Adopted kids caught in bureaucratic net
Bay Area parents trying to bring Congo orphans to the United States
“More children are affected every day. The Congolese adoption process is not stopping — just the exit of children.”
— Kelly Dempsey, adoption lawyer
SANTA CRUZ— In many ways Naima Easter is like any other 8-yearold girl in Santa Cruz. She plays soccer, takes swimming lessons and loves to ride her bike. She smiles proudly while showing a visitor her colorful bedroom filled with books, toys and stuffed animals.
But Naima’s infectious smile fades when she points to the empty top mattress of her bunk bed and says, “Malia will take the top when she comes. It’s for her.”
Malia is Naima’s sister and the two children haven’t seen one another for nearly a year.
Adopted from the same orphanage in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the girls have become unwitting participants in a complicated dance of international passion and politics that has left them legally bound yet worlds apart.
“Malia is legally my daughter just like Naima,” explained their mother, Michelle Easter. “The Children’s Court in Kinshasa declared Malia my daughter on Dec. 19, 2012, but she hasn’t been allowed to leave the country.”
According to UNICEF, the security situation in the Democratic Repub-
lic of Congo remains volatile, creating mass displacement of residents. It is estimated there are more than 1 million orphans in the capital of Kinshasa alone, where health threats include malnutrition and epidemics.
The international adoption process includes multiple steps to ensure the health and safety of children. There are applications and interviews. There is an investigation process to verify orphan status. There are physicals to pass and entry visas and exit letters to obtain.
While their adoptions began at the same time, Malia’s case was not yet finalized when Naima was allowed to leave Kinshasa in August 2013. Naima and her mother left the country with heavy hearts but with the consolation of knowing the final member of their forever family would soon be joining them.
On Sept. 25, the Immigration and Emigration office of the Congolese government suddenly announced they would no longer issue exit permits for adoptees, the final document required for a child to leave the country. No reason was given at the time, but they have since cited concerns about the health and well-being of adopted children.
Malia is now one of 368 children legally adopted by Americans but “stuck” in the Congo, according to Kelly Dempsey, an international adoption lawyer with Both Ends Burning, an adoption advocacy organization. There are an additional 424 Congolese children with U.S. adoptions pending.
“More children are affected every day,” Dempsey said. “The Congolese adoption process is not stopping — just the exit of children, including those who are medically fragile and may not survive this process. It’s a very dysfunctional set of circumstances.”
For Holly and Mike Doden of San Francisco, the uncertainly feels unbearable at times. Their legally adopted son, Jephte, was 3 months old when they began the process almost two years ago.
During her last visit with Jephte, Holly was in the Congo for three months, assured an exit letter would be granted. When it became clear the letter was not coming, she placed her son in foster care and returned to the United States, where she has another child.
“If I had known that I couldn’t bring him home, I never would have spent that much time with him,” Holly said. “He learned to trust me and was calling me mommy. Then all of a sudden I had to leave him with people he didn’t even know. It’s unhealthy for him to attach and then have that attachment broken over and over again.”
In April, 171 members of Congress, including California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Representative Sam Farr, signed a letter imploring the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to work with the United States on a resolution. Secretary of State John Kerry also raised the issue during a May visit with President Joseph Kabila, during which Kerry pledged $30 million in additional funding from the United States on top of already substantial financial assistance. There has been no response.
“The failure here is in our diplomacy,” Dempsey asserted. “Families complied with all laws, completed valid, legal, binding adoptions, are being kept from fulfilling their obligations to these children and we are doing nothing to find out why. The only way to fix this is to make it a political priority. We need Secretary Kerry’s full attention on this issue and members of Congress actively working on a solution.”
Pressure from Dempsey’s organization and concerned parents has begun to have an effect.
In a written statement, Feinstein said, “I’m closely following the issue of adoptions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is affecting more than 20 California families. I support Secretary Kerry’s call for the Congolese to rapidly review their adoption process and lift the suspension on exit permits for adopted children. The DRC is punishing Congolese children who deserve loving parents, a safe home and, in some cases, anti-HIV medication. The DRC says it’s acting on behalf of these children, but continued delays are only making the situation worse.”
Farr is co-sponsoring a House resolution that recognizes the “significant financial investments” the U.S. has made in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The draft document “respectfully requests” that the Congolese government resume processing and issuing exit permits and encourages continued dialogue and cooperation between the two countries to improve the inter-country adoption process.
Such efforts are greatly appreciated by Easter, who acknowledges the Congolese have a right to protect their children.
“They may have correctly identified that the adoption system in Congo needs work and that is a good thing,” she said. “But what hasn’t happened is all of the parties haven’t come to the table to try and resolve this.”
As the wheels of political discourse slowly turn, Naima has settled into her new American life. Perched on the couch in her sunny Westside Santa Cruz home, she chats about sleepovers, birthday parties and a recent class field trip to Wilder Ranch.
When asked about Malia’s eventual arrival, she points to a photo taken back in Kinshasa of the two girls flanking their beaming mother and says, “It will be like that.”
Easter fights back tears looking at the happy trio in the photo.
“I do think Malia will be home with us someday,” she said. “I want this to be over for all three of us. And when that happens I want her to know how hard we fought for her. I want her to know that she wasn’t forgotten.”
On May 26, the Congolese General Direction of Migration informed members of the diplomatic corps that it would issue exit permits to 62 children adopted by foreigners whose cases fully conform to existing Congolese adoption laws.