Permission to throw a hissy fit, please!!!

Have you ever searched high and low for a silver lining in the clouds? Searched so hard yo thought your head would explode, only to find there is none. That's where I am right now. All I can see are dark gray rain clouds that never change. NEVER!! In case you live in a cave ---- or aren't currently aware of Guatemalan Adoptions and the disasters that come with --- here's the latest. It is confirmed that unless there is a miracle, there is NO way to know when Sydney will be home.................see below:

Attorney General transition and Colom visits US

The new Attorney General Baudilio Portillo Merlos took over yesterday. The new Sub Attorney General (replacing Barrios) is Attorney Flory de De Leon and she has already moved into the office. It appears she may be holding off making any critical decisions until the Constitutional Court rules. The new AG has requested an audit, as well.

What does this mean? Short term, cases that were simply waiting for Barrios' signature are going to be delayed because of the way the review process works and the audit. With a change of power comes delays in about any business or government entity. Expect an impact on all cases currently in PGN. Long term, we cannot predict what this will mean. As always, we hope that this appointment by Colom will mean a more efficient PGN.

On April 29th, President Colom will be in Washington DC to meet with President Bush as well as the CCAI (Congressional Coalition on Adoption) which we can only assume that they will discuss the current situation with Guatemalan Adoptions.

This may very well be a good chance to have our voices heard by both governments! But before we start making demands or asking the US to pressure Guatemala to do this or that, let us think about what we really want to occur.

The Guatadopt team feels pretty strongly about US involvement here. We do not feel that the US has the right to pressure Guatemala into changing adoption laws. However, we do feel that it is appropriate for them to discuss the current delays and encourage Guatemala (and the US) to finish these cases ethically without "token" delays.

Furthermore, the idealist in me believes that we (as adoptive parents) should let the Guatemalan government know that as private citizens we (the Guatadopt extended community) are willing to try and help them support an ethical, appropriate adoption process which will offer families to children who really need families. And maybe, part of that support is implicit meaning that we will involve ourselves in programs that end the cycle of poverty.

In Kevin's recent post, Thoughts on ADA's Latest Post - Guatemala: The Next Romania?, we had a pretty good discussion on Grass Roots Movements. I saw that several readers felt "helpless" as just one person to make a difference. Well, maybe I am up too late, but I have to say that PERSISTENCE and DEDICATION are what matters here. Guatadopt started with just one person (me) and now has a network of individuals generally believe that adoption is an option that shouldn't be totally closed off to children in need. And while we debate heavily on this site regarding how we got here and the best approach for the future of adoptions, I know that most of our regular readers care deeply for the children of Guatemala.