Prayers for current families in Taraz

Taraz Coat of Arms

As we reflect on the upcoming 1st Anniversary of our adoption of Lukas it is a bittersweet time. We are so greatful and thankful for the blessing we have been given in our son. It was a long, emotional journey but we made it through and are now reaping the rewards. And they are many. Most of all our loving, sometimes exacerbating (aren't most preschoolers :)), wonderful son. But also experiencing a new culture and meeting many new and wonderful friends, just to name a few.

Most adoptive families spend time reading others blogs. We followed blogs of those who went before us to gleen information and prepare for our own journey. We follow blogs of those whom we traveled some of the journey with together in Taraz. And we follow the blogs of those following behind us to give support, advice, relive our own experience and celebrate their successes and hopefully lift them up during their times of trial and disappointment.

Which brings me to my point. It is bitter sweet because the families currently in Taraz are struggling to bring their children home and it is heartbreaking. I have debated for a while about posting on our blog about the current situation in Taraz for International Adoption. Eight families are in the process of adopting children from Taraz: 3 Americans, 4 Canadians, and 1 German family. Some have made their first trip as far back as December of 2009 and one family has been their for 5 1/2 months now. All 8 have had their court hearing, 5 have been given their ruling, all 5 were no. The other 3 are still waiting with heavy hearts to hear what their results will be.

Some background: From what I have read on their blogs, on the message boards, and heard from them via emails, it all started back in January with the death of "celebrity" Casey Johnson. She adopted a little girl, as a single parent, from Taraz in 2007. She was the great-great granddaughter of the founder of the pharmaceutical giant, and the daughter of New York Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson. After her death, all international adoption cases in Taraz were moved from the Municipal court to the Regional court for additional investigations. The judges got extra instructions to be more careful and strict with the foreign citizens. It is believed this change was due to the circumstances surrounding her current life and death.

The court process in Taraz has changed drastically since we were there last year. Our court process was 3 days from start to finish. One day for pre-court and 2 days later we had our official court hearing, observation and decision. The current process for these families has been weeks in duration. Pre-court one week, official court hearing another, observation yet another week sometimes and then weeks to give a decision. All of the families have been given the same reason for denial by 2 different judges which is the child/ren was not shown to enough Kazakh families before given up for international adoption. To our knowledge, there is no law that states the children have to be shown to a certain number of Kazakh families before they can be given up for international adoption. The requirement is that the children must be registered at the orphanage for 6 months before they can be given up for international adoption. The baby house officials were asked in our case if Lukas had been shown to Kazakh families. The response was several. No actual number was stated. Based on reports and news from other regions, Taraz appears to be the only region in Kazakhstan with this problem.

It is suspected that the municipal judges are acting on instructions from the Regional judge to deny all cases so that they must be appealed to the Regional judge at the adoptive parents request. Whether it is over zealous verification or corruption at play, only the judges involved know for sure. It seems highly suspect considering the Guardianship council and Baby House Officials all support the adoptions, all the paper work and documents for the adoptive parents have been approved by multiple ministry departments in Kazakstan, and all the childrens' paperwork and documents supposedly reviewed and approved. During the pre-court hearing the judges and prosecuter have all the documents and papers and the process, for us in hindsight, was a dress rehearsal for the official hearing. All the same questions were asked and answered both times. The officials should have known the answer to that question at the pre-court hearing which makes it appear to be a charade to go through the rest of the process if that is the reason for their denial. Their appear to be a few bad apples in Taraz.

This is what one of the families posted on their website:

"We are truly touched by the number of people who have contacted us about writing letters on our behalf.

After answering a lot of questions, I think I have narrowed down what should be included in a letter as they should be relatively short. The point is for the staffers to see a volume of inquiries on the issue and pass on the information to their bosses.

1) You are aware of the problems faced by M & R ....and their adoption in the Zhambyl region of Kazakhstan. There are many families facing the same issues. The Newtons have formally requested that Senator Amy Klobuchar's office intercede.

2) These families followed the laws of Kazakhstan while the Taraz Municipal court did not. Examples include: delaying court date assignments past the legal requirement, seeking out "witnesses" to undermine cases and illegally sharing confidential file information.

3) Even though the court extorted extra bribes from some families, they still rejected their cases.

4) All the cases have been rejected on a technicality (based upon info from the US Embassy in Almaty KZ). Kazakhstan has a requirement that children must be in the babyhouse for 6 months and during that time, only Kazakh families can meet the children for adoption. There is not a legal requirement stating how many families need to meet and reject a child before the child is eligible for foreign adoption. In many of the rejected cases, the babyhouse provided documentation that local families met and rejected the children. There is a logbook that is signed when parents meet children. The court ignored that testimony and chose to accept questionable testimony from their "witnesses".

5) The children are the ones who are suffering. The court requires parents to bond with the children as part of the adoption process and then undermine the bonding by unneeded delays. Parents and children are suffering extended absences as most parents need to be at home to work or care for other family members. These children will be US citizens and should be protected as such.

If you are in Klobuchar's district, just post that we have contacted them and you would appreciate them making a stronger effort in assisting us. (All they have done so far was send a "inquiry" to the US Embassy even though I provided them contact information for the person at the Embassy who is most familiar with our case).

Feel free to send letters to your elected officials and organizations you know that take an active role in children's rights. For example I found an organization that specializes in the rights of international children and adoption (jcics)."


The families harbor no ill feelings towards Kazakhstan or the Kazakh people who are for the most part very friendly and generous. The families are leaving no stone unturned in their attempts to bring these children home. The children are the ones who lose out in this situation. They have loving families longing to take them home and shower them with love and anything they need to live a happy, loving, fullfilled life and put their traumatic beginnings behind them. I don't recall Kazakh families lining up and beating the door down to adopt these children while we were there and I doubt that anything has changed inspite of the countries efforts to do so. Does it really matter where the family comes from as long as they are willing to give these children a home and loving family? I think not. A loving family life beats out institutional life every time in my book no matter how much the staff at the baby house care for the children.

So my humble request is that you join with us in lifting these families and the children they hope to adopt up in prayer. Pray that God give them the strength, courage and perserverance to get past this and that justice is done for all of the children and familes. May today there be peace within, may they trust God that they are exactly where they are meant to be. May they not foget the infinite possibilities that are born of their faith. May they remember that wherever they are and whatever they are facing...God knows and is with them in the mist of it all. And for the families who may not be believers, may God bless them in ways unknown to them through the power of the holy spirit and His infinite grace so that they too can feel the comfort of His loving arms in this time of trial. Pray that God moves in the hearts of the judge and prosecutor in a mighty way in the coming weeks as the remaining 3 get there decisions and the others appeal their cases to the higher court. And last but not least pray that God be with their extended families back home.