Continued from Part One...

In October of 2006, a new IBESR director was assigned. Her name is Madame Beaudin, and so far she has improved the process in IBESR and signed out hundreds of files.

The new hang-up is now with Civil Court. Adoption files are getting stuck there for months. Who knows what the reasons are? Civil Court was recently vandalized. They say they need time to clean-up before they can get back to signing files out. In Haiti, that could mean just about anything.

I have heard that files have been held up due to pride, stubbornness, and possible lack of bribes. If you ever travel... more

Probably the most common question we have received during our Haitian adoption is, “Why does it take so long?”

I recently received the comment from Thomasina:

Wendy,

I'm following your story with great interest. Somehow, though, I missed the part where you talk about why the government of Haiti (or whoever) is drawing this process out for you and your children. Why can't you go and get them? Please link me to your blog entry where you explain. Sorry for my naiveté about such things and best of luck to you!

After reading her comment, I realized that there may be many of you who do not understand why it can take so long to adopt... more

Our adoption coordinator and a group of adoptive parents traveled to Haiti on January 11th. They returned home last week on the 18th with heavy hearts, adorable photos, and great travel stories. I should have been on that trip. I had been planning on joining the group up until a month before they left. I suddenly felt like I shouldn’t go. I was still exhausted from the previous trip. I realized it would be a big financial burden right after Christmas. Our kids at home were dreading our departure, and I started to wonder just how good it actually... more

Last week, I received a lovely email from a new reader. She was sharing with me how her heart was for adoption. She had spent quite a bit of time with research for Chinese adoption, only to discover the new rules would exclude her from being able to adopt from China. She had felt drawn toward Haitian adoption in the past, and with the recent news about China, started looking more at Haitian adoption. She told me that she was happy to find my Haiti blog, because there wasn’t much available in regards to personal stories about adopting from Haiti. She is right.... more

Continued from September 25, 2006...

Thursday, September 28, 2006

I haven't felt like writing anything at all. It has been very hot and humid--zapping all of my energy. On top of that, Georgia has decided to show her true colors. She definitely has attachment issues. Worse than that, we feel concerned about her in other ways. I find it so upsetting, I can barely talk or even think about it. In July we met her... more

Continued from September 24, 2006...

Monday, September 25, 2006

1 am

I was awoken at about midnight to the sounds of diarrhea. Talley had had a little right before bed. She went all out this time. She was covered in poop! If that's what you could call it--it was so liquidy. I changed her, cleaned her up, re-applied the scabies medicine, got her dressed in clean clothes and comforted her until she fell asleep again.... more

September 24, 2006 continued from Part Two...

We finally made our way back to the hotel. The roads were a little flooded and so the driver couldn't see pot holes. We were bouncing all over. When we were coming up the hill to the hotel, the tires started spinning and slipping. The driver just floored it and we slowly slipped into the hotel parking lot.

We went up to our room and hung out for awhile.... more

September 24, 2006 continued from Part One...

I started feeling emotional when we pulled up to the orphanage gate. Everyone got out of the van as quickly as possible, and immediately searched out their children. I was worried that Georgia and Talley wouldn't be there yet, like last time. So I was please to see Talley sitting on a table between a man and a woman on the patio. I said, "Talley-Po!" She... more

I’m feeling a little emotional today. Our adoption coordinator and 21 adoptive parents and volunteers left for Haiti today. I was supposed to go on this trip, but a few weeks ago I suddenly decided that I should not go. Since I am feeling wistful for my daughters, I decided I would share the travelogue from our second trip to Haiti last September. We visited longer on this trip, but I hardly wrote anything in my journal. We were dealing with some issues with our older daughter, Georgia, and a part... more

In 2004, after a revolt that led President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to flee Haiti, The United Nation’s (UN) Security Council issued a resolution to establish a peacekeeping force in Haiti (MINUSTAH). MINUSTAH currently employs more than 6,600 military personnel and over 1,700 police officers, as well as hundreds of civilian staff assisting the people of Haiti.

Some adoptive parents have expressed concern over the fact that the mandate was set to expire in February of this year. Without the UN, some adoptive parents feared that rioting and... more