Still in PGN...

At the Webinar we learned that time in PGN is of course counted in business days. I knew that was probably the case but was counting full weeks anyway. So with the new count we have been in PGN for 15 days. We're getting there.

Slowing down!

Brian and I have appreciated everyone's efforts to contact our representatives and Guatemala more than you will ever know! But now we are at a point where we have to take a breath and trust our agency. Tonight we had a webinar with our agency to review the situation. I actually felt incredibly informed and am glad that I have spent time researching. Our agency's owner just returned from Guatemala where he met with many officials and actually got a copy of the Oretga Law with 57 out of 65 amendments. He stated that currently there is a transitional clause amendment and he believes that all cases at the point where we are will continue under the old laws. He stated that we will probably see additional time, but we were already expecting that and it didn't sound like it would be anything crazy.

In addition - - and this is the important part - - our embassy is required to answer all emails. If we continue to email and call we will slow them down. They have seen such a large volume of calls and emails that they are being overwhelmed. We have what we wanted, which is an amendment asking for transitional cases to continue. Now we just have to wait.

And - - please make no attempt to contact the Guatemalan authorities. There have been people who have called or contacted PGN and because of that one phone call their case has been thrown into investigation. This can cause huge wait times and hassles.

End result - - we are back to waiting. But we are waiting knowing that there is an amendment on the books to protect our case. And for those who have asked, our rep. told us that November 14 is the earliest date we could have the Ortega Law finalized. We will have to pay attention beginning with the Presidential elections in Guatemala, but the process of finalizing this law could continue into the spring. We do not have a magic date and must be patient.

Again, we're much better off than we were a few short weeks ago! I truly believe it is because of all the families and friends who have stepped up to help. And while it stinks to have to sit back with that "can't I do anything?" feeling it is what we have to do.

We love you guys!

New Pictures... Still cannot believe how frequently we are getting pictures. Well, the last time around they took pictures at the pediatrician's office. This time around the foster mother was supposed to be at the office on the 15th and I am guessing that was when these were taken.

So far we have been in PGN for 11 days. Keep your fingers crossed.

Our sleepy boy...

In PGN!

We're in! We just received the update this morning and we were submitted on the 8th. 5 days down and 35 (ish) more to go! Let's hope and pray really hard that we get through on the first time!!!! Fingers crossed...

Finally - - New Pictures and New baby Thiel!

We went and saw baby Carys Thiel last night. She is beautiful. I forgot my camera which I am still angry with myself for! Adam is going to be a great big brother and Amy is doing well.

We had problems with our Internet last night but finally this morning I am able to post these new pictures!

We got new pictures!

Unfortunately there are some issues with our computer and I cannot save the pictures as separate files. I will post them separately tomorrow night. He looks great and I am sorry that I cannot show them off yet, but I will get them posted tomorrow!

These updates were made today to the JCICS website. It looks a little brighter since the DOS and the HPB have lent their support to the grandfather clause. Thank you to everyone for taking the time to send emails and make phone calls. I will keep up posted when I hear new information.

10/5 - Joint Council is pleased to confirm that the Hague Permanent Bureau (HPB) has now joined with Joint Council, the U.S. Department of State and others in agreeing that transition cases should be allowed to proceed to completion without interruption. It is our understanding that the HPB has now conveyed their revised position to both the Berger administration and Guatemalan Congress.

To date, Joint Council has not received a similarly positive and clear confirmation from UNICEF in support of grandfathering the transition cases. We have however received a response which we feel falls seriously short of supporting the best interest of children. The complete text of UNICEF's statement and Joint Council's response can be read here.

10/5 - Joint Council is pleased to offer additional information about the legislation process regarding Bill # 3217 in Guatemala:

Legislative Process: It is our understanding that the majority of bills passed by Congress require two (2) initial readings into the Congressional record followed by a third reading, review and vote. In the case of Bill # 3217, the third and final reading has been separated into a third reading and vote on October 3, 2007 and a final review and vote on or after November 4, 2007.

Amendments: At the time of the final review, each article and amendment separately will be reviewed/voted upon. In the event that more than 35% of the articles are amended, the bill would normally be sent back to the committee for review and approval. However, the committee has already approved over 60 amendments to Bill # 3217. Given that all amendments have been “pre-approved” by the committee, the number of amendments added will not impact the status of the bill or the ability of Congress to vote. The only exception to this would be if the amendments that are not pre-approved by the committee, exceed 35% of the total number of articles in Bill # 3217.

Joint Council is in the process of obtaining translated versions of Bill # 3217 and proposed amendments. Upon our receipt, we will provide an in-depth assessment of Bill # 3217 and the proposed amendments. Please know that this is not a speedy process and may take a number of days to complete. Joint Council will post our comprehensive assessment as soon as is possible.

Please do not waste any time! Call your senators now!

We wondered last night why JCICS was waiting til next week to stage their "phone-athon." Well it seems the passage of the bill halting intercountry adoptions was a surprise to everyone. Next Tuesday they are supposed to be reading the bill line by line and the opportunity to add ammendments exists. Please call now! You can still use the information in the last post.

Here's what I have sent via email, though I still plan on calling tomorrow.

With a heavy heart I write on behalf of my husband, myself and our son regarding the Guatemala 5000 iniative.

In March my husband and I were matched for adoption with a beautiful boy living in Guatemala. We have worked hard and waited for the day we can bring our precious son home. We believe that our case should be processed by the middle of December and had hoped to be able to travel to Guatemala in mid-January.

Because of current policy decisions we are afraid we will not be able to bring our son home. Guatemalan President Oscar Berger's announcement to halt intercountry adoptions with the United States on January 1, 2008 means our adoption will be affected. President Berger has indicated there will be no "grandfathering" of adoptions already in process. We will miss the window of time to bring home our son by a few short weeks.

If our son is not allowed to be adopted by us, he will languish in institutions or foster care. He deserves the right to a loving, stable, forever home. And while we recognize there are problems with intercountry adoption that must be fixed, we are the only family our son has and every day we are kept from him is devastating.

Please help us!

Please sign the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) sponsored letter to President Oscar Berger and the Joint Council sponsored letter to UNICEF. These letters ask that all adoptions in-process as of January 1, 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.

Thank you -
Jennifer and Brian Barlup

Please Help!

There has been a lot of bad news coming out of Guatemala and, since it seems the picture changes every other day, we had decided not to post information. Well, the poop has hit the fan and we could use everyone's help. This is a long post but it has critical information.

When the post mentions that President Berger is looking to halt in process adoptions he is speaking about us. We think we will be granted a travel date in late November or early December but will not be able to complete the process until in January. We will miss hte January 1 cut off by a few weeks.

Please help and make the suggested phone calls!

*********************************
Guatemalan President Oscar Berger has announced plans to suspend all intercountry adoption with American families on January 1 2008. The Joint Council on International Children's Services strongly opposes such a suspension and asks for your support in their efforts to ensure that all children retain the right to permanency through Intercountry Adoption.

President Berger's plans also call for the suspension of adoptions currently in-process. Such a suspension would be extremely detrimental to the children referred to adoptive parents. If President Berger's plan is actually implemented, up to 5,000 will unnecessarily remain in foster care or orphanages indefinitely.

This situation represents a pending crisis for the adoptive families who have lovingly chosen to provide permanency, safety and love to a child in need and most importantly a crisis for 5,000 children of Guatemala.

What can you do? Make five simple phone calls and send one email.

1. Call your U.S. Senator
>>You can find your Senators' phone numbers at www.senate.gov
>>Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff

2. Call your second U.S. Senator

3. Call your representative to the U.S. House of Representative
>>You can find your representative at www.house.gov
>> Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff

4. Call or fax UNICEF Headquarters
>>Ask to speak with Ann Veneman, Executive Director
>>Telephone: 212-326-7000
>>Fax: 212-326-7758

5. Call or fax UNICEF Guatemala
>>Ask to speak with Manuel Manrique
>>Telephone: 011-502-2327-6373
>>Fax: 011-502-2327.6366
Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls.

6. Send an email supporting Intercountry Adoption to guatemala5000@jcics.org
>>Write briefly or at length
>>Joint Council will use the cumulative email petition in our advocacy for Intercountry Adoption

When should you call? Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (October 9th, 10th 11th). For maximum effect, we are asking you to make these calls within a 72-hour window!

What should you say or write to member of the U.S. Congress? Speak from your heart and give them the following information.
>>Inform them that you are calling regarding Guatemala 5000

>>Ask them to sign the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) sponsored letter to President Oscar Berger

>> Ask them to sign the Joint Council on International Children's Services sponsored letter to UNICEF

>>Inform them that the Guatemalan government has announced that all intercountry adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1 2008.

>>Inform them that President Berger's announcement also indicated that there will be no 'grandfathering' of adoptions already in process.

> >Inform them that if children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care.

>>Ask that their office get involved and sign the sponsored letters to the President of Guatemala and UNICEF. These letters ask that all adoptions in-process as of January 1 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.

>>SAMPLE STATEMENT<<

Hello,

We are calling/writing on behalf of the Guatemala 5000 Initiative. We, as your constituents, are asking that the Senator/Congressperson add their signature to two letters. First, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute sponsored letter to Guatemalan President Oscar Berger. Second, the Joint Council on International Children's Services sponsored letter to UNICEF.

As you may be aware, the Guatemalan government has announced that all intercountry adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1 2008. Their announcement also indicated that there will be no 'grandfathering' of adoptions already in process. If children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care. Your office must get involved and sign the sponsored letters to the President of Guatemala and UNICEF. These letters ask that all adoptions in-process as of January 1 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.

Sincerely,

[your name and contact information]


What should you say or write to UNICEF? Speak from your heart and give them the following information.
>>Inform them that you are calling regarding the Guatemala 5000
>>Ask them to support the right's of children and lend their considerable influence to ensuring that intercountry adoptions currently in-process be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.
>>Inform them that the Guatemalan government has announced that all adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1 2008.
>>Inform them that President Berger's announcement also indicated that there will be no 'grandfathering' of adoptions already in process.
>> Inform them that if children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care.
>>Ask them again for their support of the Guatemala 5000 Initiative.

>>SAMPLE STATEMENT<<

Hello,

We are calling/writing on behalf of the Guatemala 5000 Initiative. As financial supporters of UNICEF (through our tax dollars), we are asking that UNICEF lends its support and considerable influence to the Guatemala 5000 initiative.

As you may be know, the Guatemalan government has announced that all intercountry adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1 2008. Their announcement also indicated that there will be no 'grandfathering' of adoptions already in process. If children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care. UNICEF must get involved and help ensure that all intercountry adoptions in-process as of January 1 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.

Sincerely,

[your name and contact information]

Can you explain the problem behind the pending crisis? Here is some additional information…
>>Guatemalan President Oscar Berger has announced plans to effectively stop all adoptions into the United States including those children who have already been referred to adoptive parents
>>Over 5,000 children have been referred
> >The birthparents for these children have already relinquished their parental rights. As a result, they currently have no family and the Berger suspension will result in these children having no prospect for a permanent, safe and loving family
>>The government of Guatemala currently does not have the finances or facilities to even provide housing for these 5,000 children
>> The Berger plan is a crisis waiting to happen

What else can you do? In addition to your primary calls to U.S. Congress and UNICEF, you can call the following.

SOSEP (Guatemala)
>>Director Teresa Echeverría de Bastarrechea
Office Phone- 011-502-2383-8400
>>Assistant Director- Edin Palma- Same office phone
Office Phone- 011-502-2383-8400
>>Jaime Tecu
Office Phone - 011-502-2239-0000 ext 2766
Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls

Guatemala Ministry of Foreign Affairs
>>Minister Gerth Rosenthal
Office Phone 011-502-2410-0000, 2410-0010
>>Vice Minister- Marta Altoaguirre
Office Phone 011-502-2410-0020
Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls

PGN (Guatemala)
>>Carlos Victor Hugo Barrios Barahona
Office Phone 011-502-2248-3200 Ext. 207/208
Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls

Procuraduria of Human Rights
>>Dr. Sergio Morales
Office Phone 011-502-2424-1717
Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls

Embassy of Guatemala in the U.S.
2220 R Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20008
Office Phone 1-202-745-4952
Office Fax 1-202-745-1908
Website: http://guatemalaembassy.com/