New Requirement for Families Adopting from Ethiopia
It began as a rumor a week ago, but agencies have now confirmed a new requirement in the adoption process in Ethiopia. Effective soon (possibly as early as April 9), both parents are now required to be present at the court hearing of their prospective children.
This, of course, adds another large expense to prospective adoptive parents because it will require one parent to fly to Ethiopia twice. Trust me – plane tickets to Ethiopia are far from cheap. Looking back, this additional requirement might have led us to rule out Ethiopia when we began our adoption journey. That’s heartbreaking because I cannot imagine life without our Little Girl.
Why have they added this new requirement? Because there was a concerning trend of families arriving in Ethiopia, only to refuse to follow-through with the adoption. Bethany Christian Services has more information about this trend on their blog.
I know. It’s easy to read that and say, “50+ families! Really?”
Although we didn’t realize it at the time, we were given a hint of this disturbing trend during our appointment with the U.S. Embassy (yes, the day of the phantom cell phone).
During our interview, the official asked us, “Do you know that this child has a special need?”
In my mind, I thought, “Well…of course we know that. We’ve known that all along. Don’t you know the process we’ve had to go through to be approved for her because of her special need? We’ve been praying for her since the moment we found out about her nine months ago! That’s a really silly question, lady. ” And my initial thought was to say something silly like, “What?!? What do you mean a ‘special need’? That’s an outrage! Well – give her back.” Of course, my cooler head prevailed for once and I didn’t say anything like that. I had visions of Christy punching me in the gut or the Embassy official actually taking me seriously and not approving the visa or something like that.
It’s a good thing I didn’t say that because the next thing she said absolutely shocked us. “We ask that because you’d be surprised at how many people get back home and then say they didn’t know about a particular special need their child has and try to nullify the adoption. Of course, by then it’s too late.”
There was part of me that wanted to ask her who these people were so our Travel Group could find them and learn them a thing or two (if you catch my meaning). I didn’t ask, though.
After going through the entire process of hoop-jumping, paper-chasing, home-preparing, and all of the other steps and expenses that come with the emotional roller coaster of an adoption, it’s hard for me to imagine ever choosing to back out of the process after finally looking into the child’s eyes. But…it has been known to happen.
So I understand why Ethiopia is doing this. I wish there was a better way. I’m sure there is. But in the meantime, this should serve as a stop-gap in the process. Please join me in praying for those who are caught up in this transition – especially those who face an added hoop to jump through and an additional large expense that was completely unexpected.
But more importantly, let’s continue to pray that the 5 million (yes, million) orphans in Ethiopia become part of loving families.
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