First, for those of you who may not know the details:
A single lady in the United States adopted a seven year old boy the end of last September. For one reason or another things did not work out. So, last week she sent him on a one-way direct flight from the US to Moscow with a note in his hand basically saying that he was violent, with psycological issues that were hidden from her knowledge prior to adopting him, and that she wanted the adoption cancelled.
Very sad on many levels. First, she abandoned this young boy and sent him half way across the world on his own. She had many other options. What kind of counseling if any did she try? If it was that severe maybe he should have been hospitalized or sent to a facility where he would receive help. If she sincerely could not handle him and feared for her safety, she could have handed him over to the US system where he would have been put into foster care and back up to be re-adopted. This happens on occassion and is called 'disruption'. Instead, this little boy is headed back to an orphanage with VERY little hope of ever having a family - let alone the additional issues he will have for all that he has been through in the past 6 months.
Secondly, international adoption is a volitile process. A country will only stay open to adopting out its orphans if it believes that they are being well cared for. So even a single such act can shut down a country to adopting - and this is now what the US may be facing. Russia has currently suspended adoptions from the agency this lady used - which was heartbreaking news to one of my web-friends who is waiting to go back to bring their little boy home since they too used this agency. A minister in Russia has also requested that ALL US adoptions be shut down until the US and Russia could come up with some 'bilateral agreement'. There has been a 'stay' on this decision and we will see how things play out over the next week. Were things to shut down there will be hundreds of famillies who have invested a huge amount of emotion, time, and money all left wondering if they will ever get to bring home a child, or if they will have to start all over again with another country. There will also be that many more Russian children who will not get to be part of a family.
In my opinion, this lady did this drastic and selfish act because she was mad at 'Russia' and wanted to make a point that she was 'deceived'. Could this kind of situation be avoided. I think yes. Everyone adopting from Russia is required to travel there to meet the child(ren) they are being referred BEFORE they accept the referral. You can visit the child mutliple times. You also have them examined by a doctor and can then take that info, any other previous medical info, and pictures/video you have taken and send it back to the US/Canada to be reviewed by a doctor specializing in international adoption. You can also educate yourself prior to travelling to meet a referral on watching for 'red flags'. No one is forcing you to accept a referral - it is your decision.
Finally, will this affect our adoption? It doesn't appear so. Russia has taken no action against other countries. If it does shut down the US, we would likely receive a quicker referral since we are registered in a region that many US agencies also use. A small positive for us, but at such a huge cost to so many others. :(
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
That is SO sad Christine. I rarely listen to the news and had no idea that ever happened. You are right - there are so many other options she could have used if she couldn't handle the child. Abandoning a child is extremely selfish and I kind of wonder how such a person got approved for adoption to begin with, and why she wanted to adopt... How did she even get him on the plane without an escort at such a young age?
That is incredibly sad! It makes me want to go in and get this young boy, as troubled as he may be, and raise him for Yahweh.
As it turns out, a child as young as five years can travel alone on a DIRECT flight, or as young as eight on a flight with a connection (atleast for this US airline)! So no rules broken!
As for Lori's comment, I do have a Christian web-friend who does exactly that - adopts children out of 'disruption' in the US and it works really good for their family (and the kids).
That is just so sad. It breaks my heart for this little boy. While in the US there was the opportunity for this little man to heal from his psycological issues.... now instead, he has been given more issues and little chance at a sucessful future. So selfish of this woman to not seek out other options for him
Post a Comment