Boo

Suck:

As of September 1 of this year, Vietnam will be closed to adoptions.

This means that referrals will be given to families through September 1.  Families with referrals up to that date will be permitted to complete their adoption.  Any dossiers of families who have not received referrals by that date will be returned.  Although both the US and Vietnam have stated that they want to reach a new agreement governing intercountry adoptions, they have not been able to reach mutually agreeable terms, and the US has issued a report describing unacceptable practices in the current system.  Accordingly, adoptions must cease while both sides work to develop a more transparent and fully ethical program. 

In the meantime, a lot of families will lose the children that they have only yet dreamed of, and children who otherwise would find homes in the US will instead linger in orphanages indefinitely.  Many families on the waiting list now will continue to wait until the bitter end, hoping against hope that they might receive the miracle of a referral before September 1.  Families who have been paperchasing for many months now will have to make an agonizing decision of whether to start over in a new program.  (And the options these days are few; the state of international adoption is extremely tenuous, with more countries closing their doors to American families -- or having them closed by the US -- each year). 

These concerns have been roiling beneath the surface for some time now, and last fall many people bailed out of the Vietnam program following a State Department warning about the possibility that the bilateral agreement would not be renewed with Vietnam, prompting a shutdown.  However, the majority of us felt there was a great deal of room for optimism, that talks between the two nations appeared to be moving in a positive direction.  When the news about the new DNA testing requirement broke, it seemed to be yet another setback, but also a way of putting a safeguard in place to ensure transparency while allowing adoptions to continue. 

I am one of the lucky ones.  Although our wait was long, I have no fear that we will complete our adoption and, however long it takes us to get her home, we will have our beautiful daughter for the rest of our lives.  I am sickened that other families, who want just as badly as we do to provide a home for a child in Vietnam, will not have the same chance.  I am angered that the bad guys have ruined what could and should be a wonderful, legitimate program -- that a few evil agencies have treated Vietnam and its people and its orphanages as a means for their own selfish gain. 

Our agency is one of unassailable ethics.  Its chief purpose is to provide shelter, food and medical care to children.  It continued its humanitarian aid in Vietnam through the last shutdown, supporting hundreds of orphaned or impoverished children, and even now the majority of the children in its homes are not eligible for international adoption.  Other agencies will disappear like so much dust in the wind when the shutdown goes into effect, because their sole purpose was to line their pockets with dollars from adoption fees.  Ours will stay, and the children will continue to be fed and cared for and educated -- but many of them who would otherwise be able to find homes with American families will not have that opportunity unless and until the program reopens.   

On a personal note, we had hoped to adopt at least one more child from Vietnam.  We still hope to do so, but we may not have that chance.  In the meantime, we will concentrate on bringing Noelle home, and giving her all the love we have to give, while praying that every other family who wants that chance will get it, too. 

Comments

[-R-]

Will people from other countries still be able to adopt from Vietnam, or are other countries making similar decisions. I am so glad you have Noelle, but I am so sorry for parents and children who are still waiting.

It is unfathomable that there are agencies that don't care about the children.

[amy]

I came to your blog from Sundry Mourning's a long time ago and loved reading your stories. I hadn't read it in awhile, but the minute I saw the online news story about Vietnamese adoptions, my first thought was "Oh, I hope lawyerish gets her baby!"

I came here tonight and am teary at the pictures of your beautiful Noelle. I am so glad she will be joining your family and will join you in praying for the other orphans and the other families hoping to adopt them.

[Kim]

I am right there with you. This is so sad for all these families. We had hoped to adopt from Vietnam again, but now are just thanking God that we have our Dylan. We will pray that you bring home Noelle very soon!

[jonniker]

Oh this makes me so sad.

[Lawyerish]

-R-, I believe that other countries are continuing to allow their citizens to adopt from Vietnam. I believe that France, the UK and Denmark conduct adoptions in Vietnam, and I am not aware of any of those countries taking a similar stance to that of the US. I think that the numbers of adoptions per year in each of those countries is minute compared with the US. From what I can tell, after the last shutdown between the US and VN, a lot of the "bad" American agencies got relicensed to conduct adoptions and immediately began engaging in improper conduct, and things rather quickly spiraled to where we are now. I suspect that other countries have some greater level of control over their agencies, or something to that effect.

[Paula]

We also have two sweet Vietnamese little ones in our hearts. Well, we know one thing about the adoption rollercoaster after this ride...it changes fast. Here's to bringing our sweet ones home and to the sweet ones yet to come! :)

[Mauigirl]

I'm so glad that you got your referral before the shutdown; fingers crossed that this won't be permanent...