Productive Meeting With Ambassador Idrissov

Joe and I were invited to meet with Ambassador Idrissov yesterday in Washington, DC. It was a long drive, but worth it. It was a very productive meeting. Ambassador Idrissov, as one could imagine, is very proud of his country and heritage. He does not want crooks like Nigmat and other unscrupulous coordinators to mar the image of his country. There are many people in Kazakhstan who care deeply for the orphans that are unfortunately not in the spotlight. He is dedicated to making changes and rooting out these incidences of corruption.

He is very concerned with the amount of money that agencies are charging American parents because it is not in line with the actual costs of an adoption in Kazakhstan. One of the major problems in the United States (which is the only country that Kazakhstan has these problems with) is that the U.S. does not have one governing regulating body. In all other European countries there is a centralized system and private adoption agencies do not exist.

Since the Ambassador obviously cannot change how the American adoption system works he has the difficult challenge of discerning which agencies are "above board" and which are not. The key to that is transparency. This is indeed a difficult task as some of the very agencies charging inordinate amounts are Hague accredited!

Also present at the meeting was Almat Aidarbekov, Head of the Consular Section. Almat was very cordial and sympathetic to the process that American parents go through in order to adopt. He was able to provide us with factual information about Stephen and his baby brother. Joe and I are not ready to make any public statements about this information, but promise to share as soon as we feel comfortable.

Meeting with Ambassador Erlan A. Idrissov

Well, Joe thinks I am crazy, but I am going to drive to Washington, DC and meet with Ambassador Idrissov on Thursday morning. They can only spare a half an hour so I am not quite sure what can be accomplished in such limited time, but for me it is something I have to do to gain closure.

We got the same answers over and over and over again about our son, Stephen and while I have no idea if the Ambassador has any new details to offer I am willing to go this one last "mile" so to speak for closure.

One of my MAIN concerns is that Nigmat is still making millions off babies ~ which means the director of the baby house and someone in the MOE is also being paid off. If the only thing that comes out of this meaning is a commitment on the Ambassador's part to stopping Nigmat I will be glad. Jail time for Nigmat would be glorious!

I Am More Than My Infertility

Marina Lombardo, the co-author of I Am More Than My Infertility posted about our blog (click the title of this post to read it.) I just finished reading her book and it is a MUST read for anyone dealing with the challenges of infertility. You can purchase the book on Amazon or you can purchase it directly through their website at http://www.iammore.net/. Marina Lombardo writes a column called Emotionally Speaking for Conceive Magazine which she describes on her website:

My column in Conceive Magazine is a place to share your stories, ask your questions, and learn from one another’s experiences. Wherever you are on your journey, you have only to reach out to realize you have lots of company. As women, one of our greatest strengths lies in our willingness to share our stories, connect with others…and marvel at how the threads of our experiences bind and connect us all. Let “Emotionally Speaking“ be a place for you to reach out, and a reminder that doing so is an essential part of this truly transformational journey.

It is such a blessing that infertility is an issue that therapists like Marina are devoting their practice and expertise to. Perhaps adoption loss will soon be an area of practice in the field that will help guide adoptive parents through the stages of grief of this unique loss.