Good news!!!!!

We got the email we have been waiting for! All the Burji children have been released. Our agency appealed directly to the Minister of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs, and she stepped in and ordered the regional and local government to stop illegally holding our children. Five weeks after our court date, the children are finally on their way to Addis. "Relief" does not begin to describe what I'm feeling.

In terms of when we can bring the kids to the United States, the estimate is the same as it's been, two to four months. When the boys arrive in Addis, the countdown can finally begin!

Yay!!!!!!!

FAQ

I appreciate all the support we've been getting as we navigate the latest bump in the road. Here are the answers to some common questions.

Where are your boys?
The boys are still in Burji, in the same orphanage where they have been most of this time.

Why are they still there?
As we understand it, local officials have instructed the orphanage not to release them.

Why don't the local officials want the boys to be released?
There is no way that we can know the motives behind this, but it looks like some local officials are against the idea of international adoption in general. There is no specific problem with our case. Some people believe that it is better for children to grow up in an orphanage in their own country instead of with a family in a new country.

Do they have the right to hold the boys?
No, they do not. What they are doing is illegal.

How is the boys' family involved?
The boys' family has confirmed on at least four separate occasions that they want the boys to be adopted. They are not the ones preventing the boys' release.
  
 What about the other families adopting from Burji?
The families we are in contact with are facing the same situation.

What is your agency doing to help you?
The agency requested the assistance of regional Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA) officials who have more experience with the adoption process. This week the regional officials summoned the local MOWCYA officials to a meeting and told them very clearly that the children must be released. If the local officials continue to hold the children, our agency will contact the federal court that issued the adoption decree. At this point there would be something like a contempt-of-court decree issued.

Why can't the agency social worker just show up with a police escort and take the children?
This does seem like the simplest solution. But as our case manager pointed out, which police? A local police officer in Burji, whose biggest case up until now probably involved a stolen cow, is unlikely to interpret and act on a federal court order. Our agency believes that the most efficient solution for now is to go through MOWCYA.

What are the children being told?
I hope nothing. Our (very limited) understanding of Ethiopian cultural norms is that adults generally don't discuss adult issues with children. I hope the children are just continuing their lives as before.

Why can't the boys stay in Burji until it is time for them to come to the United States?
Bringing the kids to Addis is one more transition for them, and I wish we didn't have to do it. But to get a visa, they must be seen by a U.S. Embassy physician, and the U.S. Embassy is in Addis. Our case cannot be submitted to the Embassy until the boys come to Addis.

When do you expect the boys to come to the U.S.?
The time frame our agency gives is 2-4 months after our case is submitted to the Embassy, so until they are released from Burji we can't estimate when they'll come to the U.S.

Is there anything you and Tabb can do to fix this?
We will rely on our agency to act on our behalf until we hear the result of the meeting between the regional and local MOWCYA officials. If the local officials continue to defy the law, we will contact the U.S. Embassy for help.

How are you holding up?
Pbbbththth.

More photos of beautiful Burji

Ethiopia trip (part 2: Burji)

We took two trips south of Addis. The first was set up by our agency. When we get more news about our case, maybe I'll write about that trip. The second trip was to Burji, where the boys are from. For this trip it was important that we were not going as adoptive parents or connected to our agency in any way, we were just going to see the area.

Our driver H was a nice guy who didn't speak much English. With his few words of English and our few words of Amharic, we communicated OK. We had a beat-up old 4x4 Land Cruiser and a ton of waypoints loaded into our GPS. The first part of our trip was a big success.

We headed south from Addis on Highway 6 through gently rolling farmland (corn and teff), gradually descending into the Rift Valley.

Camels near Lake Ziway

Trucks and donkey pulling cart full of teff near Lake Ziway

We had lunch in Awassa, then continued through Dilla to Yirga Chefe. A group of very excited children followed us around Yirga Chefe.

Main market street in Yirga Chefe

Looking up the market street

The next morning we went about 10 more kilometers past Yirga Chefe and turned off the highway. Everything was very green and tropical-looking.

Outside Yirga Chefe

We left Highway 6 and took the gravel road toward Derba, in Amaro, at the foot of the Nechisar Mountains.

Road to Derba

Road to Derba

We were excited to arrive in Derba and have our morning coffee at the base of the mountains.
Helpful hint: If you are traveling through towns with no signposts, look for the local branch of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. Even small towns have one. The bank's sign will tell you what town you are in.

Derba

At Derba the road makes a U-turn, going away from the mountains before turning south toward Burji.

Road to Burji

Mountains in Amaro

Car wash

By mid-morning we estimated that we had arrived in Burji.

Looking into Burji. Isn't it beautiful?

Our driver, H.

Burji road

Filming Burji panorama

Burji was beautiful and green and full of farmland.

Qai teff (red teff)

Nech teff (white teff)

Any time we stopped, it didn't take long for kids to turn up.

Kids with their animals in Burji

We passed through the largest town in Burji. The Commercial Bank sign confirmed that it was Soyema. We made a quick stop at the local clinic.

Soyema Clinic

 Around Soyema we saw quite a lot of soil erosion. I wonder if there are any reforestation projects in Burji.

Looking back over Soyema

Area around Soyema

 Soyema was the last town we saw in Burji. After that the road got rougher and we barely saw any people. We climbed for a long time. Finally we crested and looked down toward Konso.

Looking toward Konso

 Burji was behind us and we congratulated ourselves on a well-planned trip. Then there was an unexpected turn of events.

Burji dictionary

I recently found a Burji to English dictionary and am linking to it here (and here just in case the first link doesn't work). It's by R. Dame and C. Wedekind.

Krista in Georgia has also created an English to Burji version. The link is here.

Initially our tutor had told us that Burji was similar to Amharic, but after looking into it we found they are very different languages. Burji is Cushitic while Amharic is Semitic. The boys' paperwork says that they know both languages, but we'll have to wait and see if that is true. For now we are focusing on Amharic because it's a much more widely spoken language in Ethiopia.