Comments about ‘Orphans in limbo: Haiti delays departure of kids to U.S.’

Red Cross says - "STOP STEALING THE CHILDREN" from Haiti. Three aid groups called for an immediate halt to any new adoptions of Haitian children after last week's earthquake. Save the Children, World Vision and a unit of the British Red Cross said the focus first must be on tracing any family members that children may still have and reuniting them. Any hasty new adoptions would risk permanently breaking up families, causing long-term damage to already vulnerable children, and could distract from aid efforts in Haiti, the agencies said in a joint statement. Stories of Haitian orphanages struggling after the quake and the plight of the children there also has led many to ask about adopting children. Save the Children Chief Executive Jasmine Whitbread said the vast majority of children on their own in Haiti are not orphans, but were simply separated from their families in the chaos. Taking children out of the country would permanently separate thousands of children from their families. a separation that would compound the acute trauma they are already suffering and inflict long-term damage on their chances of recovery.

I am happy they are taking the time to check if birth parents can be located or extended family members before shipping them out of the country. It is so much better for children to be raised by their natural families if at all possible. Sometimes when people rush into action, permanent damage is done. They have their own language, heritage and religions which they are not going to have if they are hurriedly shipped to Utah. Let the dust settle.

I agree with both Anonymous | 11:55 p.m. Jan. 25, 2010 and Brother Chuck. These kids have been traumatized by the quake already - yes let the dust settle. I would be more than happy to foster a couple of these child and should a family member show up be more than happy to return them to their true families. Seems like everyone I have met here in Utah is either adopted or had adopted.Stop being so fast to destroy one family just to add to your own.

Under normal circumstances I would say yes it may be fast, but also how many children will die who could be saved, fed, and homed here in the name of double-checking and bureaucratic red tape?

"Some of the children have been waiting as long as five years to join their intended parents, who are mostly in Utah, and all were in the process of being adopted when the Jan. 12 earthquake hit." ALL were in the process of being adopted.....show a little compassion for those who have been waiting so long and are traumatized that their hopes and dreams have been put on hold. Why can't people resist the urge to criticize????? It IS good that everyone slows down to be sure nothing illegal is going on, but this article has NOTHING to do with anyone who is trying to "destroy a family" by whisking children away. Please, people. Put the tendency to criticize and find fault away. These people were following all the laws and rules. I hope all goes well and they are soon able to bring the children to their new families.

If I have been reading the articles correctly these are kids that were already set for adoption before the earthquake even hit, so I would think they are already confirmed orphans.

It's about time the Haitian government stepped in to stop this wholesale kidnapping and human trafficking of these children.

Many of the children in these orphanages are victims by being kidnapped and sold to the orphanages and this whole affair stinks of criminal trafficking of children. The Haitian government also has the right to demand that all evacuated children be returned to Haiti.

This wholesale save the children campaign is out of control and the adoptions are suspect. I'm glad to see some controls have been instituted to stop it.

"Haiti delays departure of kids to U.S....Some of the children have been waiting as long as five years to join their intended parents"

This kind of PRIDE/Big Power Trip/we-love-to-Control-and-Manipulate attitude on the part of Haitian government officials is EXACTLY WHY they are still a third world country and why the future looks bleak for Haiti, even with all the money and good will this earthquake has produced.

WHY IN THE WORLD would a country with so many children in orphanages BEFORE the earthquake make adoptive parents and the little children wait for as long as five years????

And WHY NOW, with even more orphans, is Haiti delaying the departure of more???????????????

It can only be they love holding people essentially 'hostage' to their whims, egos, self-importance and control.

If you notice, though, the story is about adoptions that have already been in process, therefore, the fact that these children are ophans has already been established. I have no problem with checking and double checking the status of children recently found to be alone, but those who have already been established as orphans will only benefit from uniting as quickly as possible with their adoptive families.

some of the kids could also end up in world wide slavery. Yes, sad, but true.

slow down the pace, be accurate, be sure. Reasonable.

This is not baby stealing. Those who say that are misinformed. These are adoptions that already cleared the haitian court. The parent has already relinquished custody in front of a judge or had rights terminated, all before the earthquake. All through the legal system. These children are in a very dangerous place.

I'm really happy there are so many people willing to step up to foster and/or adopt these children who have suffered much.
I am also glad that cooler heads prevail such that if there is a chance for reuniting families that it can be done.
However, the children are in need of food, medical care & love now...and bureacracy often hinders ~ hence the years it usually took to adopt pre-earthquake.
Unfortunately I have no answers, only more questions.

Well, then they are going about this all wrong to start with. The Orphanage already knew who was without parents when the quake hit. Those children should be adopted out immediately without delay. They also know what children have shown up since the earthquake, wether they be new orphans or simply seperated from parents. They can just as easily take digital photoes and other information weight, age, etc and then ship them out of country ASAP into foster homes. After one year, if no natural parents have stepped forward to claim their child, they become available for adoption. And you can not foster one of these children unless you plan to be the one to adopt them.

Wow, such a quick and easy fix. We need smarter people in government.

BUT NO..instead we have orphans sleeping on the grass running out of food and water.

IDIOTS!

I got the impression that this lady's kids (and the one that med student is adopting) were already in orphanages before the quake. Sure, let things settle out before sending any kids that were orphaned by the earthquake abroad, and make sure they don't have any living relatives that can care for them. But I don't see any problem with expediting the adoptions of kids who were orphans before the quake.

Let's just hope that the children are willfully returned to Haiti if a parent or relative is discovered. That's what I'm afraid the news headlines might be negative next year. That everyone did hurry too fast and their were mistakes made.

It is admirable that people want to adopt. Good luck to all those who do!

The kids in the picture look like they are strapped into the baggage claim. On a conveyor belt.

I don't think that these people were intentionally breaking up families, I think that it is more than likely they were trying to help the situation in any way they could. Of course we want families to be reunited. Of course we don't want the sex trade to get any more children. Of course we don't want bad things to happen to good people. But this is a sad situation for a lot of children, and to be able to help a child in need is a duty people seem less and less inclined to do. I think these people's hearts were in the right place, maybe the method of mad-rushing things was the downfall, but they were just trying to help, which is what we should all be doing.

Have any of you been to Haiti? Do you know the kids that were on their way home have already been released to the orphanges by their parent(s). This is a typical Haiti Government control tactic. They have no organizational skills and when it is shown, they do something like this. Having personally been through the adoption process, you tell me why my paperwork sat on a persons desk for 7 months just for a signature after his secratary approved the paperwork for signature. I love Haiti and its people, and if you have ever been, parents come up to you on the streets and beg you to take their children so they can have a better life. Wake up and learn it all before you pipe off.

Some of you are just ridiculous. Oh yes, let's let children just sit there and starve to death, sleeping under cardboard out in the elements while their wounds go untreated with no medicine for sickness. And let's do it all in the name of not "stealing" children. Stop dividing the world into countries and look at each individual life as valid and important. THESE ARE CONFIRMED ORPHANS. NO FAMILIES ARE BEING DISRUPTED. Some of you are so selfish and frankly disgusting.

We are planning on adopting and I hope that we have our little one home as soon as possible because we love our child and don't want our baby to die in the street. And if that makes us baby thieves, so be it.

The fewer people Haiti has the better until they can get their act together. Since they haven't in 150 or so years since their independence it seems to me that they need someone to come in and help them restructure their government so as to allow property rights, free enterprise, etc. They rest at the bottom of the Index of Economic Freedom. They should expedite adoption of Haitian orphans by US citizens. Isn't it interesting adoption is so slow by our bureaucracy that people have to go overseas.