Soapbox warning

There is a huge crisis in adoptions in Guatemala going on. The uncertainty of implementing the Hague (worldwide adoption guidelines) coupled with the political upheaval surrounding the presidential elections there has created a volitile adoption environment. It's anyone's guess what each day will bring, what new twist will be revealed and if/when things will settle down. To me, there are 3 main elements that have contributed to the current situation. The first is the extreme poverty that most Guatemalans deal with every day. The majority of the country lives in huts built from whatever scrap wood and metal they can find. They scavenge for wood every day to keep the fire in their hut burning. They work the fields on the sides of the mountains by hand, trying to grow enough food to feed their families but hopefully a little extra to sell at the open market. Trying to wrap my mind around how their lives really are is like trying to imagine how bit the universe is. Conceptually I know it but I just can't really understand it. It is so incredibly different than anything I have ever experienced.

The second contributing factor is the lack of education and availability of birth control to the majority of the women. More than 70% of Guatemalan women are illiterate and have never been to school. They are unaware of birth control or have no means of getting it. Pharmacies in the bigger towns and cities carry birth control (over the counter, no prescription needed) but how can the women afford it or even travel to get it? It might as well be on Jupiter for all the access they have. Add to that the cultural aspects of the male pride in fathering children and these women have very little control over pregnancy.

The third issue I see is that Guatemala has a private adoption system, not a government controlled system. Many people have capitalized on this and the amount of money to be made is astronomical even by U.S. standards. If a facilitator can charge $20,000 per child (or more) it is easy to see what the attraction is. Greed is a powerful thing. It corrupts, it infects, it destroys. This has led facilitators (the attorneys who have the power to do adoptions in Guat) to 'recruit' pregnant women, to send 'handlers' out into the countryside searching for women who want/need to give up a child.

Picture this. A young mother already has 3 children but she can barely feed them. The youngest is sickly and she fears for her child's life. She is pregnant again. A kind (acting) person tells her that she can give up the new baby for adoption, the baby will go to America and live a life of riches and opportunities. Plus, the mother will be given a small amount of money to assist her (small to us, say $600, but enough for her to feed her family for a year and to get medicine for her child) This kind person will transport her back and forth to sign the papers and pay for her travel and meals on these trips. The young mother readily agrees. She has no other options.

The poverty, the lack of birth control, and the private system of adoptions come together like this when it runs smoothly and fairly. Then there are the horror stories of stolen babies sold for adoption (the main reason the U.S. requires DNA testing on mothers and children) babies switched during the process, women tricked into giving up children they really want, and the worst, women giving birth to child after child to earn a living. It happens. It is the reality of the weaknesses in the system. Babies as commodities. Every adoptive parents nightmare.

We can't fix the level of poverty in Guatemala. We can't fix the lack of education and availability of birth control easily. But, there are things we can do. We need to stand strong and keep pushing for Guatemala to become Hague compliant, and to do so in a way that corrects the weaknesses in their private system. We need to assist them in implementing new regulations that support and control adoptions so the corruption stops. We need to push our government to continue Guat adoptions but to hold Guatemala to a higher standard. A standard that protects the children. A standard and a system that puts the children first. A system that works.

It's going to get worse before it gets better. There are going to be children left behind. There will be struggles to get children to their forever homes. It's going to get pretty ugly. But, in the long run it needs to change so that the children are protected.

I never expected to be involved in this. I just wanted more kids. A sweet and happy wish. God has led me on a quite different path. Even if we never bring home our children, it will not have been in vain. God is working through us to help build a better future for many many children. We are part of a much bigger plan. Thank you God, for trusting us this much. For using us to make a difference. We won't let you down.

I now step down from my soapbox........