So about those Russian kids....

Nearly 2 years ago, Russia abruptly terminated international adoption to the United States, as well as expelled American NGO's working in orphanages.  Many families who were already in process were prevented from completing their adoptions, leaving behind children whom they had already met.   Russia's Children's Ombudsman promised that all these children will be well taken care of domestically, including the numerous children with special needs.

Seems that, ahem, more work needs to be done....

http://www.reformtalk.net/2014/09/17/russia-children-with-disabilities-face-violence-and-neglect/

It is still happening

Here in the US, orphanages were mostly phased out in the 1970's, as it was determined that foster care provides better opportunities for development in a more family-like environment.  Foster care is far from perfect, of course, and many children passing through the system are severely traumatized by repeated reassignments, as well as outright abuse and neglect. It is, however, far superior to the alternative which it replaced.

In most of Eastern Europe, orphan care looks like this:  Young babies and toddlers are placed in "Baby Houses", or orphanages for the pre-school set, where they live with their "groupa" and have basic needs met by orphanage staff.  The staff may be caring or abusive, depending on the orphanage, but in most places the baby houses are more or less ok.

"Kyle" as an adorable toddler with Down syndrome at a Russian baby house, 2 years ago.

As they reach school age, healthy, typical children are transferred to an older-child orphanage ("internat"), where they go to school together with their groupa-mates. Children with disabilities (whether mental, physical, or medical), however, are usually transferred to an adult mental institution.  Care at these places is usually far, far worse.  Most American animal shelters are held to a higher standard than these institutions. Children are routinely underfed and denied medical attention.  Many are drugged in order to keep them quiet, tied down to their cribs. Vulnerable and forgotten, they are frequently victimized, beaten and abused by the very people charged with their care.

"Kyle" shortly after transfer to a mental institution last year.

Fully 85% of special-needs children transferred to adult mental institutions die within their first year there.  "Kyle", whose chance to be adopted dropped to near-zero last year when Russia outlawed international adoption to Americans, has joined these statistics this week.

Baruch Dayan Emet, "Kyle"

Double happy ending/beginning

Two families caught in the Russian Adoption Ban limbo found themselves waiting in the same Moscow hotel for court decrees for their new children.  These children are both about 4-5 years old. One is a boy, now known as Gabe Preece:



And the other is a girl, Vika Bonner:




Although these munchkins were in 2 separate orphanages, they are now good friends, embarking on this amazing experience of having a family.

These are examples of children who are rescued from institutional life while still in "Baby Houses", where they get to play, interact with loving caretakers, and develop basic skills.  Of course there is still much ground to cover once they get home, in terms of medical care, therapy, level of attention etc., but these are children who can walk, talk, play appropriately, and give and receive affection. 

It's fun reading their stories side by side.

I can't say it better myself

This is truly awe-inspiring, and Julia does a great job of photo-journalism here.  I have nothing to add.

One Year

It seems that Russia has decided to honor the bilateral agreement reached last year, and delay putting the ban on adoption by Americans until January 2014.

This is great news!  There are nearly 50 American families who have already completed all the legal steps of their Russian adoptions -- their children have been assigned to them legally by Russian courts -- who have been holding their breaths for the last 2 weeks for fear that they would not be permitted to bring their children home.  They will now be able to do so.  There are hundreds of other families at various stages in the process, who will also (hopefully) be able to complete their adoptions.

This is also a window of opportunity for the rest of us.  One year.  One year in which to complete a home-study, submit a dossier, and make 3 trips to Russia to bring home a child before the gates shut.  Yes, there are many needy orphans elsewhere in the world, including here in U.S. foster care.  A year later they will be.... a year older.  A year later, Russian orphans will no longer be eligible for adoption by Americans.  Americans have consistently adopted more Russian children than any other country.  Being wealthier on average means that we can better afford the costs of adoption than most Europeans.  We have extensive medical and educational facilities for addressing the special needs of most adoptees. 

Let us take action in 2013 -- reach out to our communities, and support families who are willing to take this leap -- maybe even take this leap ourselves!  Let's see how many Russian orphans can be rescued this year.

And who knows, the law might just be amended or abolished in the meantime.

Torah Connection - Shemot

Today we begin the reading of the book of Exodus.  The family of Jacob has transformed into the people of Israel. The Pharaoh who lavished honor and wealth upon Joseph and his kinsfolk has died, and in his place rose a Pharaoh who sought to gather honor and wealth for himself upon the backs of Hebrew (and other) slaves.  A familiar story, repeated throughout history.  Jews are always welcomed at first, as they are at the forefront of technological and social innovation.  As their power and stature in society grows, however, anti-Semitism rises as well, driven by fear and envy.  Eventually they are oppressed, massacred, and/or driven out.

I came late to synagogue today, however, and I missed most of this story.  I also missed the part about Moses growing up in Pharaoh's palace, running away, and being called by G*d to go back to Pharaoh and demand freedom for the Israelites.

Instead, I came right at the end.  After refusing Moses' plea, Pharaoh instead ramps up the oppression.  The people complain to Moses, who turns in prayer to G*d:




"O Lord, why did You bring harm upon this people? Why did You send me?  Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has dealt worse with this people; and still You have not delivered Your people."

 How this resonates for us today!  We despair at the recent ban on adoption of Russian orphans by Americans, not understanding why G*d would allow young children to be used as political pawns in this fashion. We are frustrated that we feel called to adopt or otherwise help orphans, yet these efforts are rebuffed.

And G*d answers:




 "You shall soon see what I will do to Pharaoh: he shall let them go because of a greater might; indeed, because of a greater might he shall drive them from his land."

 What does that mean as far as Russia goes?  We do not know.  It may be that this roadblock will increase adoptions from other areas.  It may motivate new reforms within Russia.  It may simply raise awareness about adoption, so that more children, both domestically and internationally, find loving homes.   We, like Moses, must not shy away from doing the right thing just because it is hard, or because there are obstacles.  The struggle is as much a part of the story as the ultimate redemption.

Torah Connection - Va-yechi

By a confluence of the common calendar and the Jewish calendar, the final chapter we read in 2012 is also the final chapter of the book of Genesis.  This is the transition from Israel the large family/clan to Israel the People.  The story is told, however, through two deaths: the death of Jacob, and the death of Joseph.

Jacob does not seem to have changed much since his youth.  He still plays favorites with his sons and grandsons, although he does seem to discriminate between them based on character traits rather than subjective affinity.  With respect to his grandsons Ephraim and Menashe, he continues the tradition of favoring the younger over the elder: Kane vs. Abel, Ishmael vs. Isaac, Esau vs. Jacob, Rachel vs. Leah, Joseph vs. his brothers.  He also repeats this in the blessings to his own children: Judah is favored over Leah's other sons, and Zebulun is favored over Issachar.  This is a theme that has dominated Jacob's entire life, and it persists right to the end.

Joseph, on the other hand, has learned true humility and generosity.  After the death of their father, the other brothers fear that Joseph may take vengeance upon them. Instead, he responds,



'Don't be afraid,' said Joseph to them. 'Shall I then take God's place?
Vayomer alehem Yosef al-tira'u ki hatachat Elohim ani.

You might have meant to do me harm [but] God made it come out good. [He made] it come out as it actually did, where the life of a great nation has been preserved.
Ve'atem chashavtem alay ra'ah Elohim chashavah letovah lema'an asoh kayom hazeh lehachayot am-rav.

Now don't worry. I will fully provide for you and your children.' He thus comforted them and tried to make up.
Ve'atah al-tira'u anochi achalkel etchem ve'et-tapchem vayenachem otam vayedaber al-libam.

Jacob and Joseph both express their dying wish to be buried in the land of their forefathers.  Joseph fulfills his father's wish promptly, mourning him with "a very great and solemn lamentation".  Jacob is embalmed and mourned in Egypt for 70 days before being taken with great ceremony to the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

Joseph, on the other hand, receives no such treatment.  Instead, "...and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt." Thus he was left until his descendants carry his remains back to Israel during the Exodus.

========

I am thinking of Joseph's words with respect to the recent Russian ban on American adoptions. It seems like a bad thing, but it can also be seen in the context of Russian reforms of its own child welfare system.   At the same time, a proposed amendment to the ban may allow an exception for children with special needs, so that these may get more attention from potential adopters.   Finally, this may create the pressure on adoption agencies and facilitators to address corruption and poor oversight, so that future adoptions are less likely to disrupt or result in child abuse/neglect (as can happen when parents are poorly prepared).

Praying for Ivan and Celine.

Praying for Wyatt.

Praying for Nathan.

And all the ones we know about and don't know about, who wait to be "fully provided for".

 

Russian adoption ban

The lower house of the Russian Duma (parliament) has just passed a ban on adoptions by Americans by a huge margin.   It will now be up for vote in the upper house, and then a signature from President Putin.  According to pre-existing treaties between the 2 countries, such a ban could not go into effect for one year after passage, but even so, it would spell doom for the thousands of children who would remain in orphanages and institutions instead of finding loving families.

As reported here, 70% of all adoptions in Russia are domestic (i.e. by Russian families).  However, most (but not all) of these are of healthier, younger children.  Older children, as well as children with disabilities or chronic illnesses, if they are adopted at all, are generally adopted internationally, by American or European families.

One issue is that there have been various documented cases of abuse and/or neglect of these adopted children, including 19 well-publicized deaths in the past 10 years.  However, to put this number into perspective, over 1000 domestically-adopted Russian children have died in a similar time frame.

Here are some of my previous posts about Russian orphans.  These kids are desperately in need of families to love them and give them the medical and educational opportunities that will enable them to live full lives.

Please sign this online petition to appeal to Putin to VETO this ban, so that these children can find families!

31 for 21: Progress in Russia

If you understand Russian, check out this video:




This is a Russian newscast, explaining how about 85% of Russian children born with Down syndrome are relinquished to orphanages (identical to the percentage aborted here after a prenatal diagnosis!), and demonstrating their actual potential when integrated in society.

I am actually quite impressed with their diction -- I don't know if they use different speech therapies there, or if Russian phonemes are just easier for people with Down syndrome to master, but all the Russian videos I have seen featuring both adults and children with Ds have been remarkable easy to understand.


And here is a video of a Russian family adopting a child with Down syndrome domestically.




 This is so encouraging to see the change happening around the world, not just here!