[xilitla]

My heart goes out to you.....my hubby and I just returned from Sri Lanka, unsuccessful. The new commissioner's name escapes me, but it is Mrs. Jayasekara who interprets the entire country's adoption policy; she was retired and they asked her to return because no-one knows what's going on. The "staff" at the Commissioner's office is on strike - ergo they spend the entire day reading newspapers and racing forms. There are inconsistencies and LIES....the Commissioner himself says there are LOTS of children; Mrs. Jayasekara claims there are no children. We still wonder what happened to the 500 children who WERE available for adoption at Nayakakanda in December, but had "disappeared" when we went in January. We saw some of the children - being put to work. Official word says these children were ALL adopted by Sri Lankans; I doubt that...these are shaky times in SL and people there are not running to adopt. The other thing is this - you WILL get a child from Sri Lanka if you wait 2 years - Mrs. Jayasekara will assign you a dying child or one with TWO holes in the heart. We all need to form an Internaional Human Rights protest before it's too late for the children there. Cristina

[dhama]

I am so sorry to hear about your situation. The 2 yr wait , is it only for the foreigners ?We were born in Sri Lanka, but now we are US citizens. So, I don`t know whether our situation is any different. If you know anything, please let me know. thanks.

[xilitla]

I cannot say for sure if the 2 year wait is for foreign-born or SL-born. The new office has moved to: 150A Nawala Rd., Nugegoda and they have no phone. I do know that any children they DO give to those holding a foreign passport (be it 1-1/2 to 2 yr. wait) will be extremely unhealthy. They say they have the child's best interest in mind - but one can see instantly (staff having the audacity to read newspapers and fill out racing forms in that office) that their interests do NOT lie in the children, but in their own monetary interests. One can also see that the reason it takes 1-2 years is because no-one is actually WORKING in that office; the files just sit on a desk and are shuffled. I wish some Human Rights organizations would investigate, because the children are the ones suffering. Like yourselves, SL is the country where I grew up, but I strongly urge you to look at the US State Dept. issuance of orphan visas from Sri Lanka webpage.....ONLY ONE ORPHAN VISA was issued from 1997 to the present.....Sri Lanka, shame on you!!! in 6-1/2 years only ONE Sri Lankan orphan made it to USA. The problem is not with the US Embassy (they were willing to do cartwheels and help in every possible way) in Colombo - the PROBLEM is the Sri Lankan Commissioner's Office system. We have not given up either. A possible election in April may change things, you know. Good luck to you too; Cristina

[dhama]

Did they actually tell you that , only unhealthy kids are available for foreigners??? I don`t believe ,that all the healthy ones are being adopted by Sri Lankans. As far as I know SL people are not known for adopting orphans. I have heard that when kids do not get adopted they are sent to state homes and once they are there, they are not available for adoption. We sent our application 9 mts ago and haven`t heard anything from there. We tried calling but, nobody answered. If you get the new NO, please let me know.thanks.

[xilitla]

Oh no - they would NEVER publically admit that they only adopt out the unhealthy, dying children (neither would they ever admit publically that files sit on desks for YEARS while they read newspapers and fill out racing forms). But if you are observant, listen well and pay attention in that office (AND take the time to talk to the sad-faced foreigners who came to adopt and were sadly disappointed or those who waited 1-2 years and were offered a child with rhenal failure or 2 holes in the heart) , you will quickly SEE the pattern there.

The way they put it is that there is a "shortage" of children, which is not true at all; there are more children than they know what to do with - but WHERE these healthy children are all going remains to be seen. In our numerous visits to that office - we did not see one single Sri Lankan family applying for adoption.

If we hear of a phone number for the Nawala Rd. office, we will post it. Don't give up hope - a possible election in Sri Lanka in April might change everything for the better (it certainly could not get WORST as far as children's welfare is concerned). And maybe if ENOUGH of us call some attention to this plight - perhaps it might SHAME them into acting more swiftly and humanely.
Cristina

[rj_keaton]

Thanks for the information from your Colombo visit. While this is alarming, somehow it is not surprising. In April 2002 my wife and I visited three childrens homes which were full of healthy kids. All this just makes me more determined.

[xilitla]

And we also refuse to give up....the children there need good homes. Here is Adoption Rule number 12 from the adoption page of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington D.C., copied and pasted:

"The maximum number of adoptions that can be allowed during each calendar year will be gazetted by the Hon. Minister and the Sri Lankan Missions abroad will be kept informed every year of such ceiling."

So - it would be interesting to know what the "ceiling" is....ONE child per year? TWO? And it would be better still if we could persuade the Sri Lankan govt. to change that ceiling.

The quality of the AIR alone in Colombo is reason enough for the children to be allowed to leave. Air pollution (from diesal buses, factories and an overabundance of vehicles, period) has grown to epidemic proportions. Lung and respiratory diseases are at a paramount.

[Rebecca 18]

Hi everyone

so sorry to see many loving propective parents having such a tough time! i was adopted by two srilankans 25 years ago and have been brought up in the UK. I did however try to get information as to my birth parents which hAs been a very very long struggle, seeing they are very slow and unhelpful. I did however manage to get myself in to see the Commissioner at child services amongst many other governmental officials , including going into court archives. I will warn you now though that do not expect to get much reply from the commissioner or his office they arent helpful and need constant persistance. i was literally at the office everyday !!! . I do have his direct email address if required! the SLOW TRAIN IS NOT THE WORD , LET ALONE FRUSTRATION .......
to all the srilankans on the message boards...i think you know how the systme works don there!!! and you need to be there personally!

i wish you all the best in your adoptions and want to reassure you that this is great thing opportunity you are giving a child i am a livign example!

[Rebecca 18]

i have only just read xilitas posts...i too was first brushed off to see mrs Jaysekra who too basically lied to me and told me they had a flood in 1998 which destoryed all their documents....in fact to be honest i think i shook the whole probation office up because i may have been the first child to go back after 25 years and demand ...and believe in me i kicked up more than a fuss and hence finally saw the commisioner.

there is an organisation called sarvodaya suwa setha and they have a number of children and are very interested in adopting out the children they have. my husband and myself have vistied there and have met the director of that home. they are very willing to liase with individuals if that helps !

[Tawnya]

My husband is from Sri Lanka. We are interested in adopting a child of Sri Lankan ancestry. We have investigated adoption from Sri Lanka. We are wondering if anyone has tried adopting a Canadian child of Sri Lankan ancestry?

[Tawnya]

Are there any lobbying groups or other political groups associated with the rights of children who might be able to help us in our quest to adopt Sri Lankan children from Sri Lanka, Canada, or other countries world-wide? The reason is it is very difficult for people to adopt from one country to another is because of the Hague Convention, which was developed and implemented to protect children from exploitation and abuse. It is a much needed convention on the protection of children's rights.
The Hague Convention was initially ratified/accepted by three countries with Sri Lanka being one of the first three countries. Other countries world-wide have accepted/ratified this convention including Canada, thus making it virtually impossible for children to be adopted outside their country of origin to people of citizenship of countries that are not the child's country of origin. Unfortunately, for children of Sri Lankan ancestry and/or citizenship who reside world-wide, not just in Sri Lanka, children who are up for adoption may not have a chance to be adopted. It is particularly sad given that there are Sri Lankan families of citizenship of various countries world-wide prevented from adopting these children for fear that these children would be exploited and ironically thinking that Sri Lankan families world-wide might not be knowledgeable and not practicing of the children's cultural background. Given that Sri Lanka has multiple ethnic groups, languages, and religions, it is very likely that even in Sri Lanka that many children put up for adoption would not be educated and raised according to their biological family's ethnic, cultural, or religioius background. I think that inadvertently through the Hague Convention that there is an injustice done to the children of Sri Lankan ancestry and heritage given the wide-spread diaspora of Sri Lankans world-wide. Many of us want to adopt children from Sri Lanka or of Sri Lankan ancestry, yet must do so in our current country of citizenship, which may be difficult given that Sri Lankan ancestry is not always recognized by other countries as an ethnic group and given that the Sri Lankan group might be very small and thus the number of children up for adoption might be also very small. It is also ironic that if a family member like my husband's brother wanted to put his child up for adoption that we would not be eligible given that my husband and his brother are of two different citizenship countries. If my husband's cousins in countries such as Canada and the U.K. wanted us to adopt their children, it would again be difficult given the Hague Convention. The Hague Convention did not take into consideration the fact that for some countries that there is a large migration world-wide, which necessitates changing the language of the convention by stating that a child preference for adoption is to country of origin AND to persons of ancestry or prior citizenship of the country of origin AND to immediate and extended family members regardless of citizenship. Any suggestions on lobbying groups?

[JodiLees]

My husband and I are also interested in adopting from Sri Lanka. My husband was born in Sri Lanka but has since become a U.S. citizen (I am also a U.S. citizen).

Has anyone received any better news since these last notices were posted? We've just completed the home study and sent off the I600A, but have gone no further as of yet. Should we abandon all hope and try to adopt from another country besides Sri Lanka?

I had no idea that there were all of these problems. Help, has anyone made any progress?

Thanks!

Jodi

[JodiLees]

My husband and I are also interested in adopting from Sri Lanka. My husband was born in Sri Lanka but has since become a U.S. citizen (I am also a U.S. citizen).

Has anyone received any better news since these last notices were posted? We've just completed the home study and sent off the I600A, but have gone no further as of yet. Should we abandon all hope and try to adopt from another country besides Sri Lanka?

I had no idea that there were all of these problems. Help, has anyone made any progress?

Thanks!

Jodi

[shammi]

I just read your posting on adoption in Sri Lanka. This made me quite sad, especially because my husband and I just sent out our adoption package to this country. I know things have changed since the tsunami and hopefully they would be more receptive to allowing foreign nationals to adopt these children rather than them living their whole life in an orphanage. I was born in Sri Lanka and my husband is not a Sri lankan. I will let everyone know what happened with our journey in the near future.

[2ndchance]

Did you give up the idea of adopting from SL after your received the letter from the Commissioner or did you try other avenues

Isn't it disappointing that they make it so difficult to adopt from SL inspite of all the orphanges being over flooded with kids