US-Vietnam adoption pact ends, hundreds in limbo
Ben Stocking in Bangkok contributed to this report.
A U.S.-Vietnam adoption agreement expired Monday with the two sides unable to resolve disagreements over fraud and corruption, disappointing hundreds of prospective parents who will have to seek children elsewhere.
The two countries said they will continue trying to iron out their differences, but for now the program will be suspended indefinitely.
Vietnam will continue processing adoptions for parents who had already been matched with orphans before the agreement expired. But the vast majority of the roughly 1,700 families that had cases pending will be disappointed, according to Vietnam’s top adoption official, Vu Duc Long.
Long said he was still tallying the exact number and would release it later this week.
8 Responses
Our hearts are sad tonight as we think of all the families left out by the September 1 deadline. There are so many children in need and so many families that want to open their homes to them. It is frustrating wondering how it came to this. We are one of the lucky ones. We received our referral in the spring and all of the Vietnamese approvals are complete. We are expecting on our I-600 approval any day and will travel shortly. We thank God for the blessing he has given us, but our hearts and prayers go out to those that are hurting. We pray for you and the children. I have no idea what the answer is, but we will continue to hope for adoptions to continue in Vietnam in the near future.
This message is for Ben Stocking…….
Mr. Stocking, can you please print this information in the SF Chronicle and other major newspapers in the US?????????? Please help to make the public aware about what’s going on with the adoptions in Vietnam…….I too am one of the 1,000+ families who has had my dossier in Hanoi for the past 9 months without a referral..
PLEASE HELP US ALL BRING OUR CHILDREN HOME..
THANK YOU…….
Kristin Alderisio
Kristin,
Just so you know, that AP report went out on the wire and will probably be picked up by a number of American papers. (I noticed it was in the Washington Times, which means people in DC have seen it, though I’m guessing many were well aware of it, thanks to all the letter writing and petitioning that has been done).
Hi Ben,
Are there people I can contact at each of the major papers to make sure they saw the AP report and if they can write an article about what’s going on??????
Thank you for your help.
Kristin
I do hope that Dr. Long follows through with the ‘tallying.’
Hi Ben,
Are there people I can contact at each of the major papers
ie..NY Times, Boston Globe, LA Times, etc……to make sure they all saw the AP report and ask them to all write articles in their papers about what’s going on???
Thank you for your help.
Kristin
does anyone know anything about the results of the jcics online questionaire?
Has anybody heard ANYTHING about if dossiers are being returned. This lack of information is mind-blowing to me. I feel completely ignored, tossed aside, and rejected. Somebody has to know something. How can it be over but it not be officially stated “Hey its over, your paperwork is being returned”. If that is the case, there are many people that have important decisions to make. We can’t make them without official information. I pray that it is not over but at this point the unknown is unbearable. If the 2 sides are “talking” how serious is it? Is this casual “talk” that could last for years or serious negotiations that could possibly lead to something in the near future. Somebody has to know something. We deserve an answer!!!