December 12, 2012

Long Adoption Delays in Guatemala

We posted an article earlier on Facebook this week about an adoptive mother’s thoughts on adopting her children from Guatemala, and then learning how corrupt and illegal many of the adoption practices are there.

In the article, “An Adoptive Parent Won’t Take the Blame,” Jessica O’Dwyer notes,

For years, I have blamed myself for participating in a corrupt system. “If I hadn’t been willing to adopt from Guatemala, corruption never could have happened.” As I revealed in “Mamalita,” my daughter’s adoption was riddled with problems from beginning to end. After our agency cashed our check and abandoned us, I quit my job and moved to Antigua to finish the case myself. Soon after, my husband and I were urged to pay a bribe. Inquiries to our agency were answered with threats to put our daughter in an orphanage, forever. Seeking help from the United States Embassy, we were told: “This is a Guatemalan problem. We can’t interfere.”

Continuing their investigation of Guatemalan adoption practices, the New York Times also posted a video documentary about the struggles adoptive parents have when trying to adopt from Guatemala. It’s a problem that not only affects Guatemalan citizens, but children who are struggling and need families, as well as children who taken from families and illegally placed for adoption.

The documentary is incredibly informative and shines a bright light on a system drowning in corruption. Do you know anyone who has adopted a child from Guatemala? What was their situation like?