Fully prepared to be infuriated by yet another attack on Guatemalan adoptions, I was surprised to find that Dateline NBC did a fairly decent piece on the problems that existed in the now defunct adoption system in Guatemala.

Yes, they highlighted the bad and ugly. The facilitator by the name Thanasis is what I consider the scum of the earth; a person whose greed for money overrides any moral and ethical behavior on his part. The children, such as Angie and her two sisters who were victims of his plots, are physically and/or emotionally scarred for life, and their parents left to grieve for children they had no intention of giving up for adoption. The prospective adopting parents... more

Elizabeth Larsen's latest article on Guatemalan adoption issues raises several points that I would like to address. First and foremost I would like to say that given the climate surrounding Guatemalan adoptions right now, and the fact that thousands of families and children are not being united because their adoptions are not being processed, if, like Elizabeth Larsen, I was asked the question "what will we tell our children" by two adoption researchers I would tell them that right now I’m focusing on the children that are stuck in limbo. There is something smug, self-centered... more

If you’d like to read an interesting and introspective blog, let me send you to one written by a Guatemalan adoptee, who recently adopted from Guatemala herself. One could say that she has a double perspective on adoption. She is also refreshingly positive and comfortable in her role as adopted daughter and adoptive mother.

However, like many of us out there, Meredith is not comfortable with the some of the adoptee rhetoric she hears.

“One thing that is making me sad is that I've seen so many adult adoptees who have written about how adoption is, in... more

Elizabeth Larsen, author of "Did I Steal My Daughter - the tribulations of global adoption" has written a new article in “Mother Jones” called "International Adoption - It's a One-Way Dialogue." Amongst other things, she bemoans the fact that “there are viewpoints that aren't given a lot of real estate, most notably the perspectives of people—adoptees, birth families, adoptive parents—who are deeply critical of adoption.”

Well, I’d like to point out that she failed to mention the viewpoints that are never heard; the children in Guatemala who will... more

Shortly after I felt cautiously optimistic with the announcement that the Guatemalan Congress was going to push back the implementation of the Hague and perhaps the Ortega Law to April, 2008, the DOS decided that this didn’t suit them at all. They want Guatemala to stick to their initial implementation date of December 31st, 2007.

In their statement of November 8th, 2008 they say: “The Guatemalan Government has said it will assume its obligations as a Hague Convention... more

According to Guatemalan newspapers, members of the Guatemalan Congress have come up with some new legislation for the adoption process in Guatemala. This legislation could be voted on as early as next week.

Apparently this legislation calls for pushing back the implementation of the Hague Convention to April to coincide with the estimated time that the US will implement the Hague. In addition, one Guatemalan newspaper claimed that the legislation called for an April date for the implementation... more

Guess what? UNICEF New York is “protecting” the Executive Director Ann Veneman from our annoying phone calls by not transferring calls to her or to her voicemail. In order to get through to her, Kevin on guatadopt has an innovative idea as well as guidelines for what to say when you do get through. Kudos to Kevin!

Here are his recommendations:

To leave a message on the voice mail of the Executive Director you should:

1. dial the switchboard 212-326-7000 2. Listen to the recording, and choose 1 to use the "dial a name feature" 3. Type in 8363626# (which are the... more

The adoption home Casa Quivira was raided on August 13th. A few days later several children were hospitalized after not receiving proper nutrition and care by the people the government sent to replace the staff at Casa Quivira. Two of the children were released to their adopting parents and their adoptions completed. Several days after that the remaining thirty some children were taken to undisclosed orphanages in Guatemala. To my knowledge (and if you know otherwise please share) no more information has been released regarding the welfare or futures of these children.

Was... more

If you’ve been wondering what action each of us can take to help the children of Casa Quivira, here it is. The following information was posted on behalf of the in-process families on guatadopt.

It is important to contact the Chief of Staff or the Legislative Director in the Washington DC offices of your Senators and Congress members and not lower level staffers. For the contact information you can click here. If you are wondering what to say, here is an excellent sample:

To Senators/Congress members: As... more

I’m on a mini vacation this Labor Day weekend. It is a special occasion for all of us as Ella is finally with all three of her brothers at the same time. This is not an easy feat with grown children living far away, but we finally did it.

But I couldn’t resist checking if there is anything new on the Casa Quivira situation and low and behold a little something came out late yesterday.

According to a reliable source, representatives from Casa Quivira met with Josefina Arellano, Chief of the Investigative Division of PGN (Procuraduria General de la Nacion) on the 29th of August. She said that she... more