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It is quiet on the Guatemalan adoption front because nothing is really happening. With elections in Guatemala over, the congress is winding down for the holiday season. In January the new President, Alvaro Colom, will take over.
The Adoption Legislation has been postponed in the Guatemalan congress. It is complicated legislation as there are apparently around sixty amendments to address. Perhaps they should start from the beginning and throw out the adoption not-friendly Ortega Bill. Other bills have been presented in the past, and this would be a good time to go back and reconsider them. Bill 3635 is one option that I have blogged about and was a viable option.
Adopting legislation under pressure is a recipe for disaster. Guatemala has been under constant external pressure to change their adoption laws and procedures, but they still have the right and the responsibility to take the time to do it well.
And continuing on in the adoption world, there have been new rumors going around as well, and I’m not going to discuss them and give them the attention they want but don’t deserve unless I have solid proof. Let’s just say that claims that adoption in Guatemala is part of a giant crime syndicate is one of them.
Susana Luarca has posted again on her website, and I always feel it is well worth the time to read what she has to say. Truly devoted to the welfare of children, her point of view provokes us to look at the larger picture and take stock. This posting she comes out in justified criticism of the various anti-adoption organizations.
Yesterday was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. In the last seven years, there have been 6,025 reported cases of rape and 3,281 women murdered in Guatemala. And to add to that horrific statistic is the fact that only 2% of crimes against women are solved. Few cases ever make it to court, and in 2006 only 12 sentences were given in cases of violence against women.
And kudos to Senator Norm Coleman who has been in Guatemala lobbying for the completion of adoptions in the pipeline after the Hague Convention has been implemented. He is doing a fine job of presenting the problem in an appropriate and convincible manner. My concern does not end there, however, since in my opinion the future of adoptions from Guatemala is under serious threat after the implementation of the Hague Treaty.
hi lisa! it’s been a while since my last comment. Well i wanted to tell you that today I read in the paper that the new adoption law in Guatemala was aproved yesterday by the congress, it didn’t say much about it ’cause the real news was that the members of the congress found a new way to keep stealing our money. Anyway there has been several protests of women claiming the government to do something about the adoptions issue ’cause they have been victims of it. The people that their babies away by telling them lies or using violence or money to induce them didn’t even spend one night in prison! It’s unbelievable what can actually happen here! and the worst of all is that nobody does anything!