I don't want to bury the lede, so I'll just get right to the point: This may very well be our final passport update, because K's passport has been printed!
The last few weeks have been extremely rocky and emotionally difficult. Seeing a picture of our little love's passport this week, with her new full name, and bright shining eyes (what a big girl she is!) was a gut-wrenching relief.
Since my last post on 1/31/19, there were more starts, stops, and tears than I can count. What a rookie I was when I noted in that post that the worst of this certainly had to be behind us. Obviously, I was wrong, and should probably just keep my mouth shut with my assumptions and guesses.
Here's a quick run down of what's been going on:
The last few weeks have been extremely rocky and emotionally difficult. Seeing a picture of our little love's passport this week, with her new full name, and bright shining eyes (what a big girl she is!) was a gut-wrenching relief.
Since my last post on 1/31/19, there were more starts, stops, and tears than I can count. What a rookie I was when I noted in that post that the worst of this certainly had to be behind us. Obviously, I was wrong, and should probably just keep my mouth shut with my assumptions and guesses.
Here's a quick run down of what's been going on:
2/7/19: We learned that our agency, WACAP, is merging with another well-known agency, Holt International. Holt was on our short-list of agencies, and we have trust in their experience and knowledge. But, this could not have come at a worse time for us, personally.
(My reaction: "OF COURSE. YEP. THIS IS GREAT. COOL. EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED RIGHT NOW.")
Over the last 3+ years, we have built a relationship with WACAP and our program manager, and we learned that she is leaving the agency entirely, and has taken a job elsewhere. It's difficult to describe the feeling of being handed over to a new agency, knowing that we'll need to fill out some more paperwork (COOL), get to know a new program manager, and hope that they care about us as much as our past program manager has. Because she's a pretty great human, our WACAP program manager has offered to provide intermittent support on nights and weekends, to help us through the final stages. This is above and beyond, but is a testament to her commitment, and we could not be more grateful.
(My reaction: "OF COURSE. YEP. THIS IS GREAT. COOL. EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED RIGHT NOW.")
Over the last 3+ years, we have built a relationship with WACAP and our program manager, and we learned that she is leaving the agency entirely, and has taken a job elsewhere. It's difficult to describe the feeling of being handed over to a new agency, knowing that we'll need to fill out some more paperwork (COOL), get to know a new program manager, and hope that they care about us as much as our past program manager has. Because she's a pretty great human, our WACAP program manager has offered to provide intermittent support on nights and weekends, to help us through the final stages. This is above and beyond, but is a testament to her commitment, and we could not be more grateful.
2/14/19: Civil and political unrest hit a new high in Haiti. It began around February 7th (well, last year, really) and we'd been following it closely. Much
of the day-to-day life in Haiti has paused, as masses take to the
streets to protest government corruption and insane inflation. On this day, the US raised the Travel Advisory to level 4 ("Do Not Travel"), due to the safety concerns caused by the widespread protests.
I won't do justice explaining all that has led to this, but I highly recommend taking a moment to do some googling about the history of the government (led by both a president and prime minister), the PetroCaribe deal, and the extreme economic inflation. It's disappointing that this is not more widely publicized in US news circuits; many friends I spoke with had no idea anything was going on. It only seems to pop up in the form of sensationalized stories about violence. But, I digress.
Here are a couple of sources that explain some of the recent protests.
PBS
Here are a couple of sources that explain some of the recent protests.
PBS
2/15/19: We learned that Embassy personnel and their families have been asked to evacuate, and the adoption visa processing has been suspended. We know that the passport printing has stopped as well, so this means that our last two steps to finalize our adoption will not be possible until the country is safe enough to return to a semblance of normalcy. Through this, we have felt some comfort in knowing that K's creche is fairly remote, and heard word that things were okay in her area.
After this announcement, we wept. I prayed. We watched from afar, feeling helpless, sad, scared, and concerned. As the protests continued, the president and prime minister did nothing of value to hear the concerns of the people or move towards meaningful resolution. We continued to read stories of people being unable to purchase food, water, or petrol. This beautiful country, these amazing people, they've had enough.
Since this time, a relative sense of quiet has resume. It's a tenuous quiet, from what we understand, because nothing has actually been resolved. Protests could resume at any time.
After this announcement, we wept. I prayed. We watched from afar, feeling helpless, sad, scared, and concerned. As the protests continued, the president and prime minister did nothing of value to hear the concerns of the people or move towards meaningful resolution. We continued to read stories of people being unable to purchase food, water, or petrol. This beautiful country, these amazing people, they've had enough.
Since this time, a relative sense of quiet has resume. It's a tenuous quiet, from what we understand, because nothing has actually been resolved. Protests could resume at any time.
2/25/19: We see an announcement that the Embassy will resume visa processing. Tacked on to this announcement is a warning that travel is still not recommended. This could mean that visas are completed, but families cannot travel to pick up their children. We don't know what this means for us; we are still waiting.
2/28/19: Late in the evening, after tucking Eisley into bed, I settled on the couch to decompress from the day. I glanced at my phone and saw an email from our former program manager. This was unusual, as we typically only hear from them during business hours. This means I'm on alert during the day, vigilantly keeping an eye on my inbox from morning to afternoon. But, once I leave the office, if we haven't heard anything, I assume it was another lost day, and I try to breathe until the next morning dawns.
I opened the email and realized she was emailing because this was the big one: K's passport is done.
Up Next: Visa
We've reached the final stage: visa. Our agency has told us that this stage is the only one that seems to move with any sense of consistency. If this holds true, K's visa could be printed within a week. Once her visa is printed, we can bring her home.
But, because nothing can go smoothly, there are a few potential hitches we're keeping in mind.
1. The US Travel Advisory is still at a Level 4, and we don't know if we'll be allowed to travel, or when the Travel Advisory will be reevaluated.
Technically, we can book flights directly through airlines, but major travel search engines (Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia) have removed Haiti from their search filters. For a short time, at least one of these search engines posted a message that traveling to Port Au Prince is illegal, which is wholly untrue and infuriating. This has since been removed, and now the airport codes are simply not recognized. This is already creating negative impacts on the Haitian economy, and likely will continue to impact tourism for an extended period of time, even when things are safe.
2. While we might be able to book a flight, our travel into the country could put undue strain on the resources of the creche. They provide us with transportation, food, water, and a space to stay. While we pay for this through our adoption agency, this is still a difficult time, and the focus should be on caring for the kids.
3. There are undoubtedly other families who are also in limbo, and eager to travel to pick-up their little love(s) too. The creche only has two rooms to house families, so it's unclear how this will be handled. We would happily rent a space nearby for the week that we will spend in-country, but don't know if this will be an option.
In the meantime, thank you for your prayers, good thoughts, good vibes, compassion, kindness, sensitivity, hugs, and high fives. Keep it coming.
2/28/19: Late in the evening, after tucking Eisley into bed, I settled on the couch to decompress from the day. I glanced at my phone and saw an email from our former program manager. This was unusual, as we typically only hear from them during business hours. This means I'm on alert during the day, vigilantly keeping an eye on my inbox from morning to afternoon. But, once I leave the office, if we haven't heard anything, I assume it was another lost day, and I try to breathe until the next morning dawns.
I opened the email and realized she was emailing because this was the big one: K's passport is done.
Up Next: Visa
We've reached the final stage: visa. Our agency has told us that this stage is the only one that seems to move with any sense of consistency. If this holds true, K's visa could be printed within a week. Once her visa is printed, we can bring her home.
But, because nothing can go smoothly, there are a few potential hitches we're keeping in mind.
1. The US Travel Advisory is still at a Level 4, and we don't know if we'll be allowed to travel, or when the Travel Advisory will be reevaluated.
Technically, we can book flights directly through airlines, but major travel search engines (Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia) have removed Haiti from their search filters. For a short time, at least one of these search engines posted a message that traveling to Port Au Prince is illegal, which is wholly untrue and infuriating. This has since been removed, and now the airport codes are simply not recognized. This is already creating negative impacts on the Haitian economy, and likely will continue to impact tourism for an extended period of time, even when things are safe.
2. While we might be able to book a flight, our travel into the country could put undue strain on the resources of the creche. They provide us with transportation, food, water, and a space to stay. While we pay for this through our adoption agency, this is still a difficult time, and the focus should be on caring for the kids.
3. There are undoubtedly other families who are also in limbo, and eager to travel to pick-up their little love(s) too. The creche only has two rooms to house families, so it's unclear how this will be handled. We would happily rent a space nearby for the week that we will spend in-country, but don't know if this will be an option.
In the meantime, thank you for your prayers, good thoughts, good vibes, compassion, kindness, sensitivity, hugs, and high fives. Keep it coming.
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