An FYI: My Internet access has been, shall we say, unreliable lately? That's putting is as nicely as possible. The consequence of this is that I have not been posting as much as usual, my research has been limited, and I have not been using as many images as I normally do. I keep being assured that it will be back to full form 'any minute now'. You'll know when it is, as my blogs will be more frequent, and more interesting.

Conflicts cause orphans. That's not news at all, but it's good to post reminders of how this works from time to time.

Official sources on the Pakistani side of Kashmir are ... more

In what appears to be reaction to focus on female infanticide in India, the government has announced that it will be building orphanages for the excess of unwanted baby girls.

Dubbed the "cradle scheme," the plan is an attempt to slow the practice that international groups say has killed more than 10 million female fetuses in the last two decades, leading to an alarming imbalance in the ratio between males and females... more

There's adoption-related international news from all over, so here's some of it ...

Last week saw "Adoption Consciousness Week" observed in Philippines, and Holt International worked with the Department of Social Welfare's InterCountry Adoption Board in getting information out and about.

Hopefully, the Philippines will realize the need to immediately provide nurturing families for starving children rather than allowing their delayed development and consequential retardation in horrifying orphanages, hazardous streets and contaminating prisons. As of the... more

Continued from here ... Here's an article looking at new figures from India's National Family Health Survey that indicates nearly half of that country's children are malnourished.

With about 46 percent of children underweight _ a negligible improvement over the last survey, conducted in 1998-99 _ India is in the... 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, where I've been writing about the nuts and bolts of adopting from India ...

After the the dossier docs are submitted, a No Objection Certificate must be awared by CARA.

If all goes well, this should be how the process goes:

1. After they receive the relevant documents the Indian placement agency will register the name of the potential foreign parents in a register meant for them.

2. They will compare the Home Study Report with the Child Study Reports they maintain and secure suitable... more

There have been a few questions on the forums lately about adoption from India, and those have inspired me to post some general information about the process.

First, independent adoption is not allowed in the Indian system and any personal interaction between an individual overseas and an Indian agency involved in adoption is forbidden. An agency must be used, and the agency must be one designated an "Enlisted Foreign Adoption Agency" (EFAA) by the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA).

At the moment, there are 290 foreign agencies world-wide authorized... more

Continued from here ...

From Guatemala, the US Assistant Secretary of Consular Affairs has been talking to reporters, saying that, "improvements need to be made before the U.S. ratifies the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions later this year." And a ... more

This article, titled, "Vietnamese Adoptees: Where Are They Now?" is just what it sounds like: a look at adults who were born in Vietnam, then adopted by US families. With more than 7,000 Vietnamese kids adopted in the thirty years between 1971 and 2001, there are many stories to be told, and the report takes a look at a few from the transracial angle. Although it's fairly negative on adoption in the past, it does give a bit of credit to present-day aparents... more

Continued from here where the topic is female infanticide ...

Government officials and UNICEF are shocked and up in arms. Give me a break.

In a statement marking International Women's Day, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy issued a strong attack against culturally-sanctioned homicidal violence directed at women and girls around the world. She said 'honour' killings, acid violence, female infanticide... more