The drama is still not over

Just when we thought that all of the conflict and turmoil was more or less over in Guatemala, we have started the new year with a whole new batch of complications.

The following is a letter we got from our agency yesterday:

Subject: Update about the adoption law - Jan 2, 2008

Last week we filed an amparo (legal resource to stop a threat to a constitutional
right) to protect the notaries from the elimination of the notarial process of
adoption,  but unfortunately, the lawyer who reviewed it, without asking anyone else,
 decided to change some vital parts of the petition, that caused it to be rejected
at once by the Constitutional Court.  Right away,  I printed the original version of
the amparo and this time it went to the CC without any changes, on December 28th.
The CC should have ruled that very same day,  accepting the petition, requesting 
the Congress to send an inform about the facts of the case,  and granting (or not)
the suspension of the law. Instead of doing so, the  CC notified us  today that it
only accepted the petition  of amparo (big step), but neglected to request the inform
from Congress and to rule about the suspension of the adoption  law. The CC also
requested us to let the court know about the possible interest that the entities
that we requested to have as interested third parties,  may have in the amparo.  We
filed a brief today, stating the  interest of  the professional entities who have a
vested interest in the outcome of the amparo  and pointing out that the CC neglected
to request the Congress' inform and to decide about the suspension of the law. We
believe that the CC is trying as hard as they can to avoid having to suspend the law
and that is why they also delayed the order to Congress.  But skirting the legal
issues won't solve the problem of the CC . Eventually they will have to rule on the
legal issues.  If they reject  the amparo, we are poised to   file as many
constitutional challenges as we can, to take down that awful law. Meanwhile, we will
try to work with the new congress, where the political forces have shifted  after the
 elections, and two thirds of the congressmen are new people, to pass a law that
would keep the good of the current system and the good of the Hague Convention, to
allow us to keep helping children to have families who love them.

The PGN is refusing to accept any cases,  old or  new,  under the argument that the
cases must be registered with the Central Authority, which of course, doesn't exist,
and very well could  be that it won't  ever be  established, because after all, they
don't want us to finish the "in process" adoptions.  Bienestar Social is trying to
get an inventory of all the children at the hogars and of their situation,  because
they are getting ready for a hostile takeover of all the children, after the 30 days
are over and we failed to register those cases with an nonexistent central authority.
We must start raising the public outcry, because this is way different than what they
offered to the US, and to us. 

Seems that the director of the hogar in Guatemala of Holt's is the designated member
by Bienestar Social  of the BOD of the Central Authority. If that is so, the plan is
clear. Snatch as many children from the private hogars  as possible and accredit only
Holts and a couple of other adoption agencies, to send all the children to them. 

We will  see tomorrow what the CC  says about the brief that we filed today, and if
the law is suspended or not. If it is not, we will know that they are playing hardball
and we will react accordingly. 

Happy New Year to all of you, and don't give up. This is very far from being over

Susana

I have to be honest, I don't completely understand what all of it means, but the danger isn't over yet. Please be praying for us and all the other cases waiting to be completed and babies who are still waiting to come home! Please be praying for all of the cases and children in Guatemala, that these problems will be worked out and that the transition into the new laws will be quick and easy, that all of the cases will be able to be completed without any problem and that God will keep a fence of protection around all of the hogars.

I feel confident that God will move and work it all out! I am fighting to trust in Him and not worry, because He is the only one with control in this situation, and He is more powerful than any government or authority. Please pray for our children and our peace of mind as we continue to wait for our children!