I read with great sadness that our adoption agency has decided to
shut down its Russian adoption program. They haven’t made a big deal about it
but a quick search of their website reveals no traces of Russia at all. This
makes me sad and just a little angry as well.
Russia has increasingly been making adoptions more and more
difficult for the last couple of years. In December, it culminated with Putin
signing into law that no more adoptions by the United States would take place. This
has left many families in limbo, not knowing whether or not they will be
allowed to bring their little one home.
The adoption process is long and difficult and is not for the
faint of heart. There are mountains of paperwork to complete, sometimes two and
three times before it is accepted. In the case of international adoption, there
are two or three trips to make to a foreign country where you meet a child that
you instantly fall in love with.
Every day there is a different headline out of Russia concerning
adoption. These days many of those headlines are fixed on the Max Shatto case
out of Texas. This precious little boy died back in January and some of the
Russian government officials are now calling for all kids that have been
adopted to return to Russia.
While this is just a knee-jerk reaction and is designed to get
emotions going, I have been thinking what if Russia puts in place more
stringent requirements for those of us who have long ago completed our
adoptions. Every time I read something, I think about what is going to happen
now to the thousands of children living in orphanages and those that might live
there someday.
Now more than ever these kids from Russia need our help. Children
are children, no matter where they are born or what country they live in. Many
adoption agencies are deciding to shut down their Russian programs and this
also makes me sad. Who is going to adopt these beautiful Russian children now? Russians
are not known for adopting, and unless things change to make it easier to
adopt, Russians will not be lining up to adopt these kids.
These kids have done nothing wrong but are being punished as Russia
and the United States engage in an emotional tug o’ war. Adoption agencies were
the first to work with the children of Russia by providing humanitarian aid to
orphanages. With so many agencies shutting down their Russian programs, what is
going to happen to these kids? Without
the help they so desperately need, many will age out and go on to a life of
crime, homelessness, prostitution, sex slavery, etc.
My heart is filled with sorrow for Max Shatto’s family and for all
the families who have been told they will not be allowed to bring home their
child.
My heart is also filled with sorrow not only for the children of
Russia but also for those who worked tirelessly in Russia, who worked with the
Russian government on our behalf and who became our tour guide, friend and most
importantly family. My heart will always have a special place for Tatyana,
Pasha, Sasha, Lev and Ludmila.
Thank you doesn’t seem like enough but it is all I can say at this
time.
Благодарю Вас от всего сердца
