KC couple’s Vietnamese adoption stuck in limbo

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Marsha and Chuck Sailors have cards printed with the words “Let Claire Yen come home.”

One might think the couple is campaigning for the release of a political prisoner. In a way, they are.

Claire is a 3 1/2 -year-old Vietnamese girl the Sailors had every reason to think they were bringing home in 2008 to live with them and grow up in Kansas City.

Instead, the Sailors and the girl they consider their daughter are caught in a tangle involving international relations, the U.S. State Department and the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption.

It’s a maddening and heart-wrenching mess. And while bureaucrats in both Vietnam and the United States are doing their bureaucratic things, the Sailors say Claire is growing up undernourished in southern Vietnam in a moldy orphanage that used to be a prison. It even has bars on the windows.

“When you’re 3 years old, you should weigh more than 20 pounds,” Marsha Sailors said in her home adorned with photographs of Claire, who despite her small size has bright eyes and a wide smile. “We want to fatten her up.”

Compounding their frustration, the Sailors have been to Vietnam nine times and have spent a total of five months bonding with the girl. They are attached to her and she to them. Their pictures are on her wall and pillow.

16 Vietnamese Kids, US Families In Adoption Limbo

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Marsha Sailors painted the nursery pink and green at her Missouri home, put up princess pictures and built a crib for her new little girl. They hadn't yet met, but she already was in love with the smiling 6-month-old in a photo sent from Vietnam.

Three birthdays have since passed, but the child has never slept in the room or worn the clothes hanging in the closet.

Sailors and her husband visited the girl they named Claire a combined nine times in unsuccessful attempts to bring her home, and now are barred from any further contact.

Instead, Claire remains stuck inside a decaying Vietnamese orphanage along with 15 other kids who also have American families waiting to adopt them. Their cases went into bureaucratic limbo in 2008 when Washington suspended its adoption agreement with Vietnam over broad suspicions of fraud and baby selling.

"I just can't spend a lot of time in her room because it's just so sad," said Sailors, from Kansas City, who celebrated the past two Christmases at the orphanage in southern Bac Lieu province with her husband Chuck before authorities barred the visits in January.

"We're just longing to bring her home because otherwise her future ... I can't go very far down that road before my heart starts to break," she said.

Local teacher takes adoption plea to D.C.

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t has been three years since Angie McDonald began trying to adopt the child she calls Jada.

In that time, Jada has grown from an infant to a dark-eyed toddler and McDonald still has not been allowed to bring her home from Vietnam, where she has lived in an orphanage almost since birth.

McDonald is one of 16 parents in the same predicament. All started adoptions about three years ago, and all are entangled in a spider web of international regulations.

Last week they converged from seven states on Washington to tell their stories to their senators and to U.S. State Department officials in charge of international adoptions.

"One thing they did say to me was, 'Nothing turns the dial like an angry mom.' "

Officially, the news is not promising.

"Intercountry adoption from Vietnam remains suspended," it states on the State Department website. "There is no estimate as to when adoptions will resume."

That's because Vietnam has not yet signed the Hague Convention, an international agreement meant to protect the international adoption process - and the children involved - from fraud, corruption and human trafficking.

Some of those abuses were alleged to have happened in Vietnam around the time McDonald, 43, a psychology professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University, applied to adopt. In an attempt to clean up adoption abuses, the Vietnamese official in charge of adoption froze pending adoptions, including hers.

State Department officials have been attempting to get those adoptions back in the pipeline, but it's been slow. So slow that three of the original adoptive parents, and one child in the orphanage, died.

The earliest possible break could be Oct. 1, when Vietnam is expected to sign the Hague Convention, which imposes standards for adoptions.

Meanwhile, McDonald worries about conditions at the orphanage, where mental patients are housed in a nearby building on the same small campus and where the orphaned children are eating little but rice and watered-down milk.

Area family caught in international adoption dispute

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In the fall of 2009, Angela Manuszak first met the little boy she hoped to call her own at a prison-turned-orphanage in rural, southern Vietnam. “That’s your mommy,” his caregiver told 2-year-old Thomas, commanding him to sit on Angela’s lap. By the end of the visit, Thomas was ready to go home to his new family in Washington Twp.
He’s still waiting. So is his adoptive family — Angela and her husband, Terry, and the three siblings they adopted from Taiwan in September. And so are 15 other so-called “pipeline families,” all of them caught in what Angela calls a “nightmare of bureaucracy” brought about because of changing regulations designed to prevent human trafficking in international adoptions.
While they wait, the Manuszaks say Thomas’ health has deteriorated. “They’re putting process before the life of a child,” Terry Manuszak said. “It’s unconscionable.”

Rubio blocks Obama's nominee for Vietnamese ambassador

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American families who received referrals for orphans in Vietnam more than three years ago are in limbo as the United States rethinks its international adoption policy. Known as “pipeline families,” these U.S. citizens were matched with orphan children, their paperwork processed in the U.S and in Vietnam.

Then, requirements in both countries began to change. These children and their families have been caught in a cycle of shifting regulations.

For the past three years, the families have grown to known their children through visits. These American families provided medical care, emotional support, toys, books and clothing for their children while they are being raised in an orphanage overseas.

Adoption advocates asked that that these adoptions be grandfathered in under the rules in which these adoptions were originally processed.

They urge that the subsequent DNA matches, relinquishment records from birth mothers and other paperwork be accepted so that these children can be reunited with their families while the United States and Vietnam work out the final details of inter-country adoptions going forward,

“Senator Lugar and Senator Rubio should be commended for their efforts on behalf of their constituents and these children. For years, the Department of State has been unable to provide complete or consistent answers about these cases, and has been unwilling to help solve the problem,” says Kelly Ensslin, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based attorney for two of the pipeline families whose children are awaiting finalization of their adoption.

“These children are suffering and need homes urgently. I've seen their condition with my own eyes. I believe the hold on Ambassador Designate Shear will instill a sense of urgency and help the Department of State focus on resolving these cases immediately,” Ensslin continued.

The Second String - phase two

The Second String originally consisted of two wonderful Moms who came to offer their love, attention, and determination to all of our children who are still waiting to join their forever families. Those of us waiting back home were greeted each day with tears and joy as new pictures, videos, and tidbits about our child’s personality were revealed. Videos and photographs taken by the waiting Moms are absolutely priceless because the distance between parent and child may be geographically far, but no distance exists in the love each of us has for our little one.

While one Mom had to tearfully part with her daughter to reluctantly leave the Centre to return to the United States, another Mom arrived to continue the effort and finally was able to meet her son. Both Moms still in country continued to give each of the children so much love and attention which can be seen in the many photographs of the children interacting and playing. The days were filled with lots of activities and snacks. The Moms brought in more flavored milk, juice, cookies, waffles, and fruit and made sure all of the kids had their fill so they can continue to grow! The kids enjoyed many activities such as; coloring, stacking toys, sharing books, playing with inflatable animal toys, using the Moms as human jungle gyms, and of course BUBBLES!! Most of all, it is clear that they enjoyed the love that the Moms who traveled gave them. They touched each of our children’s lives in more ways than we will ever know. They also brought much needed smiles to the faces of all of the waiting parents.

All of the Moms are now home and we continue to wait for our children to come home as well. We have become a pretty tight knit group that promises to have many friendships continue for a lifetime. Many envision play dates and reunions for our kids who have grown up together for the last few years and undoubtedly have a love for one another. These dreams will hopefully soon become a reality and each of us will finally be able to hold our children in our arms and not just have to carry them in our hearts. Please pray for all of the families and especially the children. We pray that soon, we will be celebrating their homecoming and starting a new joyous chapter in each of our lives.

Second String's Turn in Bac Lieu

The second set of volunteers arrived at the Centre on October 14th. These two volunteers named themselves, and we affectionally refer to them, as The Second String. Yet, there has been nothing second about them. They hit the ground running after diligently preparing and learning from the first volunteers. The children only showed moments of reluctance because they quickly remembered these people tend to be fun, bring treats, come with new games, yet will engage in almost anything we think of to do! Even having a translator the first day who did not speak English and whose Vietnamese was later questioned did not discourage them!

The volunteers have spent as much time as possible at the Centre. Like the earlier volunteers, they were told to come for a half day. The volunteers tried to stretch out their time as much as possible to allow more time with the children. The caregivers seem to have no problem with the extension and obviously enjoy their time with the volunteers as well. The caregivers and volunteers have communicated well through the Vietnamese of the volunteers and acting out of words.

The volunteers were encouraged by the level of care the children are receiving. Reports of the food seem to indicate that the food has improved even since the first set of volunteers were present. A greater variety of food has been offered with a good sampling of vegetables. The caregivers are very loving toward the children, treating them as they would their own children. The children show visible signs of attachment to the caregivers, using them as a secure base and going to them for affection and comfort.

The volunteers have given each family some specific details on their child. The opportunity to know so much about the daily lives of their children is invaluable and a benefit that possibly we did not see early on when we were focusing primarily on nutrition and stimulation. Seeing pictures and video of their children goes a long way in helping families to attach to their child from afar. To have this information for their child in the future is priceless. The families actually have a large collection for a scrapbook for their child. The volunteers reported very helpful information back to the families about where the children are developmentally and how to prepare for their children to be home.

While fall is coming to much of the United States, it remains very hot in southern Vietnam. The heat does not deter the volunteers from being very active with the children, playing airplane and swinging the children through the air. The volunteers have been very creative in the activities that they planned. One day the children enjoyed putting socks on their arms and legs. The socks provided great fine-motor skill practice and were soft if they children decided to be more aggressive with them! They volunteers brought many other toys and supplies, including bubbles, feather dusters for sensory stimulation, and drawing materials. Since August, the Centre has installed a television with DVD player in each room. The children reportedly enjoy watching videos with singing.

Above most everything else, the children want the attention and affection of the volunteers. They do love their Oreos, strawberry milk, and all of the toys. But what they compete most for and will wait their turn for, is an open lap. And open is relative, with caregivers often having 4 to 6 children “on their lap” at a time.

The Second String clearly made a difference in the lives of the children! We all tremendously appreciate their sacrifice!