keep delaying the cases for an average of at least three months” they are getting ready to implement the UNICEF proposal, same that for the last fifteen years has made its way into Congress but has failed to become a law, due to the several violations to the Constitution that it has.
The changes would be radical. The Secretary of Social Welfare, a very useless institution that is unable to run orphanages or to keep children in foster care, will be the one who would authorize the private orphanages and the children would be admitted only if a judge orders it. That would prevent private foster care and would make it very difficult for the private homes for children to take children in, unless they are sided with that Secretary. The list of obstacles is long and difficult. The result would be abandonment and abuse for those children, because nobody would finish an adoption in those terms.
Several times during the past year, Berger has tried to pass this “code” or “protocol”. He has also promised the Department of State of the United States, that he would not do anything to hinder adoptions. He even has denied the very existence of the “protocol of good practices” and his attempts to reinstate the Hague Convention, in order to make adoptions impossible.
Every time the government is questioned about its delay in performing their official duties, they argue that they “lack the staff, or the means, or the equipment to do it”. It is easy to understand that the system they plan to impose, even if it were well meant, is doomed to fail, for those very same reasons. The measure has an explanation: time is running short and the 176 million quetzals that UNICEF offered Berger in exchange of changing the adoption laws are a powerful incentive to set aside the Constitution, usurping the legislative powers of Congress and committing several felonies in the process.

As you can see, this would NOT be a good thing. We were told yesterday by the DOS (US Dept. of State) that this "meeting" on Friday had been cancelled, it was a good thing. But then, late yesterday afternoon, the DOS posted this statement on their website:

February 14, 2007
Guatemala Plans to Announce Protocol of Good Practices on February 16, 2007
The government of Guatemala has invited the U.S. Embassy to attend a ceremony publicly announcing a “Protocol of Good Practices” on adoption on Friday, February 16. As details of the implementation of the Protocol become available we will provide updated information.
Rumors that the U.S. Embassy is no longer accepting adoption cases are not correct. The U.S. Embassy continues to process adoption cases as stipulated under U.S. law and procedures.
The U.S. government supports efforts by the Guatemalan government to increase protection of children and parents and a smooth transition to implementation of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption for Guatemala.

This totally contradicts what they had said early. We have all been urged to call the DOS and plead that they do not allow in process adoptions to be affected.

I am trying to remain cool about all this. From what I hear, about every 3 months or so something like this comes up and then blows over. I pray this is the case here. I also pray that if this indeed does become enacted that it will not affect us. Nobody seems to know the what the ramafications of this would to adoptions in process. I know the DOS has shown a vested interest in keeping in process adoptions going in the past. Part of me cannot imagine that Guatemala would set something in place that would totally mess us those of us in process, especially with the exterior pressures they are getting are pretty strong. But, they pretty much halted things back in 2003, so they could very well do it again. Another positive thing in our favor is that President Bush is heading to Guatemala next month. I seriously doubt that the Guatemalan government wants to cause a major adoption uproar weeks before the US President visits. But hey, what do I know.......

Anyways, I will update my blog if there's any new info to be given. And your prayers would be appreciated!

Julie