An
American mother's decision to 'return' her adopted
son
to his Russian homeland has created consternation
and
controversy in both the United States and Russia.
Interfax, Russia
The Adoption of a
Child is 'Not an eBay Purchase!'
"We
and our American colleagues have to think about signing an agreement strictly
defining the duties of parents who adopt a child from Russia, and create opportunities
to monitor such families. … We have to understand what's happening with our
children, or we really will have to abandon the practice of allowing the
adoption of Russian children by American parents."
What could have possessed the adoptive American mother of this Russian child to send him back alone on a long-haul flight from Tennessee To Moscow? Investigators haven't yet said.
Moscow: The case involving
Artem Saveliev, a diminutive Russian citizen adopted by an American mother and
then returned to his homeland, has again brought into sharp focus the question
of mechanisms and procedures that must accompany the process of international
adoption. Spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, Andrej Nesternko, said that during
upcoming talks in Moscow with Michael Kurby of the U.S. State Department, the
possibility of concluding a treaty on international adoption would be discussed.
[Editor's Note: Tori Hansen, Artem Saveliev's adoptive American mother, claims the boy threatened to burn down her house and kill her other children.]
“This meeting, which will be
held in the coming days, will bring together representatives from the Education
Ministry, Justice Ministry, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the Duma
Committee on Families, Women and Youth," said Nesternko, during a briefing
in Moscow on Thursday. During the talks, according to Nesternko, the Russian
side intends to raise the fundamental need for, “the immediate conclusion of a
bilateral treaty with the United States on the issue of international adoptions.”
[Editor's Note: The talks were postponed until
April 29-30].
“According to the Russian
side, only a bilateral agreement that includes an effective mechanism for
monitoring the living conditions of children adopted from Russia by U.S. and
Russian authorities would provide a reliable guarantee that such tragedies, as
well as similar issues that have occurred, will not be repeated,” Nesterenko
said. He added that further adoptions of Russian children by U.S. citizens would
be possible only if such an agreement was signed.
Earlier, it was reported that
Michael Kirby, the deputy assistant secretary of state for consular affairs,
intends to visit Russia to discuss the fate of 7-year-old Artem Saveliev, who
was returned to Russia by his adoptive American parents from the state of
Tennessee [see video below]. The adoptive family returned the boy on a plane to
Moscow alone, with a note saying that they rejected the adoption. This, in
turn, triggered the indignation of the Russian public. The Investigative
Committee of the Russian Federation’s Prosecutor General’s Office has begun examining
the facts surrounding the incident. For his part, Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov announced that Russia intends to freeze the process of adoption of
Russian children by U.S. citizens until a proper bilateral treaty can be worked
out.
Following the case of Artem
Saveliev, statements about the necessity of such a treaty between Russia and
the United States were heard from many quarters. Russian Federation President
Dmitry Medvedev also commented on the issue.
“It seems to me that given
the negative experience that has accumulated in this area, we and our American
colleagues have to think about signing some intergovernmental agreement, perhaps
strictly defining the duties of parents who adopt a child from Russia, and
create opportunities to monitor such families,” Medvedev said during
an interview with American channel ABC. "We have to understand
what's happening with our children, or we will have to abandon the
practice of allowing the adoption of Russian children by American parents,” stressed
the president.
American families adopted
over 14,000 children from Russia over the past five years - and more than 1,500
in 2009. Among the countries American families prefer to adopt from, Russia is
the third most popular. On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Beyrle
discussed American readiness to start negotiations.
“I think talking about this
problem is long overdue, and we are ready to start as soon as next week,” the
ambassador told journalists in Barnaul on Thursday. According to Beyrle, discussions
with the Russian government on the future of an agreement on safeguards at the
time of adoption have already begun. “We are actively discussing an agreement with
the Russian government to guarantee the living conditions of adopted children
from both countries,” said the ambassador.
[Editor's Note: All English
quotes in this article are translated].
Let's note that despite recent
events, Russians continue to believe that there is no crisis in regard to
international adoption. As the results of a survey conducted by SuperJob.ru
show, 68 percent of respondents are against a ban on international adoptions
because this would eliminate an opportunity for many children to lead a stable
life. Meanwhile, 17 percent of Russians supported a ban and 15 percent were undecided.
Respondents were also asked what, in their opinion, was the reason for the
frequent irresponsibility on the part of foreigners who adopt Russian children.
The majority of respondents (40 percent) believe that adoption and child
protection agencies don’t do enough monitoring of the fate of Russia's adopted
children. Among the reasons, 38 percent listed the “imperfection of Russian
legislation regulating adoption by foreign parents.” Another 37 percent believe
it to be a matter of a “sense of impunity and corruption in the preparation of
documents for adoption.” In addition, Russians also named the “lack of
preparation on the part of adoptive parents” (28 percent), and “disrespect for
Russia” (23 percent). At the same time, according to the survey, 18 percent of
respondents believe that the “majority of foreigners treat adopted Russian
children well, and that the instances of maltreatment are rare.”
As far the American side,
user comments after an
article on the CNN Web site on Russia's temporary freeze on contacts
with the U.S. regarding adoption are somewhat telling. Overall, the comments
can be divided in two groups:
The first group is comprised
of people who believe that this decision is a major blow to orphaned Russian children,
who badly need families and more comfortable lives. “Hello Russia, you aren't
hurting the United States, you are hurting the children who need a home,” says
one commenter. Among this group were people with the experience of adopting
from Russia: “We adopted a little girl from Yekaterinburg. I don’t want to make
excuses for the mother who returned the child [Tori Hansen, Artem Saveliev’s
adopted mother], but I have even less sympathy for Russian officials. It's well
known that getting complete information about the child you are adopting is
practically impossible … My advice - if you want to adopt a child, don't try doing
it in Russia.”
Let's note that in case of
Artem Saveliev, Russian officials insist that the boy is perfectly healthy, despite
the fact that his grandmother spoke of his erratic behavior. But as is pointed
out in a number of American forums, one of the main problems with adopting children
from Russia is that prospective parents never receive complete information
about the child - particularly about its psychological health. Within some
of these discussion “threads,” one can find listed the most common
neurological and psychosomatic disorders of children from Russia that had to be
dealt with by specialists. In addition to these, a typical complication is the
manifestation of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome which includes stunted development,
both physical and mental, problems with memory and attention span,
socialization and deviations in appearance. Users of specialized forums - who
typically are people who have adopted children from Russia - are direct in
their advice: “Adoption from Russia is not for fun and it isn't for everyone!”
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
The second group of CNN
commenters pointed out that the problem isn't the countries, but the people,
who have to be fully aware of what they are embarking on when adopting a child.
One user writes: “An adopted child becomes part of your family. You have adopted
him. Adoption is not an eBay purchase - you don't have 30 days to return the "merchandize."
