Over 900 Haitian children are in the process of being adopted by U.S. nationals, but cannot be brought to the U.S. because of State Department bureaucracy. Their lives are in danger right now. But you can help.
Dear friends:
You have heard many appeals over the last few days for money to help Haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake. There are many, many worthy groups to whom you can contribute, and I urge you to continue to do so. However, here is a way you can save lives without using money. Of the thousands of children in Haitian orphanages, over 900 of them are in the process of being adopted by U.S. families. Usually there is a nine-step bureaucratic process, one that lasts up to a year, that must be covered before a child can receive a visa and be united with the family who is adopting them.
Some of the orphanages were destroyed or badly damaged in the quake. Worse, reports a friend of mine who teaches at the law school at Cornell University, " at Maison des Infants de Dieu,(aka For His Glory, #32 Delmas 31) there is no potable water, no formula for the babies, no medicine, no I.V. fluid for the child on an I.V., no fuel. There are also people who have been breaking into the orphanage. Although Maison has money in its accounts, there is no cash because the banks are not open."
My friend and her husband, who are already raising two children born in Haiti, are in the process of adopting two other children who are currently at one of these orphanages. However, they cannot bring their children to the U.S. immediately because of the extremely slow nine-step process I described. So far the U.S. State Department has refused to change its rules to deal with this emergency situation In the past--late in the Vietnam conflict--it did bend these rules to bring children here in the middle of a humanitarian disaster. So here is where you could, if you feel so moved, do something to help.
Please consider calling your two senators and your congressperson to ask them to do what Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D.-Minn.) has already done--call for the State Department to fast-track the admission of these children to the U.S. I am aware that compared to 50,000 deaths, 900 children may seem like a drop in the bucket. In some ways that is true. And in normal circumstances, there are sometimes good reasons for slowing the process of international adoptions. But these are not normal circumstances.
Bringing 900 children here will free up 900 more daily rations of water, formula, medicine. And clearly there will be many, many children orphaned as a result of the earthquake, so 900 free cribs and beds will be desperately needed. Calling attention to this particular aspect of this disaster will also call attention to the need to direct U.S. and U.N. forces to secure and supply the children at the orphanages. Your phone call, your email to your representatives can make a huge difference in the lives of these 900 children, and many others' lives as well.
Thank you.
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