It was a great opportunity for them to meet the new adoption desk director, Evan Elliott, and vice versa, and exchange information.
As far as the certification issue goes, Mr. Alemu came prepared with a copy of the Biftu Orphanage legal certificate issued by the Ethiopian Government. He also brought an English copy of the booklet: The Revised Family Code of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, referring Evan to Article 192 which states:
1) Government or private orphanages may give any child under their custody to adopters.
2) The above mentioned orphanages shall, before giving the child for adoption, provide sufficient information to the government organ having authority to follow up the well being of children as to the identity of the child, how the orphanage received him, and about the personal, social and economic position of the adopter.
He also noted for Evan Article 36(5) of the Ethiopian Constitution which refers to adoption.
Evan was both sincere and diplomatic in his response: The information is helpful and appreciated but the Embassy needs to receive a formal response to the question from the Ethiopian Government. We understand that, we responded.
Then we broached the dreaded “N word” (Nairobi
Did the investigation by the U.S. Embassy uncover any other roadblocks to our visa process?
I can only imagine the communication and cultural gap that existed between these two parties. The police officers are often illiterate and possibly intimidated by a “representative of the U.S.
I explained to Evan that I, myself, went to the region and the woman who found Bamlak (with another baby girl) told me herself that she, together WITH the police officer, spent several hours with going from door to door asking throughout the neighborhood about any known pregnant women or for any other information about the babies. Evan said that this level of detail was not reported and is required to meet the classification for an orphan by the U.S. Government.
So, our case, as well as that of 7 other babies (including J. Mo’s 2 babies,) is now being sent to the closest office of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which is in Nairobi , Kenya
This means that we are fastening our seatbelts for another month of waiting—very frustrating for us and VERY painful for the adoptive families waiting at home WITHOUT their children.
We chatted with Evan about significant discussions between the two governments about ways to streamline the adoption process. It is obviously a complicated business.
Mr. Bere made a great suggestion to Evan that if the Embassy would issue guidelines for what it expects the police to do by way of investigation, they could become better trained. Evan opined that education is also needed at the local level so that birth mothers understand that they CAN legally relinquish their babies and that abandonment is not the only answer. That is even more complicated than two governments working in tandem.
This process has a real price. On Sunday one baby from the AA foster home died after meeting her adoptive parents and passing the Ethiopian court only a week prior. The baby was weak from malnourishment and got sick with pneumonia and possibly TB, and they simply could not save her life. That mother is coming back in a few weeks and will meet a new baby.
I remain, incredibly grateful to be here with a healthy, thriving Tali Bamlak and our homecoming will even be even sweeter.
In the meantime, thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragement and support.
Love from Addis,
--Jen and TBK
I cannot thank you enough for chronicling your journey and sharing details about everything from what Ethiopian court was like to the nuances of Embassy interaction. We are ALL learning from your experience there. I am so grateful to have come across your blog as a PAP also with AAA. The information you continue to share has helped me so much in planning my time in Ethiopia. Thank you!
ReplyDelete(And your daughter is absolutely adorable! Congratulations!)