FREEPER'S SISTER NEEDS YOUR HELP!!

self

[CougarGA7]

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, Robert and I are in the process of adopting a baby boy from Guatemala. Unfortunately, a critical situation has developed in Guatemala concerning a new law.

The Guatemalan president, President Berger has stated that on January 1, 2008, he will pass a new law that will suspend all intercountry adoptions with the U.S, indefinitely. He has also indicated that there will be no “grandfathering” for adoptions already in process. This means that we will not be allowed to adopt our son from Guatemala, even though we are already in the process.

Our child and over 5000 more children have already been relinquished by their birth parents, but have a adoptive family waiting for them and are in the process of having the adoption finalized. This law will stop this process for all of them. They will be, in-essence, homeless. The government of Guatemala doesn’t have a system or finances in place for these children. There is no Medicare, no social services, no funding like we have in the U.S. What will be the fate of these children? We can only imagine.

I am asking for your help by requesting that you make five simple phone calls and send one email. Since some of these phone numbers are long distance, Robert and I will gladly provide calling card information for you to use. They would be:

1) Call BOTH of your United States Senators.

· You can find your Senators’ telephone numbers at www.senate.gov.

· Ask to speak with the Legislative Director, Chief of Staff, or Constituent Services Officer.

2) Call your Representative to the U.S. House of Representatives.

· You can find your Representative at www.house.gov.

· Ask to speak with the Legislative Director, Chief of Staff, or Constituent Services Officer.

3) Call or fax United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Headquarters

· Ask to speak with the office of Mrs. Ann Veneman, Executive Director

· The telephone number is (212) 326-7000.

· Their fax number is (212) 326-7758.

4) Call or fax UNICEF’s Guatemala Office.

· Ask to speak with Mr. Manuel Manrique.

· Their telephone number is 011-502-2327-6373.

· Their fax number is 011-502-2327-6366.

Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls.

5) Send an e-mail supporting Intercountry Adoption to guatemala5000@jcics.org

· Write briefly or at length

· Joint Council will use the cumulative e-mail petition in our advocacy for Intercountry Adoption.

When should you call? Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, October 9th, 10th 11th, 2007. For maximum affect, we are asking you to make these calls within this 72 hour window.

What should you say or write to member of the U.S. Congress? Speak from your heart and give them the following information.

· Inform them that you are calling regarding Guatemala 5000 Initiative.

· Ask them to sign the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) sponsored letter to Guatemalan President Oscar Berger.

· Ask them to sign the Joint Council on International Children’s Services sponsored letter to UNICEF.

· Inform them that the Guatemalan government has announced that all intercountry adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 01, 2008.

· Inform them that President Berger’s announcement also indicated that there will be no ‘grandfathering’ of adoptions already in process.

· Inform them that if children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care.

· Ask that their office get involved and sign the sponsored letters to the President of Guatemala and UNICEF. These letters ask that all adoptions in-process as of January 01, 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.

Sample Statement

Dear Sir,

We are calling/writing on behalf of the Guatemala 5000 Initiative. We, as your constituents, are asking that the Senator/Congressperson add their signature to two letters. First, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute sponsored letter to Guatemalan President Oscar Berger. Second, the Joint Council on International Children’s Services sponsored letter to UNICEF.

As you may be aware, the Guatemalan government has announced that all intercountry adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1, 2008. Their announcement also indicated that there will be no ‘grandfathering’ of adoptions already in process. If children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care. Your office must get involved and sign the sponsored letters to the President of Guatemala and UNICEF. These letters ask that all adoptions in-process as of January 1, 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.

Sincerely,

What should you say or write to UNICEF? Speak from your heart and give them the following information.

· Inform them that you are calling regarding the Guatemala 5000

· Ask them to support the rights of children and lend their considerable influence to ensuring that intercountry adoptions currently in-process be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.

· Inform them that the Guatemalan government has announced that all adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1, 2008.

· Inform them that President Berger’s announcement also indicated that there will be no ‘grandfathering’ of adoptions already in process.

· Inform them that if children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care.

· Ask them again for their support of the Guatemala 5000 Initiative.

Sample Statement

Dear Sir,

We are calling/writing on behalf of the Guatemala 5000 Initiative. As financial supporters of UNICEF (through our tax dollars), we are asking that UNICEF lends its support and considerable influence to the Guatemala 5000 initiative.

As you are aware, the Guatemalan government has announced that all intercountry adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 01, 2008. Their announcement also indicated that there will be no ‘grandfathering’ of adoptions already in process. If children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care. UNICEF must get involved and help ensure that all intercountry adoptions in-process as of January 01, 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.

Sincerely,

In addition to your primary calls to U.S. Congress and UNICEF, you can call the following.

SOSEP (Guatemala)

§ Director Teresa Echeverría de Bastarrechea Office Telephone- 011-502-2383-8400

§ Assistant Director- Edin Palma- Same Office Telephone Office Phone- 011-502-2383-8400

§ Jaime Tecu Office Telephone - 011-502-2239-0000 Extension 2766

Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls.

Guatemala Ministry of Foreign Affairs

§ Minister Gerth Rosenthal Office Telephone 011-502-2410-0000, 2410-0010

§ Vice Minister - Marta Altoaguirre Office Telephone 011-502-2410-0020

Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls

PGN (Guatemala)

§ Carlos Victor Hugo Barrios Barahona Office Telephone 011-502-2248-3200 Extension 207/208

Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls.

Procuraduria of Human Rights

§ Dr. Sergio Morales Office Telephone 011-502-2424-1717

Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls.

Embassy of the Republic of Guatemala in the United States. 2220 R Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008 Office Telephone 1-202-745-4952 Office Fax 1-202-745-1908 Website: www.guatemala-embassy.org/

For more information about this, please visit the Joint Council on International Children’s Services at: http://jcics.org/Guatemala5000.htm.

Robert and I thank you for your help and prayers.

Donna Spezzano

[CougarGA7]

My sister and her husband have been trying to have a child for quite a long time. After numerous attempts through doctors using every tool availible to science they were unable to concieve.

Undaunted my sister and her husband decided to adopt. The adoption for their son was approved and they had named him and were making plans to go and meet him in person. Now this new twist has happened.

Now I can go into the time, money and hardship they have gone through just to get to this point but the gist of it is that my sister is the most caring, devout, and nuturing person I know.

She saved this little punk's butt more than once when we were teenagers and I just cannot let this stand.

Please stand with me.

[meanie monster]

Bless you FRiend....

[codercpc]

Good luck, my prayers are with your sister and family.

[rineaux]

Call or fax UNICEF’s Guatemala Office.

· Ask to speak with Mr. Manuel Manrique.

I will make the call to UNICEF.

Question, why did Guatemala suspend Intercountry adoption with US?

Hope it works out for your sister and her husband and for the sake of the child.

[Neoliberalnot]

Another rat politician using children for political gain. These are the worst of the worst politicians and the rat party members in this country have abundant expertise in using children too. I am very sorry and will pray for your plight.

[esarlls3]

Why just ask for grandfathering in-process adoptions? Why did Guatemala decide to stop adoptions in the first place and why should we not ask for a reversal of this decision?

[CougarGA7]

Thanks you. I’m calling my congressmen and senators as we speak. I will even call Bingaman. (I cant e-mail him. His staff delete’s my e-mails).

If there was any group that I felt could make a difference in this matter, I knew it would be freepers.

[CougarGA7]

I wish I could answer your questions. This came on us suddenly. I’ll ask my sister if she knows any of the background on that.

[Sloth]

Question, why did Guatemala suspend Intercountry adoption with US?

I think a fair number of people in backward countries really resent Americans and other relatively wealthy Westerners coming in and adopting native kids. They'd rather the children rotted away in orphanages. And there are some who buy into conspiracy theories about the children just being taken to harvest their organs, etc. My brother lived in Romania for several years and saw hints of this attitude over there.

[Andy'smom]

Cnn ran a special on this the last couple of nights.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2007/10/04/whitbeck.guatemala.cnn?iref=videosearch

I only watched a few minutes of this, but my take is that some of these babies who are reliquished for adoption do not belong to the “mother” who have brought them to the agency. The allegations are that these babies are stolen or the mothers have been pressured to give them up.

[homeontherange]

Guatemala is in the process of becoming Hague compliant. This is basically a standardization of adoptions thru the world. They signed in 2002, but never implimented any of the changes necessary for it to be in force. Pres. Berger is forcing the issue by stopping all adoptions and then implimenting changes to the system to become compliant. Then he wants the system to restart, but only with other Hague compliant countries (the US won’t have signed until Spring 2008, and then they still need to impliment the new systems (about a 3 month period). Then they intend for everyone to start all over again. So even if the US was Hague compiant, those 5000 adoptive families would have to start the system all over again in the Spring. That is if they have the means to do so. The cost for adoptions is not cheap and their are many steps that need to be taken along the way.

And in the meantime, those children are going to be where? In foster care? In an orphanage? Who’s buying the formula and diapers? Who is footing the bill for the doctor visists and immunizations?

For more info...please visit travel.state.gov or better yet jcics.org and click on the Guatemala5000 inititive.

[rineaux]

think a fair number of people in backward countries really resent Americans and other relatively wealthy Westerners coming in and adopting native kids. They’d rather the children rotted away in orphanages.

Thats really to bad. I travel to Asia all the time and I kid you not, I see familes with adopted babies leaving Hong Kong all the time. With all the laws we have in the US concerning adoption, I understand why a couple would want to adopt outside.

[AuntB]

Good luck to you all. These countries have no problem sending us their adult criminals, but won’t let us take the children that need homes and love? SAD.

[CougarGA7]

Wonder if that wasn’t a catalyst?

[ConservativeMind]

Ping for follow up.

[wolfcreek]

I’m sorry for your situation but, I can’t condone foreign adoptions when there are so many in this country who need good families.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Prayers that this all works out.

[CougarGA7]

They looked at all options. It doesn’t matter who gets adopted as long as you are enriching someone’s life. Wouldn’t you agree?

[homeontherange]

I saw this too on AC360.
Let me alert you to some facts.

Fact: Guatemala requires a birthmother to sign relinquishment of her child not once, but 4 times!
Fact: Guatemala and the US REQUIRE not 1 but 2 DNA tests.
The first is from the mother and child to identify that this is her child and she has the right to relinquish him (can’t steal and sell with DNA) the second to confirm that it is STILL the same child being adopted out.

It is a 6 month period of testing, scruitny and interview of the birht-mother, before Guatemala will all her to sign the last relinquishment paper.

They are watching out of the children. I wish our media would explain that.

[CougarGA7]

Thank you. These are good facts that we as a family have all lived through. (You should have seen my reaction when I heard of 2 DNA tests)

I have pinged my sister to watch this thread. She’s not a freeper (though she should be *hint *hint). But anything that really baffles me I’m sure she will e-mail me an answer.

Now get on the phone. :)