Written by a thoughtful mom, and I changed it so that it would say things like: These children instead of Our children and so on, so that you, my friends and family, could print and send it out for me...since I won't be trying to send or print anything here in Nepal...if in fact, that's where I am this Christmas.
President Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
A Christmas Wish
74 American families are facing a heart-breaking holiday season this year due to U.S. policy in Nepal. Some families are stranded in Kathmandu - many since August - as they await visas for their newly adopted children. Other parents remain in the U.S. while their newly adopted children stagnate in orphanages in Nepal. These parents wait helplessly for visas knowing that every day their child spends in an orphanage is a developmental disaster.
These children need to come home to America. Some of the children awaiting visas have developmental delays due to malnutrition or institutionalization. Other children have diseases caused by nutritional deficits. Orphanages struggle to provide the children two meals per day - most can't afford to serve meat, fresh fruit or milk. These kids are surviving on rice, lentils, and unsafe water.
The families farthest along in the process have spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal and investigation fees and on extended in-country stays. This is in addition to the not inconsiderable costs to adopt internationally. At least one family in the group is being forced to sell their house to bring home their daughter. Others risk losing their jobs or income as they stay in Nepal for an extended period. Several are taking out loans and/or soliciting donations from friends and families. The policies of the US Government are placing these new families at severe financial risk on their return in an already tough economy – this cannot be in anyone’s best interest.
They are undergoing tremendous emotional, financial and, in some cases, physical hardship and all for one reason: these children. These children are truly abandoned. We cannot give up on them and leave them in orphanages in a country that is not only impoverished but also has a caste system which ensures that these orphans, as casteless adults, will face rampant discrimination.
Please, it is in your power to grant our Christmas wish. The U.S. Embassy in Nepal has now completed all investigations and though they will not confirm this directly, what we can gather is that NOT ONE of these cases revealed any evidence of fraud or child trafficking. They are denying our children visas because they can’t prove there WASN’T fraud. The assumption is – against all evidence to the contrary -- that all documentation from the orphanages, police and hospitals is fraudulent. A conspiracy this large would be impossible to keep secret (just as it was no secret in Vietnam and Cambodia), yet no evidence of money changing hands, documents being forged or children being sold has been found. For those families that haven't yet spent the tens of thousands of dollars it will take to adjudicate cases through USCIS in New Delhi, let them save that money for college funds instead.
Please grant them a Christmas wish to be able to bring their children home this month. Please grant these children the visas they need to travel home to America.
Thank you.
Signature
FAX: 202-456-2461
Other important people:
First Lady Michelle Obama / The White House
/ 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
/ Washington, DC 20500 / FAX: 202-456-2461
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton / U.S. Department of State / 2201 C Street NW / Washington, DC 20520
Secretary Janet Napolitano
/ Department of Homeland Security /
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
/ Washington, DC 20528
U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (Colorado) / 600 Grant Street
Suite 202
/ Denver, CO 80203
/ Phone: (303) 844-4988
Fax: (303) 844-4996
Senator Michael Bennett (Colorado) / 2300 15th St., Suite 450 / Denver, Colorado 80202 / Phone: (303) 455-7600 Toll Free: (866) 455-9866 Fax: (303) 455-8851
Senator Mark Udall (Colorado) /999 Eighteenth Street
Suite 1525 North Tower
/ Denver, CO 80202 / P: 303-650-7820 fax is 303-293-0507
Senator John Kerry / One Bowdoin Square
Tenth Floor
/ Boston, MA 02114
/(617) 565-8519
Senator Jim DeMint / 112 Custom House / 200 East Bay St / Charleston, SC 29401 / Phone: 843-727-4525 / Fax: 843-722-4923
 |
| The photo you can affix to the letter |
No comments:
Post a Comment