Vietnamese Shell Game

Last night as I watched Henry stack and unstack these cups I thought about the current situation in Vietnam. It seems we got out of there just before the new I-600 regulations took effect, and things have been very slow to move since then. I am not sure how the process could be made better--US officials don't seem to like the way some things are done, Vietnamese officals dislike having their process (and I suppose their intergrity) questioned, and adoption agencies and facilitators dislike having cumbersome procedures and paperwork. Meanwhile children are overcrowded in orphanages.

I am not sure where the solution lies. I don't think US officials should take a paternalistic approach to their counterparts in Vietnam, but I do think the integrity of international adoption procedures should be adhered to. I do think corners are cut and problems avoided by agencies and/or facilitators, and this lead to sometimes questionable paperwork for children that are authentically relinquished.

I remember last year there was much discussion in online groups about twin referrals. News of a twin referral was often greeted with skepticism and suspicion. Twin referrals brought greater scrutiny and no doubt made the process more difficult insofar as paperwork is concerned--making sure every i is dotted and every t is crossed. I believe that is why the decision was made (by who I am not sure) to separate Henry from his twin Ben. I just don't think they wanted to endure the added attention and scrutiny that would accompany the referral of identical twins.

Now my heart goes out to those who are waiting, wondering how long the process will draw out and hoping to get finished before the present MOU falls out of effect. I hope that the US and Vietnamese powers that be reach some kind of agreement that allows for both the timely AND ethical adoption of children who need homes.
Meanwhile Henry is further settling in to American life--by learning to love TV Land and the Beverly Hillbillies. I record several episodes a day and we watch them while I feed him and while he plays. He is pretty tired by the time we get home in the early evening but the television seems to be something familiar to him and he enjoys watching it.