NEW letters available to the US Department of State and Congress in response to the passage in Guatemala of Bill 3217 (the "Ortega Bill")
Please see the FWB October 06 2007 Update
The organization:
Families Without
Borders was formed in
August 2003 in response to problems associated with intercountry
adoptions (ICA) from Guatemala. We are a group of
adoptive families who devote our time and efforts to educate people about intercountry adoptions and advocate that they be
conducted in a safe and ethical environment. We support efforts
that protect the right of children around the world to find forever
families through legal intercountry adoption with an
emphasis on protecting children from victimization by bureaucrats,
unethical professionals, and misguided advocacy organizations. Our
mission began in Guatemala,
but is not limited to ICA
issues in that country. Our current focus is to educate the public about intercountry adoption and the policies that are damaging to
this esteemed method of family formation and the best interests of children
throughout the world.
Photo reprinted with permission from G. Giagnocavo,
Hands of Hope Mission, Guatemala
UNICEF's
Stance on Intercountry Adoption Jeopardizes Children
One child advocacy organization that
supports a misguided position on ICA
that threatens the welfare of the very children they aim to protect is
UNICEF. The policies and rhetoric of UNICEF ignore the social, ethnic,
and economic realities of many countries and advocate for reactionary legal
reforms that restrict intercountry adoption to a
point where children are forced to live in underfunded
institutions rather than joining families abroad. Families Without Borders
believes that the over-riding goal of any ICA
system should be for children to be raised in loving, permanent families
without unnecessary delays. As the name of our group reflects, we believe
political and cultural borders should not be barriers to children finding
forever families. We believe that intercountry
adoption sometimes provides the only viable option to provide a safe, secure,
and loving home when a birthmother is unwilling or unable to care for her child
and chooses to make an adoption plan, and when the social structure is
inadequate or unavailable to care for this child in his native
country. This is especially true in Guatemala where there is no social
structure available to care for "unwanted" children and birthmothers
in need of assistance.
(Photo of doorway in Antigua,
Guatemala by M.
Meade-Callahan)
Click on the photo to see more
- We have produced a 63 page document providing UNICEF's
position statement on ICA
as well as a detailed explanation of how this position is misguided.
We encourage you to read this document and share it with others. It can be read and printed here.
However, please do not reprint portions of the document without
permission.
- We have outlined six positions on ICA
that are held by UNICEF, and explained why those positions are not in the
best interest of adoptable children in Guatemala. We ask you to
read the letter and send it to others who should be educated about these
damaging positions UNICEF seeks to enforce worldwide. The UNICEF sponsor letter with positions
explained can be copied from this link.
-
- We collect letters from adoptive families to share with
those in Guatemala who
question the quality of life of children adopted from their country to the
US – a packet of
more than 70 letters was sent to Sra. Wendy Berger, first lady of Guatemala
(and adoption reform advocate) in Nov. 2005 with copies of 30 letters sent
to Anne Veneman of UNICEF. We will continue to collect and send
letters periodically. Watch for an
announcement for our next letter drive.
UPDATES ON GUATEMALAN
INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION
Revised Letters Available (October 6,
2007)
Families Without Borders has revised its letters to reflect the developments of the last few days. Please review and print these letters via the links below. Note: We will be updating the website text below to reflect these events as time permits; however the links currently access the updated letters.
(October,
2007)
Families
Without Borders is concerned about the potential effects of Guatemala's passage of Bill 3217 (the
so-called Ortega Bill), on adoptions currently in-process and on the potential for future adoptions of Guatemalan children who need families. The US
Department of State announcement about Guatemalan adoptions originally
dated September 25, 2007 and revised on September 28 reports that Guatemala has
declared it will cease all adoption activity for children in the process of
being adopted by US citizens on January 1, 2008, regardless of the stage of
processing. This declaration is consistent with Bill 3217 as passed on October 03, 2007. The Guatemalan government
has effectively legislated that many of the thousands of children whose adoptions
are now in process may be left without families: these children have already been
relinquished by their birthfamilies, and now it
appears that their prospective US
families may not be able to complete their adoptions. Many of these families began their quest to
adopt a child from Guatemala
months or even years before DOS first voiced reservations about the adoption
situation in Guatemala.
In
the revised announcement, the DOS added that the US government is asking the
Guatemalan government to allow pending adoption cases to proceed to completion
without additional requirements. We
applaud this effort by our government to preserve the interests of the US adoptive families and Guatemalan birthmothers
who have already entered, in good faith, into the legal process of adoptions in
Guatemala,
as well as to advocate for the interests of the Guatemalan children whose
futures hang in the balance. However,
there is more that needs to be done.
(1) We
call up on the DOS to advocate unequivocally for Guatemala to:
a.
Set a FUTURE cut-off date after
which newly initiated adoptions will be governed by new regulations, and
b. Guarantee
that adoptions in process as of that date will be governed by pre-existing
regulations and will be completed in a
timely manner
(2) We
demand that the DOS honor their frequent promises that they will continue to
process Guatemalan adoptions, whether or not Guatemala
is Hague-compliant, as long as the I600A is filed prior to the date that The Hague is in force for the US.
(3) We
implore the DOS to advocate for Guatemala to pass critical amendments to Bill 3217 (the
so-called Ortega Bill). We beseech our
government to advocate for a grandfather clause that will allow all in-process adoptions to be completed under the regulations in force at the time the adoption was initiated, and in a timely manner. We feel that the Ortega bill as it stands now is likely to lead to a political and legal
morass that will leave Guatemalan birthmothers and children with fewer options
than they currently have, and will further restrict the options of US families
who are eager to provide a loving home to those children.
Read and download the
entire Families Without Borders response here.
Download and print a
letter to send to the DOS about this issue here.
Download and
print a letter to send to enlist the help and support of our Congress and
Senate here.
We
suggest that you send this letter by fax or email, since regular post must
clear security and may take much longer to reach the intended recipient.
The
letter may be personalized as you see fit.
However, at a minimum, please be sure to put your contact information in
the letter, as well as your signature, and the proper address before sending it
out.
- To find the contact information for
your US
Senator, click here.
- To find the contact information for
your US Congressional Representatives, click
here.
(April 07)
The United States
is in the final stages of preparation prior to its entry into the Hague Treaty
on Intercountry Adoption. The final ratification is expected before the
end of 2007, with the treaty put into full force three months after
ratification. The US DOS (new central
authority) has stated that they will not object to Guatemala’s accession to the
Hague Treaty, even though the Constitutional Court of Guatemala ruled that
accession unconstitutional. Guatemala, on
its end, has chosen not to formally withdraw from the Hague Treaty, even though
the accession was deemed illegal. And
the Constitutional Court of Guatemala has ruled that, although the accession into
the treaty was unconstitutional, the President cannot be forced to
withdraw. What all this means is that,
unless a Hague-compliant adoption law is passed in Guatemala, intercountry adoptions from Guatemala to the US will cease
in 2007.
The US DOS has
stated that it is working with Guatemala to pass a Hague-compliant adoption
law, and has publicly endorsed the Manual of Good Practices in Adoption
announced by the Vice President and First Lady of Guatemala in March, 2007
pending legislative changes. Unfortunately,
the law that has been spoken of, which was introduced by Jose Ortega, is the same one
endorsed by UNICEF. This law, without
proper government funding of the new Central Authority (a new role for PGN),
addition of many staff positions, as well as social and cultural shifts in the
country, will essentially halt adoptions from Guatemala. It would, in fact, require that children be
kept within Guatemala
until it was proven that no family within the country could be found for
them. It would also eliminate the
current private, Notarial system of adoption and
private foster care in Guatemala.
The DOS has also
published on its web site many inflammatory and damaging documents, including a
FAQ on Guatemalan Adoptions. This
document questions the veracity of all Guatemalan adoptions, past and
present. We find the DOS position on
Guatemalan intercountry adoption to be inaccurate,
inflammatory, and detrimental to the well-being of adoptable children in Guatemala. Although changes in the current system of
adoption are needed in Guatemala,
drastic reforms which jeopardize all adoptions are not, in our opinion,
warranted.
Families Without Borders has published a “white paper”
analyzing the current DOS position on intercountry
adoptions from Guatemala. A pdf version of the file is available here. We encourage individuals who are concerned
about the DOS position to share this paper with their Senators and
Congressional Representatives (see “how you can help” for links to
contact information). We have also
constructed a cover letter which can be personalized and sent along with the
white paper. It can be accessed here.
How
you can help:
We appreciate all support for intercountry adoption.
- Send a copy of the Families Without
Borders appeal letter to your Senator and Congressional
Representative. The
position paper may be printed here. You may wish to use the sample cover letter we have compiled
addressing the specific concerns about the current DOS position. The letter is available here and may be
modified or personalized as you see fit.
We suggest keeping the entire letter down to less than 2 pages to
make it more likely to be read.
- Send a copy of the UNICEF sponsor letter to those who should be informed of
the harmful UNICEF position on ICA.
This includes UNICEF corporate sponsors, individual donors, UNICEF
celebrity representatives, UN Goodwill Ambassadors, and US Senators and Representatives (the US
government is considering providing UNICEF with $130 million of your tax
dollars in the FY 2004 federal budget). We would like to encourage
UNICEF to stop allocating their limited financial resources to efforts to
curtail ICA in Guatemala and other
countries. The UNICEF sponsor
letter can be copied from this link.
- Sponsor a donor program: Families Without Borders has
compiled a list of all US UNICEF corporate sponsors, UNICEF celebrity
representatives, UN Goodwill Ambassadors, US Senators and
Representatives, as well as other individuals with concerns about
Guatemalan Intercountry Adoption. We would
like to ensure that a professionally printed and bound copy of the
document explaining the UNICEF position on ICA reaches each of these
sponsors. However, we have only raised sufficient funds to send out
100 copies. Therefore, we are asking concerned individuals to
sponsor the printing and mailing costs of sending one copy of the document
to an identified UNICEF sponsor. The cost for
sponsorship of a packet is $10.00. This donation covers the cost of printing,
binding, shipping, and mailing of the packet, and approximately 10% of the
sponsorship cost will be used to assist with operating expenses for this
organization (upgrading web site, phone, mail, etc). Click here to learn about Patriot Printers.
We have set up a paypal account to accept
donations. If you'd prefer to use a different method to donate,
please contact us at: familieswithoutborders@yahoo.com
for further information. Please indicate in the message space if you
are sponsoring a donor or would like to order packets for yourself (if the
latter, please provide mailing information).
Access Paypal Account and Instructions Here
- Sponsor a packet for your Senator or Congressional
Representative.
It is important for senators and congressional representatives to hear the
concerns of their own constituents. The appeal of Families
Without Borders will not be heard if it is not expressed by someone in a
particular district. If you have contact with a
senator/representative and would be willing to forward our packet to them,
please let us know (send email to: familieswithoutborders@yahoo.com).
- Follow-up on packets that have been
sent. Once sponsored
packets are sent to UNICEF sponsors and interested individuals, the name
and address of relevant contact person(s) at each organization will be
posted. We ask you to send your personal appeals to these
individuals to indicate your concern for the situation and request that
they read and consider the packet of information that has been sent.
The following UNICEF sponsors, Goodwill Ambassadors, and Celebrity
Representatives have been sent information packets by Families Without
Borders. Packets sent
- Join Families Without Borders. A
listserve will soon be established and announced
on this site (or sent to those expressing interest) for those wishing to
offer their help and expertise to Families Without
Borders.
Organizations
that help the children and families in Guatemala:
There are also various organizations
that help desperately poor families in Guatemala, and children who are
living in orphanages. To find more about some of these organizations,
visit:
Hands of Hope: a medical mission to help the rural poor
of Guatemala
http://www.hands-of-hope.com/Default.htm
Orphan Resources International: dedicated to improving living conditions
in orphanages of Guatemala
http://www.orphanresources.org/purpose_mission.html
Common Hope: Family Development in Guatemala
http://www.commonhope.org
Mayan
Families: a volunteer
organization in Panajachel,
Guatemala with
programs as varied as school sponsorship, emergency assistance to families,
dental clinics, and animal rescue. http://www.mayanfamilies.org
Only A
Child: a non-profit
organization that provides assistance to street children in Guatemala
http://www.onlyachild.org/
To Learn more
about Adoption Issues from Guatemala
please visit:
Guatemala Adoption Information and
News: http://www.guatadopt.com
Guatemala Adoptive Families Network: http://www.guatefam.org/
Contact
us:
Please send email to: familieswithoutborders@yahoo.com
www.FamiliesWithoutBorders.com
Mailing Address:
|
Families
Without Borders
|
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13524 Evergreen Way
|
|
Austin, TX 78737-9119
|
Phone: 512-479-9277
Updated: October 1, 2007