ADOPTION INSIGHTS

LIVES in LIMBO
Families Impacted by Legal & Political Issues in Guatemala
BY marguerite paolino

Jon and Mary Beth Beatrice, pictured at the Salem courthouse after finalizing their son Charlie's adoption, waited two months before they could bring Charlie home from Guatemala. The process has been even longer for Roxanne, the girl they have been waiting to bring home from Guatemala since January. When Mary Beth and Jon Beatrice were in the process of adopting Charlie, now 2 1/2, from Guatemala, it seemed to take forever. The couple anticipated that he would be home by the time he was five months old, but delays that seemed unusual at the time kept him in Guatemala until his seventh month.

Now in the midst of their second adoption, the Lynnfield couple realizes how easy they had it with Charlie. When they were matched with a 3-week-old girl on Jan. 16, they thought the adoption process would be complete and the baby would be home within six or seven months.

But summer is long since over, and when little Roxanne turns one this month, she will still be in Guatemala.

"With Charlie, we weren't wondering if it would happen," Mary Beth said. "We were wondering why it wasn't happening faster."

Ellen and Sean Darcy brought their son Dylan, 2, to Guatemala to meet Carolina, a child the family hopes to adopt. Carolina, was one of several children who were living at an orphanage in Guatemala that was shut down after allegations were raised that some of the children may have been abducted or their parents coherced. Since the raid, Carolina has been returned to the orphanage and the Darcys have faith she will become a part of their family soon. These allegations are one of the reasons why adoptions from Guatemala are taking longer than normal for American families, and why the government likely will put a moratorium on Americans adopting Guatemalan children as of Dec. 31. Changing Rules

With increasing political and legal controversies surrounding Guatemalan adoptions, the Beatrices have not been sure, in the past few months, whether Roxanne would be joining their family at all. And they are not alone.

Between 3,000 and 5,000 Americans adopt from Guatemala annually, and many are pushing to finalize adoptions before the end of 2007 out of concern that changes to the Guatemalan adoption system could freeze the process entirely. Guatemala is one of the top three countries for International Adoption in the United States.

However, in late November, adoption advocates expressed cautious optimism that adoptions currently in-process would be allowed to proceed under current Guatemalan law and not be affected by end-of-year changes. [See related article on page 54]

The Beatrices believe they will be able to adopt Roxanne, but they are disappointed that it is taking so long.

"We're anticipating a much tougher transition because Roxanne is already bonded with her foster mother," Mary Beth said.

Fallout From Orphanage Shutdown

The legislative changes to Guatemala's adoption system have been under discussion for years, but allegations of corruption intensified when Guatemalan authorities raided an orphanage in August. After alleging that the children at Casa Quivira did not have proper paperwork, officials investigated whether any children were abducted or their parents coerced. All 46 children were moved to other orphanages in the country.

For Brendan and Julie McNeill, of Dracut, the news was upsetting, even though the 4-year-old boy they plan to adopt was not at Casa Quivira.

"It was an emotional rollercoaster at the time," Brendan said, adding that government officials then threatened to halt some adoptions. "You don't want to be selfish, but you do have a tremendous sense of relief when you realize you're not going to be affected."

"It's just like any other thing in life, there are going to be people who are above board and people who are not," said Julie, adding that she wasn't passing judgment on anyone involved.

The news of the Casa Quivira shutdown had a much more personal impact on Ellen and Sean Darcy of Newton. Carolina, the baby they visited in June and expected to adopt, was at the orphanage. And when the facility was closed, the Darcys had no idea where she was sent.

"I was devastated," Ellen said.

It wasn't the first time the Darcys had felt loss as a result of an attempt to adopt a child.

Although in retrospect their 2-yearold son Dylan's adoption went smoothly, their effort to adopt Dylan's biological brother ended in sorrow, when the baby, still in Guatemala, became seriously ill and died.

"[When Casa Quivira was shut down], it was like reliving what happened when we got the phone call saying the other baby had gotten very sick," Ellen said. "When you've been through something so devastating and something happens to you that feels so similar, it's natural to jump right back to that devastation."

Until mid-November, the Darcys outlook for adopting Carolina seemed bleak. Then, the Guatemalan authorities returned most of the children to Casa Quivira, which Ellen takes as a sign that they have faith in the ethics of the orphanage staffers. The Darcys' adoption process is again underway.

"In the past few weeks, I've let my emotions get the better of me," Ellen said. "We were trying to come to terms, after the raid, with the talk of birth mothers reclaiming their children, that that was possible. We have been assured now that that's not going to happen. But we've had to consider that this adoption might never really happen."

And, even though she now believes Carolina's adoption will be successful, Ellen had to consider the possibility that her future child was not given up willingly.

However, after agreeing to a television interview, Ellen found herself in the unique - though not welcome - position of seeing Carolina's birth mother interviewed on camera. The woman spoke through a translator about the reasons for her decision, and Ellen said she feels assured that there was no interference or impropriety.

Darcy acknowledges that there probably are "women who are coerced and women whose rights are infringed upon. The truth is, if U.S. parents are going to continue to adopt internationally, they need to acknowledge some responsibility about how it's done," she said. "I know a lot more than I did three years ago when I started this adoption voyage. Some of it I wish I didn't know. But now that I know it I can't ignore it."

And even if she wanted to forget it, there will probably be reminders.

Kevin Kreutner, father of two children from Guatemala, knows adoptive parents who have gotten comments suggesting their children were stolen.

"It's insensitive, wrong, and unfair to our children," said Kreutner, spokesperson and lead writer for www.guatadopt.com. "The overwhelming majority of Guatemalan adoptions are honest and clean and just as they're supposed to be."

The McNeills have not encountered questions from family, friends, or strangers about whether their child's birth mother gave him up willingly.

"You don't want to make assumptions about the origin of children, but I head off questions by telling people what I'm comfortable revealing," Brendan McNeill said. "Every country has issues about adoption. A lot of the horror stories you hear about adoption in Guatemala are similar to the horror stories you hear about adoption in the U.S. It's a statistical blip, but when it happens, it's all you hear about."

Marguerite Paolino is a Massachusetts-based freelance writer. She writes frequently on adoption issues and has won national awards for her articles.