The US State Department has posted new information on international adoption from Nepal in the country section of their international adoption site.

Framed in a Question and Answer format, it addresses the current status of adoptions in Nepal, the US Embassy's role now for parents who are in the process, the present suspension of adoption imposed by the Government of Nepal, and what is expected to happen when adoptions resume.

Also of great interest, this article from the Nepali Times on internatinal... more

Time to clean up the desk again, so today' s post will be bits and pieces of news I've been collecting to pass along, starting with an announcement from Ethica about an up-coming conference, co-sponsored by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, to be held in Washington DC in October. The topic is "Adoption Ethics and Accountability". For more info, see Ethica's... more

Continued from here where we've been underwhelmed by "facts" and UNICEF ....

Okay. I am NOT saying there have never been any corrupt dealings in any Nepali adoptions. Nepal, like most of our kids' birth countries functions on a level that is much less transparent than most would like ... as do all countries, for that matter. But when stories appear under headlines that shout, ... more

Continued from here where we were about to add two to two ...

Could it be that here is where the rubber meets the road?

As an international conference on adoption of children began in Kathmandu on Sunday, the U.N. children's wing UNICEF deplored what it called an ''unfortunate growth'' of an industry centering on adoption.

Profit,... more

Continued from here ...

Now, some of the questions that pop into my mind when reading the stories about Nepali adoption that are cropping up just about the time a conference on international adoption is to begin ... How does someone "pose as British parents wishing to adopt a Nepali child"? Did they show up at the "Child NGO Federation" complete with dossier, including a homestudy, police clearance and all other other documents... more

Is there anything suspect in the timing of a story coming out of Nepal that casts international adoption in a negative light coinciding with the first International Conference of Inter-Country Adoption in Kathmandu? Pardon my cynicism, but I can't help but notice the potential for not-so-hidden agendas in them thar Himalayas.

Was it coincidence that had reporter Thomas Bell writing a story for the Nepali Times that that starts out like this:

In... more

Continued from here ...

Nepal, on the other hand, started out the year very badly.

Before he was ousted in a democratic revolution, King Gyanendra had put the very existence of the independent press under threat. Several hundred journalists were arrested, beaten up, censored or threatened by rampant... more

Continued from here ...

And another UN article, this one from the UN PR machine, for sure, talks about improvements in lives of "untouchable" women".

Ms. Sada belongs to the musahar caste – the name literally means ‘rat eaters’ – who are among the most disadvantaged groups in Nepal. They are considered ‘untouchables’, which in the heavily... more

A bit in the news has me thinking about Nepal today, so I thought I'd hop around my desk and put together all the notes I've been collecting on that country for a while for families with connections, or hopeful connections, to Nepal. Today's new from Nepal is not good. The UN is "deeply concerned" about increasing violence in the southern plains, Nepal's breadbasket. So far, seven people have died... more

Continued from the previous post ...

Nepalese responding to the situation through the BBC's website are cautiously hopeful.

"I am happy, but we have learned in Nepal that the future is always uncertain."

And:

"We are so happy at this news. But we will hold our breath until there is real... more