14 Congolese Children Allowed to Join US Families UPDATED
“Congo’s government cleared the way Monday for dozens of children to join their adoptive families abroad after more than two years of waiting, though a further 1,000 others will have to remain in orphanages for now.
Fourteen of the children are now headed to the United States, while other boys and girls are going to start new lives in Italy, Belgium, Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Authorities in Congo put a halt to international adoptions in 2013, saying their adoption system was beset by corruption and falsified documents. The children’s adoptions had been legally approved by the Congolese courts before the government suspended the issuing of exit permits, causing heartache and frustration for families around the world.
On Monday, the Congolese government said that during its review it found “69 dossiers that were perfectly in order and so the children could be authorized to leave.” Three other children with serious medical conditions were also issued paperwork to depart Congo, though their destinations were not immediately known.
“All the other adoption dossiers will wait until the new law on adoptions currently under debate is finalized,” Congolese Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba said. “Until the new law is approved, we will no longer discuss these international adoption cases.”
The U.S. State Department, which says about 440 U.S. families are among those waiting for their adopted children to be allowed to travel, confirmed being notified that 14 of those children would be allowed to join their families in the U.S.
Among families still waiting are Evan and Elizabeth Clements of Lamar, Missouri, who were matched with a baby boy in Congo in June 2013, but were unable to get an exit permit for Elijah when the adoption was formally approved in December.
“The big problem is that there are more like 1,000 kids stuck and only letting 72 of them go is absolutely ridiculous,” Evan Clements said in an email. “The (Congolese) government has shown time and time again that they do not hold to their word, so I will not trust them until these kids are home.”
There was nothing for them to play with,” Michele Bond, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, told The Associated Press in September. “These are very long periods of time in which small children are just sitting and waiting in very deprived circumstances compared to what they’d have if they were living with their families.”
The adoption freeze was needed because of “adoption law violations that involved the kidnapping of Congolese children from their families,” said Francois Balumuene, Congo’s ambassador to the United States.
“We recognize that the period during which our government reviewed these cases, and continues to review others, has been trying and difficult for the families involved,” he said in a statement. “Our goal is to ensure that all adoptions comply with domestic and international laws and that our children receive the best care and love when they leave the country.””
Update : US DOS issued a notice on 10/5/15. See here: “Alert: Update on the Exit Permit Suspension in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
The Congolese Government has informed the Department that the exit permit suspension remains fully in force for all Congolese children adopted by foreign families.
While it is not within the Department’s purview to discuss legal ramifications for U.S. citizens who attempt to circumvent the exit permit suspension, U.S. citizens are subject to all laws and regulations in the country in which they are traveling or residing. Any information concerning such efforts could potentially become the subject of law enforcement investigation. Further, U.S. adoptive families of Congolese children are cautioned that attempting to circumvent the exit permit suspension could have severe implications. These implications include placing adopted children and individuals helping children leave in serious harm’s way, jeopardizing the validity of the adoption, the possible arrest of parents in the birth country, and potential restriction of parents’ ability to visit their adopted children.
We will post any further developments on the Exit Permit Suspension at adoption.state.gov. Please contact us with further questions or concerns at ExitPermitSuspensionDRC@state.gov. ”
Update 2:“Indiana’s congressional delegation is urging President Barack Obama to prod the president of Congo to allow hundreds of legally adopted orphaned children to join their new families in the United States.
The 11-member delegation asked Obama in a letter sent Tuesday to call Congo’s president, Joseph Kabila, to press him to “swiftly and thoroughly” resolve that nation’s stalled exit permit process.
The African nation halted international adoptions in 2013, saying its adoption system was plagued by corruption and falsified documents. Those adoptions had been approved by Congolese courts but the government suspended the issuing of exit permits.
More than 400 children were adopted by Americans who cannot leave Congo and “continue to suffer hardship, neglect and illness” in their native land. It also noted Indiana has more orphans than any other state – 27 – “stranded” in Congo.
“These suffering Hoosier parents and their children stuck in the (Democratic Republic of Congo) deserve our very best efforts to unite them at last in loving homes,” the delegation said in its letter.
The White House did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment on what steps Obama might take to address the stalled exit permit process.
Fourteen of the 27 youngsters adopted by Hoosier families were handled by Indianapolis-based adoption agency MLJ Adoptions International. Executive Director Nicole Skellenger said those stranded youngsters “are spending some of their most important years of development without the permanent and loving care of their family.”
Brad and Heather Long, a Fishers couple who adopted a Congolese boy, Ethan, two years ago through MLJ Adoptions, yearn for him to join their family. The Longs have a 7-year-old biological daughter, Madeline, and they adopted their 3 1/2-year-old daughter, Harper, from Congo in 2013.
Heather Long, 32, said Harper “is very aware” that her younger adoptive brother is still in Congo and she prays every night that he will join her in central Indiana. The couple has used Skype a few times to talk with 2-year-old Ethan, whom they visited in Congo last year.
Although it’s a relief that he’s with a foster family and not in an orphanage, they’re eager for him to leave Congo and its ever-present threat of serious illnesses.
“In Congo, it’s very easy to get sick with malaria or something we wouldn’t even think about here – all in the blink in an eye,” she said. “I hope President Obama understands this situation is really impacting families all over the country.””
Indiana delegation asks Obama to act on Congolese adoptions [Daily Herald 2/3/16 by AP]
I wonder how many of those Congolese kids with “nothing to play with” are the victims of Orphanage Tourism scammers who keep the kids in miserable conditions to keep the donations rolling in?