Orson Mozes has been arrested in Florida tonight.
http://www.amw.com/fugitives/capture.cfm?id+56499
Miami police nab ‘Most Wanted’ suspect
Orson Mozes, 57, who is accused of running international adoption scam, escaped from law many times
By RYAN MILLS (Contact)
Originally published 8:01 p.m., Monday, December 29, 2008
Updated 8:19 p.m., Monday, December 29, 2008
Orson Mozes
NAPLES — One of “America’s Most Wanted” fugitives who was arrested and slipped through the cracks at least three times recently in Collier and Miami-Dade counties was arrested again Monday, and is behind bars after more than a year on the lam.
Miami-Dade police arrested 57-year-old Orson Mozes in Miami Beach, Detective Roy Rutland said. An anonymous tip initiated the investigation.
“They’ve been tracking him for a couple of days,” Rutland said.
Rutland said Mozes was “staying with somebody,” but declined to elaborate on the exact location of the arrest.
Mozes was wanted in California on 62 counts of theft by false pretenses after authorities say he ran an international adoption scam out of his mansion and swindled his customers out of more than $1 million. He’s been on the run for about a year and a half, and was featured on the television program “America’s Most Wanted” in August.
“We had heard absolutely nothing from him or about him until just last week,” said Norma Hansen, a criminal investigator for the district attorney’s office in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Mozes was arrested Nov. 14 in Collier County after Florida Highway Patrol trooper Roberto Castilla pulled over the white Mazda he was driving at 85 mph in a 70 mph zone on Interstate 75, reports said.
Mozes identified himself as “Jack Rose,” handing over a bogus California driver’s license and Social Security card. He was arrested on charges of possessing a forged or stolen driver’s license and driving without a license.
But Mozes posted an $8,000 bond and skipped town before his court appearance. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office, which manages the Collier County jail where Mozes was booked under the fake name, confirmed Monday that Orson Mozes and Jack Rose are, in fact, one in the same. The agency used fingerprints to make the confirmation.
After his Nov. 14 arrest in Collier, Miami Shores police arrested him Dec. 9, and Miami-Dade police arrested him Dec. 21. Mozes used the alias “Jerry Brosse” in those arrests, and bonded out and slipped away in all three arrests, authorities say.
A warrant for Mozes’ arrest was signed April 1 in Santa Barbara. According to an affidavit, Mozes operated an international adoption agency, and told prospective parents that he could “hold” children for them in foreign countries, primarily Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia.
The prospective parents, who saw photos of children in those countries on the Internet, then sent the agency a fee, generally between $7,000 and $11,000, to “hold” the child, the affidavit said.
After paying, a majority of the parents were told “Your child is no longer available,” reports said. On at least 10 occasions Mozes promised the same child to multiple adoptive parents, investigators said.
He took off with $500,000 in June 2007. At one point, Hansen said, Mozes wrote a letter to his sister telling her he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and needed to get away.
“We’re definitely happy he’s in custody,” Hansen said. “There are a lot of adoptive families who were overjoyed that he’s in custody.”
Dawn DeLorenzo, 34, of New Jersey, said she was promised three children by Mozes, but just before the adoptions were finalized, was told each time that the child’s mother changed her mind.
She spent two months in Kazakhstan attempting to adopt a child, and lost about $75,000 in the process, about a third of which went to Mozes’ agency.
“I felt like he was Teflon Don,” DeLorenzo said of Mozes and his string of arrests. “My husband and I couldn’t escape a parking ticket, and here’s this guy, he’s getting away with 62 felonies ... and they kept letting him go. It was very frustrating to say the least.”
DeLorenzo said she cried when she learned of Mozes’ arrest.
“I was so happy they finally caught up to him,” she said. “He’ll finally have to face up to his crimes. Not just to me, but to 61 other families.”
Mozes will eventually be extradited to California, Hansen said.
Collier County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Karie Partington said the FBI informed the Florida Highway Patrol sometime after the November arrest that “Jack Rose” was Mozes, and notified the highway patrol about his warrants.
“We don’t know when that notification happened,” Partington said. “That’s why we didn’t receive the notification.”
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the mix-up to find out what happened, agency spokesman Lt. Chris Miller said.
When asked about disconnects between the various agencies involved in the Collier arrest and release, and the possible usefulness in this scenario of a new warrant alert system recently installed in Lee County and under development in Collier County, Partington said: “We are working to see if there’s a way to avoid this in the future.”
Monday, December 29, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
This is the Day.....Our miracle revealed on 7/14/2006
Below this post and referral photos, is the original real time post from our first blog. A blog written for our daughter, whom ever she was to be, and to our family and friends who wanted to follow us to Kazakhstan and read of our experiences in real time. Because of the emotional toll the loss of numerous referrals had on us and our lack of trust due to all we had come to learn about AIP and Orson Mozes, with guarded words and an anxious heart I blogged only positive events of our journey while in country. I censored our story. And I remained silent about our experiences with AIP and Orson Mozes for close to one year after the completion of our adoption. Our story is extraordinary. As one will come to understand now, as I retell our story in its entirety. This journey was not one of comfort. Labor never is. We were out there, and vulnerable in every sense of the word, every step of the way.
What comforted and prepared us was the reading of online blogs, and communicating with others who had travelled before us. The information gleaned from the Internet really did pave our way. We read about what can and does occur, and formulated how best to deal with the unexpected twists and turns inherently indigenous to International Adoption, compounded especially by an unethical agency. The online blogs and PAP's were a life line. I vowed to be supportive and give back one day when I could. The retelling of our story I pray will shed some light on a road less travelled.
As our journey is retold in its entirety I share now my reasons for remaining silent.
July the 14, 2006, is a vivid memory as I blog our story with photos and all the details that culminated into our miracle.
As I ponder and document the events leading up to July 14th 2006, and see the precious faces of daughters I have loved along our journey, I remain thankful they will forever be chapters in Leah's adoption story. A story that reveals the miraculous chain of events which culminated in Leah becoming our daughter. Our lives have been forever changed and miraculous events have continued even today.
Each one of these precious babies lead the way to our daughter Leah. Seeing them together, and recapping each child's emotional impact and effect on our lives portrays the frame of mind we were in on July the 14th 2006. This truly is a story about faith and miracles.
Natalia- precious Natalia our first referral,
the child who we loved immediately after seeing her referral photo on Adopting.com. Natalia fueled our urgency to get through the paper chase and pay the fee's as quickly as possible because Orson Mozes lead us to believe (for close to six months) that was all we had to do in order to bring "your daughter" home. One can only imagine our shock at seeing the face of an older Natalia (now 12 months old) on the blog of the Sapp family who were in the process of adopting her. Emails and frantic phone calls to Orson produced lies when Orson assured us the baby on the Sapp's blog was "NOT your daughter". It was only after being told this lie that I emailed the Sapp's while they were in country to ask them to check on my Natalia. I rationalized and wanted to believe that our daughters just bore an uncanny resemblance. Once our communication with the Sapp's took place, and I emailed a picture of my Natalia to them in Ust, Orson had no choice but to admit they were the same child. To this day I wonder what Orson told the Sapps, and I am sad for the pain this event had on them during a time when joy should have been the only focus.
Losing Natalia was devastating, yet the life lessons learned served to strengthen our faith. The accepting and realizing losing Natalia was an unanswered pray for us, brought with it the knowledge a miracle simultaneously occurred for Natalia and the family that had adopted her. Seeing our precious Natalia on the blog of another AIP family was an extremely shocking and painful turn of events. However our actions and reactions on that November day, we knew would have a profound effect on our then 11 year old son who was so excited about adopting Natalia and welcoming a baby sister into his heart and life. To teach our son how to constructively deal with this emotional loss, we knew we would be leading by example. Through tears I prayed for God to fill my aching heart with his wisdom. As we were going into the Christmas season God filled my mind with thoughts of Mary, and how faithfully she prayed "let it be done to me". This revelation gave us the strength to trust God completely, even through our pain. So we made a conscious decision to just "accept what had been done to us" and we gave thanks for the Sapp family miracle. In return we received the gift of faith renewed. Our broken hearts began to heal. Little did we know of the many miracles that would be revealed to us in the future.
The beginnings of closure came as we continued to watch and read the Sapp family miracle unfold on their blog. Seeing Natalia surrounded by a loving family was so comforting during this painful time in our adoption journey. Knowing Natalia's lonely days of insignificance were all but over, served to overshadow any remnants of residual pain from our loss. We could see and almost palpate the transformation in Natalia as she began feel her own specialness. Being loved and learning how to love back was easily recognized in the photos of each passing day of bonding. The realization Natalia days being institutionalized in an orphanage were over, produced a profound heart warming. Our eyes were opened as we witnessed the power of unconditional love.
While we believe the tactics Orson Mozes employed were both unethical,immoral and illegal, we also empathised with the Sapp family, and felt they too were victimized because of Orson's practices. Gaining knowledge during the adoption of your child, that another family from your own agency had your child as a referral cannot be easily dismissed, especially when one experienced first hand the emotional devastation of losing referrals also.
On my first blog I purposely omit the devastating loss of our first referral Natalia for 2 reasons. First our fear of repercussions from Orson Mozes during our adoption, and secondly because of the Sapps, after our adoption was complete. While we always felt Gods presence in this miracle, and shared our thoughts with the Sapps via email, we respected their privacy and prerogative and deliberately omitted the beginning of our adoption story on our first blog as mention of it would be some what of a surprise to the blogging community who have followed both our journeys. My thoughts and concerns at the time were for the Sapp family who knew intimately the details. In no way did I want them to feel anything but joy for their adoption and the miracle it was, and is. Because their adoption completed in Oct/Nov of 2005, 8 months before ours, I followed their lead as they never made a mention on their blog that Natalia had been another AIP families referral, or the way they came to find this fact out, or of the miracle we shared. While this was and is their prerogative, we believed God's will was so evident. God even used people like Orson Mozes to forfill his plan. This miraculous event, in my mind forever binds our daughters adoption stories. I can attest to the fact that God placed words into my hurting heart that communicated to the Sapps at the time that while we were devastated, we believed the Youngs received an unanswered prayer while the Sapps received a miracle. We were sincere in our congratulations and thankful to God for opening our eyes and hearts at this most painful time in our lives. Instead of feeling a prolonged pain and anger over our loss, we felt blessed to be a part of their miracle and witness the power of love in action in Natalia's life.
As a final act of closure I emailed all the referral photos we had of Natalia to the Sapps, as I knew how precious they would be to her and to them.
My original plan when I began my blog was to keep these miraculous events, which were the foundation of our adoption story private only because of the Sapps silence. As I rewind and retell this extraordinary story you will come to learn why I went public.
Marina- our second referral came to us via email in February 05.
Marina was one of two referrals Orson had sent us. Both babies were beautiful and the choosing now took on a new meaning. We felt uneasy now "choosing" a child, however we rationalized that adoption is a choice. So we listened to our hearts and chose Marina. We allowed ourselves to hope again. We began to build a dream again. We opened our hearts again. Albeit with distrust as a defense mechanism.
It was during this time that I spent even more time on the Internet searching for blogs of AIP families and anyone traveling to Ust Kamenogorsk to adopt a child.
I meet 2 more AIP families who are about to travel to Ust. One is Candy Bushouse and the other Amy McSpadden. Both of these women befriend us and keep us grounded and focused during the most difficult time of our journey.
Candy left for Ust first, in March 06, and after arriving in Almaty her region was changed. As you can see, her blog ended and so did my communication with her for over 9 weeks
http://candykaz.blogspot.com/ Michigan
Amy arrived in Ust in April 06, and she was instrumental in helping me find out about Marina as I sent Amy my referral photo.
http://themcspaddenfamily.blogspot.com/ Washington DC
Amy was able to locate Marina and was very hesitant to tell me what she had discovered as she knew about Natalia and our loss.
Marina was being adopted, and her parents who were from Ireland were there bonding at the same time as Amy.
Our faith is yet again tested as disappointment and hurt begin again. Because our information came through Amy, we couldn't go to Orson with what we had learned right away. We felt it necessary to wait until Amy's adoption was complete before calling Orson to task yet again. We asked Amy to get a photo if she could so we had palpable proof.
Waiting was agonizing, so I tried to push Orson into getting me an updated photo of Marina. He said that was not possible. I then asked him to just check on Marina and again he reassured me not to worry as "she would not be off the registry or available to be adopted until June". In my naivety, I thought if he checked on her he would discover what I knew. Marina was gone.
It was during this time I realized the perfection and perversion of Orson's crime. With an inability to corroborate any information Orson gave about incountry events and reasons referrals were lost, coupled with a deep seated desire to become parents, the fabricated excuses and lies that spontaneously fell off of Orson's tongue when called to task, just had to be accepted. Orson knew intimately that clients who would open their hearts to love an orphan, would in all probability recover from his lies as long as another child was available. Hence bait and switch kept money in the pipeline and its my opinion this was his only goal. He would stop at nothing to meet this objective and so far these practices made him a wealthy man. (Orson's success ultimately lead to the arrogance that would and did destroy him and AIP.)
Still I had to wait until Amy was home and her adoption complete before I confronted Orson a second time. We were signed sealed and delivered to Orson and AIP so we needed to not alienate Orson as of yet.
In the mean time I revisited Adopting.com and baby 1011 touched my heart. I decided when the time was right I would inquire about her.
So as the weeks past we plotted our next move and how best to handle Orson. It would serve no purpose to make him angry. We rehearsed what we would say to him when the time was right.
After Amy returned to the USA and I knew her adoption was granted, I confronted Orson with what I found out about Marina in a non confrontational way. At first he didn't believe me, and wanted to know how I got this information. After refusing to reveal my source, I firmly believe had I not been able to produce the photo proof, we would have been told that the mother came back. A lie that would have been un verifiable. However now with absolute proof of a second referral loss, Orson I believe, knew we had enough solid evidence to bring a successful law suit. It was then I inquired about baby 1011 on Adopting.com.
Natalya (Leah)- our 3rd referral came to us in early May of 06 after Amy returned to the USA
As I stated above I asked Orson Mozes about this baby after seeing her on Adopting.com. Somehow I knew she would be our daughter. She was 12 months old in the referral photos and she shares her birth date with my mother.
Our dossier had been in Kazakhstan for close to 3 weeks and we were hoping for a LOI soon.
Orson tried to talk me out of this child stating she was to "old and didn't have blond hair and blue eyes". I was shocked to think Orson thought these were the reasons for choosing the referrals we had. That couldn't have been farther from the truth, so I insisted on baby 1011. Orson was hesitant but complied and sent us baby 1011 referral photos and medical card. He then removed her photo from the Internet and promised again she would be ours. Orson went on to blame the incountry staff for both losses, and went so far to say they felt so badly for what had happened to us that they would make sure 1011 would be ours. Again my heart became attached. On a logical level I tried to remain detached, however emotion won out again. I felt foolish but I began to love her also.
When Orson called in mid June and told us we had our LOI and we should make plans to travel we were so excited. The ups and downs of our journey suddenly seemed so distant. I called the Assistant Stork to help with our VISAS and made airline reservations thru Eldo at Golden Rule Travel. We were set to leave on June 20, 2006. We were finally going to meet our daughter.
On June 17th Orson called again and this time told us we had to change our travel dates to July as the person who handles the adoptions at that baby house was on vacation and wouldn't be back till July 10th. This last lie really did me in. Now I was just going through the motions, and to make matters worse there was a 150.00$ charge to change our outbound flights. We had no choice but to bite our tongues and ride this journey out.
Candy who had since returned from Uralsk, Kazakhstan with a beautiful daughter after a nightmare of a trip, was instrumental in keeping me focused. It is in large part because of her I was able to keep my anger and frustration in check. I really wanted to lash out at Orson for all the lies and pain he had inflicted on us. A few short minutes on the phone with Candy helped renew my hope and strengthen my resolve. Adoptions were happening just not the way Orson had described.
Olga-our 4th referral came to us on July 10, the night before we were to depart JFK for Kazakhstan. I was driving to the store for last minute items to bring to Ust.
When my cell phone went off and I saw Orson's name, I just knew the pain was going to start all over again. This call was brief and stoic. Orson began with "she's gone" Ann. I have sent another referral who you will love. I explained to Orson that each phone call from him is so painful, and that I was driving now and having difficulty seeing through my tears. His last words before I hung up were to check my computer when I got home.
Upon arriving home, Chris and Christopher read my face and knew. What happened now? I explained what Orson had said. It was at this moment I realized that faces in photos really didnt matter, our hearts were ready to love any child. Olga was adorable as were the other three, but God was in control and had sustained us all thus far. We just had to wait for HIS plan to be revealed.
A last call to Orson from JFK Airport just before boarding drove this point home as Orson told me "I dont know whats going on over there, or what child you will get".
Walking into that baby house on July 14, 2006 was the culmination of an almost unbelievable journey of the heart. We did not know what child God had planned for us, but what we did know was the child presented to us would be loved unconditionally. This moment would define our International Adoption leap of faith.
When Leah, baby 1011 was brought into the directors office we experienced fully our miracle as it was unfolding. The gasp and spontaneous tears of joy from our son, partially camouflaged our own intense emotions. All we had been through was quickly erased,(much like the pain of natural child birth once infant is presented to mother) when they placed Leah into our arms. GOD's plan and timing was perfect.
In hind sight as I rewrite our story I realize that at this point I had yet to learn the real truth about the adoption process in Kazakhstan as it related to our experience. This education would come after spending close to a month in country and making friends with the in country staff who assisted us with our adoption. As we develope a relationship with Almagul and Sveta innocently they share with us their perceptions of what had transpired with all of our referrals. From the how and why we lost Natalia, to the agency that represented the Irish couple who adopted Marina, to the facts that Leah had been refused by 3 other families including one who had been visiting Leah just before we arrived, and finally the fact that Olga was never available for adoption at the time Orson sent her referral photo to us.
This information took some time to process as it became available and I will talk about it more in a future post.
For now I just wanted to recap and give some insight into where we were emotionally the day we met our daughter.
7/14/2006 (Original Post in Real Time)
Destination Ust Kamenogorsk
We arrived right on time in Ust Kamenogorsk. The flights were not as long as we had anticipated. At both airports AIP staff was there on time to greet us and take us to our apartment. We were given the times they would be back to pick us up and they were there on time. After arriving in Ust at 9:30am the AIP staff collected our baggage and drove us to the apartment to unload the luggage and freshen up.
the elevator
our apartment buildng
Sveta and Bulat our translator and driver
came back at 1:45 to pick us up and off to the baby house we went.
We were met there by Alma our adoption coordinator and were taken in to the baby house to meet with the Director. Upon entering the baby house we observed the cleanliness and felt welcomed. We were interviewed by the Head Physician and a women from the Dept of Education. We were asked what type child we were looking for, questions about us and why we chose Kazakhstan. After answering their questions the physician turned her questions to Christopher. We were so proud of the way he looked directly at her when she spoke and his answers were understood even without translation. She wanted to know if he too wanted a baby sister and would he object to sharing our attention with this young child.His English answer was an immediate YES I AM with a hugh smile. As Christopher has a warm wonderful smile I believe as they made eye contact she could see right into his heart and palpate the sincerity she found there.
After the questions, we were told they had identified a baby that they thought would be good for us and her care giver walked her in. We were 7 people sitting in an office and she walked in curious and confident. As she entered I was wishing I had 46 eyes to see everyones face. I looked at her then at Christopher who had filled up with happy tears then at Chris then back to her. She looked at everyone and the caregiver brought her immediately to me. We had brought a yellow duck puzzle book and Christopher and I enticed her with it. Within minutes of me taking her from the care giver, after a 30 sec fuss she was engaged. I don’t think she new weather she wanted to look at the book or Christopher. We got on the floor and under the watchful eyes of these officials from Kazakhstan we began our relationship with our daughter. She babbled, walked , pointed,played with the puzzle book and looked all around. After we were told of the visiting requirement of 10-12 and 4-6 everyday twice a day for 14 days it was time to leave. I had picked her up and gave her a kiss. She in turn leaned over to kiss her brother. Talk about a defining moment. The time we spent in that office though brief contains memories that will last a lifetime . The word that we use to describe this day is JOY.
What comforted and prepared us was the reading of online blogs, and communicating with others who had travelled before us. The information gleaned from the Internet really did pave our way. We read about what can and does occur, and formulated how best to deal with the unexpected twists and turns inherently indigenous to International Adoption, compounded especially by an unethical agency. The online blogs and PAP's were a life line. I vowed to be supportive and give back one day when I could. The retelling of our story I pray will shed some light on a road less travelled.
As our journey is retold in its entirety I share now my reasons for remaining silent.
July the 14, 2006, is a vivid memory as I blog our story with photos and all the details that culminated into our miracle.
As I ponder and document the events leading up to July 14th 2006, and see the precious faces of daughters I have loved along our journey, I remain thankful they will forever be chapters in Leah's adoption story. A story that reveals the miraculous chain of events which culminated in Leah becoming our daughter. Our lives have been forever changed and miraculous events have continued even today.
Each one of these precious babies lead the way to our daughter Leah. Seeing them together, and recapping each child's emotional impact and effect on our lives portrays the frame of mind we were in on July the 14th 2006. This truly is a story about faith and miracles.
Natalia- precious Natalia our first referral,
the child who we loved immediately after seeing her referral photo on Adopting.com. Natalia fueled our urgency to get through the paper chase and pay the fee's as quickly as possible because Orson Mozes lead us to believe (for close to six months) that was all we had to do in order to bring "your daughter" home. One can only imagine our shock at seeing the face of an older Natalia (now 12 months old) on the blog of the Sapp family who were in the process of adopting her. Emails and frantic phone calls to Orson produced lies when Orson assured us the baby on the Sapp's blog was "NOT your daughter". It was only after being told this lie that I emailed the Sapp's while they were in country to ask them to check on my Natalia. I rationalized and wanted to believe that our daughters just bore an uncanny resemblance. Once our communication with the Sapp's took place, and I emailed a picture of my Natalia to them in Ust, Orson had no choice but to admit they were the same child. To this day I wonder what Orson told the Sapps, and I am sad for the pain this event had on them during a time when joy should have been the only focus. Losing Natalia was devastating, yet the life lessons learned served to strengthen our faith. The accepting and realizing losing Natalia was an unanswered pray for us, brought with it the knowledge a miracle simultaneously occurred for Natalia and the family that had adopted her. Seeing our precious Natalia on the blog of another AIP family was an extremely shocking and painful turn of events. However our actions and reactions on that November day, we knew would have a profound effect on our then 11 year old son who was so excited about adopting Natalia and welcoming a baby sister into his heart and life. To teach our son how to constructively deal with this emotional loss, we knew we would be leading by example. Through tears I prayed for God to fill my aching heart with his wisdom. As we were going into the Christmas season God filled my mind with thoughts of Mary, and how faithfully she prayed "let it be done to me". This revelation gave us the strength to trust God completely, even through our pain. So we made a conscious decision to just "accept what had been done to us" and we gave thanks for the Sapp family miracle. In return we received the gift of faith renewed. Our broken hearts began to heal. Little did we know of the many miracles that would be revealed to us in the future.
The beginnings of closure came as we continued to watch and read the Sapp family miracle unfold on their blog. Seeing Natalia surrounded by a loving family was so comforting during this painful time in our adoption journey. Knowing Natalia's lonely days of insignificance were all but over, served to overshadow any remnants of residual pain from our loss. We could see and almost palpate the transformation in Natalia as she began feel her own specialness. Being loved and learning how to love back was easily recognized in the photos of each passing day of bonding. The realization Natalia days being institutionalized in an orphanage were over, produced a profound heart warming. Our eyes were opened as we witnessed the power of unconditional love.
While we believe the tactics Orson Mozes employed were both unethical,immoral and illegal, we also empathised with the Sapp family, and felt they too were victimized because of Orson's practices. Gaining knowledge during the adoption of your child, that another family from your own agency had your child as a referral cannot be easily dismissed, especially when one experienced first hand the emotional devastation of losing referrals also.
On my first blog I purposely omit the devastating loss of our first referral Natalia for 2 reasons. First our fear of repercussions from Orson Mozes during our adoption, and secondly because of the Sapps, after our adoption was complete. While we always felt Gods presence in this miracle, and shared our thoughts with the Sapps via email, we respected their privacy and prerogative and deliberately omitted the beginning of our adoption story on our first blog as mention of it would be some what of a surprise to the blogging community who have followed both our journeys. My thoughts and concerns at the time were for the Sapp family who knew intimately the details. In no way did I want them to feel anything but joy for their adoption and the miracle it was, and is. Because their adoption completed in Oct/Nov of 2005, 8 months before ours, I followed their lead as they never made a mention on their blog that Natalia had been another AIP families referral, or the way they came to find this fact out, or of the miracle we shared. While this was and is their prerogative, we believed God's will was so evident. God even used people like Orson Mozes to forfill his plan. This miraculous event, in my mind forever binds our daughters adoption stories. I can attest to the fact that God placed words into my hurting heart that communicated to the Sapps at the time that while we were devastated, we believed the Youngs received an unanswered prayer while the Sapps received a miracle. We were sincere in our congratulations and thankful to God for opening our eyes and hearts at this most painful time in our lives. Instead of feeling a prolonged pain and anger over our loss, we felt blessed to be a part of their miracle and witness the power of love in action in Natalia's life.
As a final act of closure I emailed all the referral photos we had of Natalia to the Sapps, as I knew how precious they would be to her and to them.
My original plan when I began my blog was to keep these miraculous events, which were the foundation of our adoption story private only because of the Sapps silence. As I rewind and retell this extraordinary story you will come to learn why I went public.
Marina- our second referral came to us via email in February 05.
Marina was one of two referrals Orson had sent us. Both babies were beautiful and the choosing now took on a new meaning. We felt uneasy now "choosing" a child, however we rationalized that adoption is a choice. So we listened to our hearts and chose Marina. We allowed ourselves to hope again. We began to build a dream again. We opened our hearts again. Albeit with distrust as a defense mechanism.
It was during this time that I spent even more time on the Internet searching for blogs of AIP families and anyone traveling to Ust Kamenogorsk to adopt a child.
I meet 2 more AIP families who are about to travel to Ust. One is Candy Bushouse and the other Amy McSpadden. Both of these women befriend us and keep us grounded and focused during the most difficult time of our journey.
Candy left for Ust first, in March 06, and after arriving in Almaty her region was changed. As you can see, her blog ended and so did my communication with her for over 9 weeks
http://candykaz.blogspot.com/ Michigan
Amy arrived in Ust in April 06, and she was instrumental in helping me find out about Marina as I sent Amy my referral photo.
http://themcspaddenfamily.blogspot.com/ Washington DC
Amy was able to locate Marina and was very hesitant to tell me what she had discovered as she knew about Natalia and our loss.
Marina was being adopted, and her parents who were from Ireland were there bonding at the same time as Amy.
Our faith is yet again tested as disappointment and hurt begin again. Because our information came through Amy, we couldn't go to Orson with what we had learned right away. We felt it necessary to wait until Amy's adoption was complete before calling Orson to task yet again. We asked Amy to get a photo if she could so we had palpable proof.
Waiting was agonizing, so I tried to push Orson into getting me an updated photo of Marina. He said that was not possible. I then asked him to just check on Marina and again he reassured me not to worry as "she would not be off the registry or available to be adopted until June". In my naivety, I thought if he checked on her he would discover what I knew. Marina was gone.
It was during this time I realized the perfection and perversion of Orson's crime. With an inability to corroborate any information Orson gave about incountry events and reasons referrals were lost, coupled with a deep seated desire to become parents, the fabricated excuses and lies that spontaneously fell off of Orson's tongue when called to task, just had to be accepted. Orson knew intimately that clients who would open their hearts to love an orphan, would in all probability recover from his lies as long as another child was available. Hence bait and switch kept money in the pipeline and its my opinion this was his only goal. He would stop at nothing to meet this objective and so far these practices made him a wealthy man. (Orson's success ultimately lead to the arrogance that would and did destroy him and AIP.)
Still I had to wait until Amy was home and her adoption complete before I confronted Orson a second time. We were signed sealed and delivered to Orson and AIP so we needed to not alienate Orson as of yet.
In the mean time I revisited Adopting.com and baby 1011 touched my heart. I decided when the time was right I would inquire about her.
So as the weeks past we plotted our next move and how best to handle Orson. It would serve no purpose to make him angry. We rehearsed what we would say to him when the time was right.
After Amy returned to the USA and I knew her adoption was granted, I confronted Orson with what I found out about Marina in a non confrontational way. At first he didn't believe me, and wanted to know how I got this information. After refusing to reveal my source, I firmly believe had I not been able to produce the photo proof, we would have been told that the mother came back. A lie that would have been un verifiable. However now with absolute proof of a second referral loss, Orson I believe, knew we had enough solid evidence to bring a successful law suit. It was then I inquired about baby 1011 on Adopting.com.
Natalya (Leah)- our 3rd referral came to us in early May of 06 after Amy returned to the USA
As I stated above I asked Orson Mozes about this baby after seeing her on Adopting.com. Somehow I knew she would be our daughter. She was 12 months old in the referral photos and she shares her birth date with my mother.
Our dossier had been in Kazakhstan for close to 3 weeks and we were hoping for a LOI soon.
Orson tried to talk me out of this child stating she was to "old and didn't have blond hair and blue eyes". I was shocked to think Orson thought these were the reasons for choosing the referrals we had. That couldn't have been farther from the truth, so I insisted on baby 1011. Orson was hesitant but complied and sent us baby 1011 referral photos and medical card. He then removed her photo from the Internet and promised again she would be ours. Orson went on to blame the incountry staff for both losses, and went so far to say they felt so badly for what had happened to us that they would make sure 1011 would be ours. Again my heart became attached. On a logical level I tried to remain detached, however emotion won out again. I felt foolish but I began to love her also.
When Orson called in mid June and told us we had our LOI and we should make plans to travel we were so excited. The ups and downs of our journey suddenly seemed so distant. I called the Assistant Stork to help with our VISAS and made airline reservations thru Eldo at Golden Rule Travel. We were set to leave on June 20, 2006. We were finally going to meet our daughter.
On June 17th Orson called again and this time told us we had to change our travel dates to July as the person who handles the adoptions at that baby house was on vacation and wouldn't be back till July 10th. This last lie really did me in. Now I was just going through the motions, and to make matters worse there was a 150.00$ charge to change our outbound flights. We had no choice but to bite our tongues and ride this journey out.
Candy who had since returned from Uralsk, Kazakhstan with a beautiful daughter after a nightmare of a trip, was instrumental in keeping me focused. It is in large part because of her I was able to keep my anger and frustration in check. I really wanted to lash out at Orson for all the lies and pain he had inflicted on us. A few short minutes on the phone with Candy helped renew my hope and strengthen my resolve. Adoptions were happening just not the way Orson had described.
Olga-our 4th referral came to us on July 10, the night before we were to depart JFK for Kazakhstan. I was driving to the store for last minute items to bring to Ust.
Upon arriving home, Chris and Christopher read my face and knew. What happened now? I explained what Orson had said. It was at this moment I realized that faces in photos really didnt matter, our hearts were ready to love any child. Olga was adorable as were the other three, but God was in control and had sustained us all thus far. We just had to wait for HIS plan to be revealed.
A last call to Orson from JFK Airport just before boarding drove this point home as Orson told me "I dont know whats going on over there, or what child you will get".
Walking into that baby house on July 14, 2006 was the culmination of an almost unbelievable journey of the heart. We did not know what child God had planned for us, but what we did know was the child presented to us would be loved unconditionally. This moment would define our International Adoption leap of faith.
When Leah, baby 1011 was brought into the directors office we experienced fully our miracle as it was unfolding. The gasp and spontaneous tears of joy from our son, partially camouflaged our own intense emotions. All we had been through was quickly erased,(much like the pain of natural child birth once infant is presented to mother) when they placed Leah into our arms. GOD's plan and timing was perfect.
In hind sight as I rewrite our story I realize that at this point I had yet to learn the real truth about the adoption process in Kazakhstan as it related to our experience. This education would come after spending close to a month in country and making friends with the in country staff who assisted us with our adoption. As we develope a relationship with Almagul and Sveta innocently they share with us their perceptions of what had transpired with all of our referrals. From the how and why we lost Natalia, to the agency that represented the Irish couple who adopted Marina, to the facts that Leah had been refused by 3 other families including one who had been visiting Leah just before we arrived, and finally the fact that Olga was never available for adoption at the time Orson sent her referral photo to us.
This information took some time to process as it became available and I will talk about it more in a future post.
For now I just wanted to recap and give some insight into where we were emotionally the day we met our daughter.
7/14/2006 (Original Post in Real Time)
Destination Ust Kamenogorsk
We arrived right on time in Ust Kamenogorsk. The flights were not as long as we had anticipated. At both airports AIP staff was there on time to greet us and take us to our apartment. We were given the times they would be back to pick us up and they were there on time. After arriving in Ust at 9:30am the AIP staff collected our baggage and drove us to the apartment to unload the luggage and freshen up.
the elevator
our apartment buildngSveta and Bulat our translator and driver
came back at 1:45 to pick us up and off to the baby house we went.
We were met there by Alma our adoption coordinator and were taken in to the baby house to meet with the Director. Upon entering the baby house we observed the cleanliness and felt welcomed. We were interviewed by the Head Physician and a women from the Dept of Education. We were asked what type child we were looking for, questions about us and why we chose Kazakhstan. After answering their questions the physician turned her questions to Christopher. We were so proud of the way he looked directly at her when she spoke and his answers were understood even without translation. She wanted to know if he too wanted a baby sister and would he object to sharing our attention with this young child.His English answer was an immediate YES I AM with a hugh smile. As Christopher has a warm wonderful smile I believe as they made eye contact she could see right into his heart and palpate the sincerity she found there.
After the questions, we were told they had identified a baby that they thought would be good for us and her care giver walked her in. We were 7 people sitting in an office and she walked in curious and confident. As she entered I was wishing I had 46 eyes to see everyones face. I looked at her then at Christopher who had filled up with happy tears then at Chris then back to her. She looked at everyone and the caregiver brought her immediately to me. We had brought a yellow duck puzzle book and Christopher and I enticed her with it. Within minutes of me taking her from the care giver, after a 30 sec fuss she was engaged. I don’t think she new weather she wanted to look at the book or Christopher. We got on the floor and under the watchful eyes of these officials from Kazakhstan we began our relationship with our daughter. She babbled, walked , pointed,played with the puzzle book and looked all around. After we were told of the visiting requirement of 10-12 and 4-6 everyday twice a day for 14 days it was time to leave. I had picked her up and gave her a kiss. She in turn leaned over to kiss her brother. Talk about a defining moment. The time we spent in that office though brief contains memories that will last a lifetime . The word that we use to describe this day is JOY.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
AMERICAS MOST WANTED..Air Date 1/3/08 at 9/8C on FOX *** 12/14/08 Air date has changed will post new date when we are notified
AMW has completed the segment on fugitive Orson Mozes. The air date is January 3, 2009 at 9/8C on FOX.
http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=56499
Many of the families presently represented by Joni Fixel in a law suit filed against Orson Mozes and Christian Brown (owners of AIP) have contributed to this segment. In the reliving and the public sharing of our emotionally devastating experiences, we are hoping this exposure will aid in the capture and arrest of Orson Mozes.
Having our day in court, and seeing Orson Mozes held accountable for the crimes he perpetrated on innocent unsuspecting adoptive parents is our goal.
International Adoption needs to be protected from greedy,ruthless people who prey on innocent people with a desire to open their hearts and lives to orphans.
For this reason I applaud AMW for taking up our cause, and I am proud to be part of a group of people who have taken a stand and spoken out against the immoral,illegal and unethical practices of AIP and its owners. Our success in court will send a very loud message to adoption agencies here in the USA that greed and illegal practices can and will be prosecuted to the full extend of the law.
And now back to my rewind........
Friday, October 24, 2008
Its dawn in Almaty July 14, 2006
Our driver, and Bulgan our translator wish us good night after helping us up six flights of stairs with our luggage into the apt in which we will spend the next few hours. After they depart we close and lock the door, the apt is quiet. It's 2:30 am. We are all in need of showers. So Christopher is elected to go first and instructed to be quick. As he is showering, Chris and I have a few moments to talk without having to censor our words. After being married for 18 years, words sometimes aren't necessary. Privately now as we look into each others eyes the anxiety present is evident, yet the strength of our love serves to quell our fears. We talk about the events of our day and together we realize our dream is about to come true. The journey which began many months ago is on track. We are sitting together in a foreign country,in a strangers apt at 2:30 am trusting another stranger will be back to pick us up after giving another stranger 5000.00$ in brand new 100.00 dollar bills. It is almost surreal to believe that we are on the way to a baby house half way around the world, in a country and culture vastly different from what we have known, to adopt our daughter. The first few hours and introduction to this culture were extreme examples of those very differences. Our experiences so far enlightened us to just how naive we Americans are. One is never so isolated and vulnerable until you cannot speak the language or be protected by the Constitution.
Our saving grace was our faith in God, and just knowing we were exactly where he wanted us to be at this very moment.
Realizing and accepting our vulnerability, coupled with knowing AIP didn't have a glowing reputation of late, we planned on keeping a very low profile and quiet demeanor while in country no matter what.
After Christopher said goodnight, Chris and I took quick showers as it was now 3am Almaty time and the driver is due back by 6am. Our flight to Ust Kamenogorsk departs at 7:20am.
Oh the calming effects of a much needed shower, I am last to hop in. As the warmth of the water meets flesh, a catharsis of emotional cleansing takes place promoting anticipation of a new day. I remain pensive and prayerful as I allow myself to unwind. I emerge from the shower renewed and refreshed. A peacefulness takes place as I witness my husband and child in restful sleep. In preparation of an early departure, I make sure everything is repacked and ready to go in a moments notice. I then drift to sleep.
Like clock work Chris is up before dawn, dressed, teeth brushed hair combed and ready to go. So we hurry up and wait. We wonder if our driver will return. Almost to the moment we verbalize our doubt, right on schedule the driver arrives 5:45am.
The Apt in morning light
Kazakhstan at first light
Again we are helped with our baggage down 6 flights of stairs. Its as if we never arrived to begin with. In at 2:30am out by 5:45am. Never saw or spoke to a soul.
Once in the parking lot, and as the sun is rising we can now see Kazakhstan and the beauty of her snow covered mountains. The apartment building is like no other we have ever seen, never having been out of the USA. To our eyes the building looks pre war and run down. Having arrived in the dead of night, our first impressions became our last as we departed for the airport.
Before entering the car, the driver handed me a package the size of a CD wrapped and sealed with packing tape. His instruction in broken English " you take to Ust". I vaguely remember Bulgan telling us last night we would be given documents to carry to Ust Kamenogorsk. This package did not however, look like documents. Chris and I immediately made eye contact, and the nonverbal communication was clear. Red flags waving. Knowing the driver didn't speak or understand English that well, as we were getting into the car I said to Chris (the Laurel and Hardy line) "this is another fine mess you got us into". I was able to communicate we would fix the mess after we got to the airport. Again eye contact acknowledged Chris understood the message. Until then I held the package on my lap and devised a plan while looking at Kazakhstan for the first time in daylight. Obviously Chris and I were on the same page with not wanting to carry a sealed package onto an airplane in a foreign country. So my immediate thought was to wait to refuse the package until we were at the airport, out of the car with baggage in hand. This airport could take us home if need be but, we had to get there first.
Quietly we rode for 30 minutes. Idol chit chat about the landscape and what we could remember seeing last night took place between us. Our assumptions were correct, the driver spoke only Russian so attempts at communication with him failed.
Upon arrival at the airport as I exited the car, I conveniently left the package on the console in hopes I could innocently forget "the package". After all the luggage was out of the car and we said our thank you's, we were preparing to walk towards the entrance to the airport when the driver called out and began walking towards us waving "the package" saying "to Ust to Ust". Damn! I guess we have to revert to plan B, which I know will be difficult because of the language barrier.
So with my best Russian accent I say NYET (no). Then I motion with my hands NYET (no) see into package NYET (No) "to Ust". Somehow he understood and communicated he would park the car, make a phone call and be back. He wanted us to wait. In these few tense moments alone, together we discussed plan B. Being we were at the airport already we were pretty safe. So when the driver returned our plan was no public loud discussions, we weren't taking a sealed package period. He would either open it and reveal its contents or it was not going with us. Everyone understood so if a confrontation was evident we would just walk away and into the airport.
The driver returned with "the package". Only now it was opened and inside was 2000.00$ in brand new 100.00 bills. The documents we were to carry was American dollars. The same dollars we carried to Almaty only less of them. What a relief. Our journey now would definitely continue onto Ust Kamenogorsk where our daughter would be waiting.
Upon seeing our relief and acceptance of "the opened package" the driver also looked relieved. He helped us into the airport, and though the security check point. Upon x-raying our baggage the guard wanted to see something inside the luggage so we opened the luggage and had to explain why we had tools and screening material inside. Because we didn't speak Russian, and they didn't speak English, frustration and a physical observation of the tools and screening material pushed us through. We gave our driver a tip for his efforts and again said our good bye's. We boarded the plane bound for Ust Kamenogorsk...
Our saving grace was our faith in God, and just knowing we were exactly where he wanted us to be at this very moment.
Realizing and accepting our vulnerability, coupled with knowing AIP didn't have a glowing reputation of late, we planned on keeping a very low profile and quiet demeanor while in country no matter what.
After Christopher said goodnight, Chris and I took quick showers as it was now 3am Almaty time and the driver is due back by 6am. Our flight to Ust Kamenogorsk departs at 7:20am.
Oh the calming effects of a much needed shower, I am last to hop in. As the warmth of the water meets flesh, a catharsis of emotional cleansing takes place promoting anticipation of a new day. I remain pensive and prayerful as I allow myself to unwind. I emerge from the shower renewed and refreshed. A peacefulness takes place as I witness my husband and child in restful sleep. In preparation of an early departure, I make sure everything is repacked and ready to go in a moments notice. I then drift to sleep.
Like clock work Chris is up before dawn, dressed, teeth brushed hair combed and ready to go. So we hurry up and wait. We wonder if our driver will return. Almost to the moment we verbalize our doubt, right on schedule the driver arrives 5:45am.
The Apt in morning light
Again we are helped with our baggage down 6 flights of stairs. Its as if we never arrived to begin with. In at 2:30am out by 5:45am. Never saw or spoke to a soul.
Once in the parking lot, and as the sun is rising we can now see Kazakhstan and the beauty of her snow covered mountains. The apartment building is like no other we have ever seen, never having been out of the USA. To our eyes the building looks pre war and run down. Having arrived in the dead of night, our first impressions became our last as we departed for the airport.
Before entering the car, the driver handed me a package the size of a CD wrapped and sealed with packing tape. His instruction in broken English " you take to Ust". I vaguely remember Bulgan telling us last night we would be given documents to carry to Ust Kamenogorsk. This package did not however, look like documents. Chris and I immediately made eye contact, and the nonverbal communication was clear. Red flags waving. Knowing the driver didn't speak or understand English that well, as we were getting into the car I said to Chris (the Laurel and Hardy line) "this is another fine mess you got us into". I was able to communicate we would fix the mess after we got to the airport. Again eye contact acknowledged Chris understood the message. Until then I held the package on my lap and devised a plan while looking at Kazakhstan for the first time in daylight. Obviously Chris and I were on the same page with not wanting to carry a sealed package onto an airplane in a foreign country. So my immediate thought was to wait to refuse the package until we were at the airport, out of the car with baggage in hand. This airport could take us home if need be but, we had to get there first.
Quietly we rode for 30 minutes. Idol chit chat about the landscape and what we could remember seeing last night took place between us. Our assumptions were correct, the driver spoke only Russian so attempts at communication with him failed.
Upon arrival at the airport as I exited the car, I conveniently left the package on the console in hopes I could innocently forget "the package". After all the luggage was out of the car and we said our thank you's, we were preparing to walk towards the entrance to the airport when the driver called out and began walking towards us waving "the package" saying "to Ust to Ust". Damn! I guess we have to revert to plan B, which I know will be difficult because of the language barrier.
So with my best Russian accent I say NYET (no). Then I motion with my hands NYET (no) see into package NYET (No) "to Ust". Somehow he understood and communicated he would park the car, make a phone call and be back. He wanted us to wait. In these few tense moments alone, together we discussed plan B. Being we were at the airport already we were pretty safe. So when the driver returned our plan was no public loud discussions, we weren't taking a sealed package period. He would either open it and reveal its contents or it was not going with us. Everyone understood so if a confrontation was evident we would just walk away and into the airport.
The driver returned with "the package". Only now it was opened and inside was 2000.00$ in brand new 100.00 bills. The documents we were to carry was American dollars. The same dollars we carried to Almaty only less of them. What a relief. Our journey now would definitely continue onto Ust Kamenogorsk where our daughter would be waiting.
Upon seeing our relief and acceptance of "the opened package" the driver also looked relieved. He helped us into the airport, and though the security check point. Upon x-raying our baggage the guard wanted to see something inside the luggage so we opened the luggage and had to explain why we had tools and screening material inside. Because we didn't speak Russian, and they didn't speak English, frustration and a physical observation of the tools and screening material pushed us through. We gave our driver a tip for his efforts and again said our good bye's. We boarded the plane bound for Ust Kamenogorsk...
Monday, October 20, 2008
Happy Birthday Natalia
October 20th will always be a special day. A day of reflection.
Just as the season was changing and fall leaves were bursting with color, so was my heart bursting with love for a baby girl who's tiny bald head and sad blue eyes were captured on a referral photograph and etched into my soul. For 6 months this baby girl, along with my son had become the center of my world.
I love this innocent baby with all my heart.
As Gods plan began to be revealed in our adoption journey, miracles and unanswered prayers simultaneously took place. Painful life lessons that tested my faith also opened my heart. As we celebrated Natalia's first birthday in that restaurant that day,
little did we know Natalia celebrated her first birthday in arms of parents whom God had chosen for her. Natalia was now surrounded by unconditional love for the first time in her young life.
It was at this very moment, when I saw her birthday photo almost a month later, I learned humility. Although my heart was aching at my loss, through my pain I was blessed to be able to recognize God at work in my life and the miracle that had taken place. Natalia and her needs were what was important. The miracle of a family being born of Gods will was deserving of sincere celebration and praise.
I am so grateful to God for allowing us to witness Natalia's miracle. Just knowing Natalia had a family to make her feel special and loved helped ease our pain.
We believe God placed Natalia in our lives not only to love and pray for her, but to lead us to our miracle, Leah Natalya Young.
Happy Birthday Natalia, you and your family remain always in our thoughts and prayers......
Just as the season was changing and fall leaves were bursting with color, so was my heart bursting with love for a baby girl who's tiny bald head and sad blue eyes were captured on a referral photograph and etched into my soul. For 6 months this baby girl, along with my son had become the center of my world.
I love this innocent baby with all my heart.
As Gods plan began to be revealed in our adoption journey, miracles and unanswered prayers simultaneously took place. Painful life lessons that tested my faith also opened my heart. As we celebrated Natalia's first birthday in that restaurant that day,
It was at this very moment, when I saw her birthday photo almost a month later, I learned humility. Although my heart was aching at my loss, through my pain I was blessed to be able to recognize God at work in my life and the miracle that had taken place. Natalia and her needs were what was important. The miracle of a family being born of Gods will was deserving of sincere celebration and praise.
I am so grateful to God for allowing us to witness Natalia's miracle. Just knowing Natalia had a family to make her feel special and loved helped ease our pain.
We believe God placed Natalia in our lives not only to love and pray for her, but to lead us to our miracle, Leah Natalya Young.
Happy Birthday Natalia, you and your family remain always in our thoughts and prayers......
Friday, September 26, 2008
MIDNIGHT ALMATY KAZAKHSTAN
Twenty two hours have passed since we left home to travel to Ust Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan to adopt our daughter. The flights and lay overs were long and we are all exhausted. We landed in darkness, which only compounded our disorientation. We deplane into an airport where we cannot understand any of the spoken word, nor read any signage. So we follow the crowd. We must clear customs and hopefully we are heading in the right direction. We wait in line and listen to the language being spoken. We feel very vulnerable, and the reality of where we are, takes hold. As we speak to each other, people stare at us. We are foreigners and it is very obvious. To say we are extremely intimidated is an understatement. As we are next in line we approach the booth. The staff begin to speak to us as if we will understand them. Their requests are repeated only now with an increase in volume, as if this will make us understand. I hand them our passports and speak in English. I hope for the best. Our pictures are taken and documents are reviewed and stamped. Now they just point in the direction they want us to walk. We cleared customs and are on the way to baggage. I ponder how we will recognize the people who are supposed to be there picking us up. What if they are "no longer available either". Fear and anxiety are at an all time high. We collect our luggage and again follow the crowd. Relief at last as I recognize a sign. Youngs..... Our driver and translator are here....
I can calm down some what. So far so good. We approach, we shake hands and introduce our selves. Bulgan our translator is a pretty Kazak lady with a warm smile and reassuring eyes. She explains we will be going to an apt for a few hours of rest, and they will return in the morning to get us back to the airport for the flight to Ust Kamenogorsk. We exit the airport building and walk thru the dark parking lot to a small compact car. We are 5 people and 3 huge suitcases. We will make it work.
Upon entering the car an older women is sitting in the front seat which is covered in a faux leopard skin seat cover, and there are danglings from the rear view mirror the likes of which would be seen in a bad movie. She is there to collect the final payment for our accommodations while in Ust Kamenogorsk. The crisp NEW one hundred dollar bills. Fifty five hundred to be exact. Anxiety and fear come rushing back. Is this really how business is conducted in Kazakhstan after all of the formal background and character checks we had been subjected to in the preceding months. Hand over alot of money in a dark parking lot in the middle of the night to an old women we have never met. We comply. She counts the money we had already counted numerous times before even leaving our driveway, which now is so far away. She speaks to us and we look to Bulgan for a translation. Bulgan relates that the money is wrong. The old woman says 500.00$ more. My heart rate quickens and I scramble in my mind for an exit plan. We are already at the airport we can just turn around and go home. I stand my ground and tell the old women NO! Money is right. Bulgan translates. She (the old women) makes a call to Nigmat, her son. Bulgan tell us she is calling him. We wait. Christopher watching our every move. I wonder if he can feel our anxiety as I motion to him to remain silent. A loud conversation in Russian occurs and then the phone is handed to me. Nigmat says 500.00$ more is owed. I again hold my ground. I tell him No! He should call Orson. We have paid the entire fee already except for our accommodations. He continues to argue with me. I tell him we will return to the USA, there will be no more money, and I hand the phone back to the old women. She in turn has a brief conversation with Nigmat and then speaks to Bulgan. Bulgan then turns to us and relates, all is fine. We can go now to the apt.
The old lady walks away into the night and we proceed to leave the parking lot. Surreal events to a long day or wait, is it night.
The ride to the apt is quiet as we try to recover our composure. Anxiety and fear have now joined us on our journey and will remain there always lurking in our consciousness. Almaty is very dark at midnight however Bulgan was able to reassure us that all would be alright. She then went on to say she would not be back in the morning if that would be OK with us as she had another job and was only doing this last translation for AIP as a favor because she no longer worked for them. She assured us the driver would be back at 6am to pick us up. We really had no choice but to trust her. The ride to the apt seemed like forever. We arrived by 1:30 am and were helped into the apt. Bulgan again asked if it would be ok if she didnt return in the morning. We said ok, as all we were going to do was go back to the airport and get on another plane. We thought we could handle that. She was sincere in her caring and this was evident when she gave us her cell phone number with the understanding we could call her if we needed her. Little did we know how important her number would be to us later on in our journey....
I can calm down some what. So far so good. We approach, we shake hands and introduce our selves. Bulgan our translator is a pretty Kazak lady with a warm smile and reassuring eyes. She explains we will be going to an apt for a few hours of rest, and they will return in the morning to get us back to the airport for the flight to Ust Kamenogorsk. We exit the airport building and walk thru the dark parking lot to a small compact car. We are 5 people and 3 huge suitcases. We will make it work.
Upon entering the car an older women is sitting in the front seat which is covered in a faux leopard skin seat cover, and there are danglings from the rear view mirror the likes of which would be seen in a bad movie. She is there to collect the final payment for our accommodations while in Ust Kamenogorsk. The crisp NEW one hundred dollar bills. Fifty five hundred to be exact. Anxiety and fear come rushing back. Is this really how business is conducted in Kazakhstan after all of the formal background and character checks we had been subjected to in the preceding months. Hand over alot of money in a dark parking lot in the middle of the night to an old women we have never met. We comply. She counts the money we had already counted numerous times before even leaving our driveway, which now is so far away. She speaks to us and we look to Bulgan for a translation. Bulgan relates that the money is wrong. The old woman says 500.00$ more. My heart rate quickens and I scramble in my mind for an exit plan. We are already at the airport we can just turn around and go home. I stand my ground and tell the old women NO! Money is right. Bulgan translates. She (the old women) makes a call to Nigmat, her son. Bulgan tell us she is calling him. We wait. Christopher watching our every move. I wonder if he can feel our anxiety as I motion to him to remain silent. A loud conversation in Russian occurs and then the phone is handed to me. Nigmat says 500.00$ more is owed. I again hold my ground. I tell him No! He should call Orson. We have paid the entire fee already except for our accommodations. He continues to argue with me. I tell him we will return to the USA, there will be no more money, and I hand the phone back to the old women. She in turn has a brief conversation with Nigmat and then speaks to Bulgan. Bulgan then turns to us and relates, all is fine. We can go now to the apt.
The old lady walks away into the night and we proceed to leave the parking lot. Surreal events to a long day or wait, is it night.
The ride to the apt is quiet as we try to recover our composure. Anxiety and fear have now joined us on our journey and will remain there always lurking in our consciousness. Almaty is very dark at midnight however Bulgan was able to reassure us that all would be alright. She then went on to say she would not be back in the morning if that would be OK with us as she had another job and was only doing this last translation for AIP as a favor because she no longer worked for them. She assured us the driver would be back at 6am to pick us up. We really had no choice but to trust her. The ride to the apt seemed like forever. We arrived by 1:30 am and were helped into the apt. Bulgan again asked if it would be ok if she didnt return in the morning. We said ok, as all we were going to do was go back to the airport and get on another plane. We thought we could handle that. She was sincere in her caring and this was evident when she gave us her cell phone number with the understanding we could call her if we needed her. Little did we know how important her number would be to us later on in our journey....
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
A challange to a post about the Government of Kazakhstan and Embassy Officials
Below is a portion of a post from:
http://quest2kaz.blogspot.com/
"Regarding Stephen and his brother (and the Kazak Embassy): If you adopted from Kaz and you only want to hear nice things about the country, please stop reading at this point. Joe and I feel nothing but disgust for all of the people in Kazakhstan that we dealt with throughout our adoption (with the caregivers and our drivers being the only exceptions.) The people we have dealt with have been apathetic and downright cruel. We resent that they asked us to meet with them in July and tore open the scab that was forming over our hearts by telling us the boys are available and that they were going to do "everything possible" to help us adopt them. I nearly cancelled our IVF procedure and thank God that in the end we did not.
Almat (Head of the Consular Section), as you saw from the e-mails I posted, barely answered our questions and recently his help - that was supposed to be "everything possible" - in reality - turned into giving us a contact person who could help us with the adoption. We did not need a contact person - we needed a swift acting Embassy official to insure our safety and complete this adoption a.s.a.p. so these boys could have a chance at life. Sadly, the Embassy had no intention of offering any "substantial" assistance and only proved my first assumption correct: It was all just lip service. Now, they can say "We met with the De Lorenzo's and offered assistance." They can use this quote to answer any reporters who question why they did not step up to the plate. Every single one of the people we dealt with, who had it within their power to help and didn't, make us sick to our stomachs.
Some people say "Oh, you can only blame Orson Mozes and his wife who is the co-owner and Executive Director and nobody else." Orson and Christen are, of course, the only reason we were in this mess to begin with. However, there are many who could have, and should have, helped to make things right once it was apparent that Orson was working with corrupt people on the Kazak end. It is outrageous that Nigmat is still abusing people and that Dr. Natalia, the Director of the Baby House - as well as Almagul are all still going about their evil business while the Embassy is FULLY AWARE of what they are doing! It is shameful. Lastly, I think it needs to be made very CLEAR to PAPs that Heritage Adoptions is using Nigmat. I am sure other agencies are as well, but Heritage is the one I know for sure is using him. BE VERY WEARY!"
I start this post out with my most sincere thanks to God for the miracle of pregnancy God has granted to Dawn and Joe. After all the pain they have suffered on their journey to become parents, their prayers are soon to be answered with the birth of their first child this coming May. Congratulations and may the pain you experienced on your adoption journey be replaced with the lifetime of joy that awaits you both in May.
While Dawn and I have had numerous conversations over the past year or so, I don’t think she will be surprised to read a response to her most recent post on this blog. Dawn and I definitely have a difference of opinion about the government of Kazakhstan and the above post as far as I am concerned cannot go unchallenged, although I do understand Dawn does have a right to her opinion.
Being all comments must be approved by Dawn on her blog, I felt compelled to comment here on my blog. While I do not accept any anonymous comments, I will allow opinions here but not attacks.
I can and do empathize with the absolute agony Dawn and Joe experienced while attempting to adopt from Kazakhstan thru Adoption International Program which was owned and operated by Orson Mozes and Christian Brown.
It is my opinion that Dawn and Joe were victims, as were many others, of an unethical adoption agency who engaged in illegal practices here in the USA.
The government of Kazakhstan is not however, in the adoption business. Thankfully they are gracious enough to allow foreigners to adopt their children. For this I will be forever grateful, and stand vigilant to protect Kazakhstan against what I believe is a biased attack on her government and embassy officials with regards to their role in this issue.
For what its worth, the following is my opinion.
Orson Mozes, Christian Brown and AIP are solely responsible for the reprehensible experience Dawn and Joe suffered through attempting to adopt a child from Kazakhstan. However Joe and Dawn freely chose AIP and did not consult with the Kazakhstan government before signing that contract and paying the fee’s AIP charged both in the USA and in country. Kazakhstan and the Embassy should not be held accountable for one's poor choice of an adoption agency here in the USA.
The laws governing adoption in Kazakhstan are and were in place. They are specific and clear. The government of Kazakhstan has the responsibility to uphold their laws and it is my opinion that is exactly what they did with regards to the child, and children Dawn and Joe attempted to adopt.
I do not feel it is, or was the Kazakhstan’s government’s responsibility to correct the wrongs done to Dawn and Joe by AIP and their staff.
However the government of Kazakhstan did as a country, listen to Dawn and Joe’s issues, investigated their claims, and took positive steps to assist Dawn and Joe attempt to complete their adoption. By Dawns own admission Almat provided them with a contact person, and they were told their “boys” were still there and available for adoption. This information alone is more than any PAP gets from the Kazakhstan Government (Embassy) when attempting to adopt a child.
Again this is my opinion but the guarantee Dawn and Joe were looking for, they did receive from the Kazakhstan government in the form of the above information, and the name of a contact person provided by the government. International Adoption is by nature a leap of faith, knowing and having communication with Embassy Officials would have for me, made that leap a bit easier and crystal clear.
Slamming the government of Kazakhstan, Embassy Officials and Dr Natalia because of the actions and greed of AIP and it's in country staff is irresponsible, and unreasonable in my opinion. We the victims of AIP were lead to believe that the photo listed children we paid agency fee's to hold would be our children. WE signed contracts because we were given fraudulent information from AIP with assurances that conflicted with Kazakhstan law. Again this was not Kazakhstan or the Embassy Officials fault.
Dr Natalia lives in Kazakhstan and runs a baby house with limited resources. Her life, from what I saw first hand is devoted to the care of orphans. While I do not profess to know how she conducts business, I would venture to say that Dawn is not privy to that information either, and merely is stating her perception of her unique experience.
In closing, after my bittersweet experience of adopting from Kazakhstan through AIP, I will forever be grateful to this government for allowing the International Adoptions of her children. Kazakhstan laws governing adoption are fair and just.
The government did listen to, investigate and respond to Dawn and Joe’s issues. They have taken positive steps in an attempt to protect future PAP by regulating agencies and in country staff who are conducting the business of adoption. For this, future PAP owe Dawn and Joe a debt of gratitude. Because of their persistence the government of Kazakhstan set goals to insure a more transparent process which will better protect all involved in International Adoption.
In closing I pray in time Dawn and Joe find peace in knowing the pain they suffered was not in vain, as the new regulations promote and protect International Adoption from Kazakhstan.
http://quest2kaz.blogspot.com/
"Regarding Stephen and his brother (and the Kazak Embassy): If you adopted from Kaz and you only want to hear nice things about the country, please stop reading at this point. Joe and I feel nothing but disgust for all of the people in Kazakhstan that we dealt with throughout our adoption (with the caregivers and our drivers being the only exceptions.) The people we have dealt with have been apathetic and downright cruel. We resent that they asked us to meet with them in July and tore open the scab that was forming over our hearts by telling us the boys are available and that they were going to do "everything possible" to help us adopt them. I nearly cancelled our IVF procedure and thank God that in the end we did not.
Almat (Head of the Consular Section), as you saw from the e-mails I posted, barely answered our questions and recently his help - that was supposed to be "everything possible" - in reality - turned into giving us a contact person who could help us with the adoption. We did not need a contact person - we needed a swift acting Embassy official to insure our safety and complete this adoption a.s.a.p. so these boys could have a chance at life. Sadly, the Embassy had no intention of offering any "substantial" assistance and only proved my first assumption correct: It was all just lip service. Now, they can say "We met with the De Lorenzo's and offered assistance." They can use this quote to answer any reporters who question why they did not step up to the plate. Every single one of the people we dealt with, who had it within their power to help and didn't, make us sick to our stomachs.
Some people say "Oh, you can only blame Orson Mozes and his wife who is the co-owner and Executive Director and nobody else." Orson and Christen are, of course, the only reason we were in this mess to begin with. However, there are many who could have, and should have, helped to make things right once it was apparent that Orson was working with corrupt people on the Kazak end. It is outrageous that Nigmat is still abusing people and that Dr. Natalia, the Director of the Baby House - as well as Almagul are all still going about their evil business while the Embassy is FULLY AWARE of what they are doing! It is shameful. Lastly, I think it needs to be made very CLEAR to PAPs that Heritage Adoptions is using Nigmat. I am sure other agencies are as well, but Heritage is the one I know for sure is using him. BE VERY WEARY!"
I start this post out with my most sincere thanks to God for the miracle of pregnancy God has granted to Dawn and Joe. After all the pain they have suffered on their journey to become parents, their prayers are soon to be answered with the birth of their first child this coming May. Congratulations and may the pain you experienced on your adoption journey be replaced with the lifetime of joy that awaits you both in May.
While Dawn and I have had numerous conversations over the past year or so, I don’t think she will be surprised to read a response to her most recent post on this blog. Dawn and I definitely have a difference of opinion about the government of Kazakhstan and the above post as far as I am concerned cannot go unchallenged, although I do understand Dawn does have a right to her opinion.
Being all comments must be approved by Dawn on her blog, I felt compelled to comment here on my blog. While I do not accept any anonymous comments, I will allow opinions here but not attacks.
I can and do empathize with the absolute agony Dawn and Joe experienced while attempting to adopt from Kazakhstan thru Adoption International Program which was owned and operated by Orson Mozes and Christian Brown.
It is my opinion that Dawn and Joe were victims, as were many others, of an unethical adoption agency who engaged in illegal practices here in the USA.
The government of Kazakhstan is not however, in the adoption business. Thankfully they are gracious enough to allow foreigners to adopt their children. For this I will be forever grateful, and stand vigilant to protect Kazakhstan against what I believe is a biased attack on her government and embassy officials with regards to their role in this issue.
For what its worth, the following is my opinion.
Orson Mozes, Christian Brown and AIP are solely responsible for the reprehensible experience Dawn and Joe suffered through attempting to adopt a child from Kazakhstan. However Joe and Dawn freely chose AIP and did not consult with the Kazakhstan government before signing that contract and paying the fee’s AIP charged both in the USA and in country. Kazakhstan and the Embassy should not be held accountable for one's poor choice of an adoption agency here in the USA.
The laws governing adoption in Kazakhstan are and were in place. They are specific and clear. The government of Kazakhstan has the responsibility to uphold their laws and it is my opinion that is exactly what they did with regards to the child, and children Dawn and Joe attempted to adopt.
I do not feel it is, or was the Kazakhstan’s government’s responsibility to correct the wrongs done to Dawn and Joe by AIP and their staff.
However the government of Kazakhstan did as a country, listen to Dawn and Joe’s issues, investigated their claims, and took positive steps to assist Dawn and Joe attempt to complete their adoption. By Dawns own admission Almat provided them with a contact person, and they were told their “boys” were still there and available for adoption. This information alone is more than any PAP gets from the Kazakhstan Government (Embassy) when attempting to adopt a child.
Again this is my opinion but the guarantee Dawn and Joe were looking for, they did receive from the Kazakhstan government in the form of the above information, and the name of a contact person provided by the government. International Adoption is by nature a leap of faith, knowing and having communication with Embassy Officials would have for me, made that leap a bit easier and crystal clear.
Slamming the government of Kazakhstan, Embassy Officials and Dr Natalia because of the actions and greed of AIP and it's in country staff is irresponsible, and unreasonable in my opinion. We the victims of AIP were lead to believe that the photo listed children we paid agency fee's to hold would be our children. WE signed contracts because we were given fraudulent information from AIP with assurances that conflicted with Kazakhstan law. Again this was not Kazakhstan or the Embassy Officials fault.
Dr Natalia lives in Kazakhstan and runs a baby house with limited resources. Her life, from what I saw first hand is devoted to the care of orphans. While I do not profess to know how she conducts business, I would venture to say that Dawn is not privy to that information either, and merely is stating her perception of her unique experience.
In closing, after my bittersweet experience of adopting from Kazakhstan through AIP, I will forever be grateful to this government for allowing the International Adoptions of her children. Kazakhstan laws governing adoption are fair and just.
The government did listen to, investigate and respond to Dawn and Joe’s issues. They have taken positive steps in an attempt to protect future PAP by regulating agencies and in country staff who are conducting the business of adoption. For this, future PAP owe Dawn and Joe a debt of gratitude. Because of their persistence the government of Kazakhstan set goals to insure a more transparent process which will better protect all involved in International Adoption.
In closing I pray in time Dawn and Joe find peace in knowing the pain they suffered was not in vain, as the new regulations promote and protect International Adoption from Kazakhstan.
Friday, July 25, 2008
And now back to the rewind... We Boarded that Flight
With Chris's confidence we boarded our flight some seven and a half hours after saying that prayer in our driveway. We were finally on our way. Germany, Almaty, Ust Kamenogorsk here we come...
The flight to Germany was long, and the realization that we were leaving the USA hit hard when all communications from the pilot and flight crew were first given in German and then the English translation followed. This was our first flight over seas, each moment and experience an adventure. Until now we didn't factor in the anxiety we would experience not being able to understand or speak the language. A humbling experience to say the least.
We settled into the small uncomfortable seats, and eventually sleep came. After arriving in Germany, and a 3 hour layover we boarded the next flight to Almaty which would land at midnight Almaty time.
As we spent many hours on the plane, I continued to journal to a child who's face had changed 4 times in 14 months and now was replaced with a blur of total uncertainty. This was the epitome of blind faith. As the hours passed and the barrage of thoughts continued to inhabit my consciousness, just as a storm ravaged ocean churns, when the storm passes and waters calm, clarity emerges. During our flights to Ust Kamenogorsk the clarity that emerged for me was, we had weathered our storm, and the love in my heart was prepared to love what ever child would be presented to us.
My journal began the year before, as my first gift to my daughter. I wanted her to have a sense of who I was, and how I felt about her before she entered my life. Because she was adopted I wanted her to have a glimpse into what the journey to her had entailed. The only way I knew to convey these emotions and events were to keep a journal. I prayed my words, which would be read by my daughter many years after they were written, would be a comfort to her when, intellect collides with emotions as she ponders her life story.
Today as I re read my journal entries written just 2 years ago, and I relive each twist, and turn, and tear that culminated into great joy, the journal itself documents Gods presence throughout our journey and just how miraculous his blessings are. We all, including our daughter came to experience how relinquishing control, and accepting Gods plan in faith, sustains you during some of the most painful moments of loss and profound uncertainty.
Next stop Almaty Kazakhstan at midnight.....
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The elephant in the room
Before the TV segment about Orson Mozes and AIP air's on AMW, we just wanted to let all who are following this blog be aware, we did submit to the shows producer alot of video and still photo's we have that tell our adoption story. Aside from video's and photos of our family, we included all 4 referral photos and video Orson sent to us of baby 749 (our first referral). We also submitted the investigative report done by Sarah Wallace,(which can be found on this blog in an earlier post) and both of our blog addresses. We have no idea what the producers will or will not use, or how they are going to develop the story line.
Accusations of exploitation were posted online by the Sapp's on their blog after the investigative report aired, and it is our opinion, while these accusations were directed at us and Sarah Wallace, the true culprit was Orson Mozes. The Sapp family in our opinion, were also victims of Orson Mozes and his bait and switch practices. We were always supportive of the Sapp's during their adoption of baby 749, as you have come to see and read about in this blog. Unfortunately as our story is truthfully told in its entirety and the evidence presented, the Sapp's are very much a part of our story. There is no way around it.
So, in preparation of even bigger TV exposure we again reiterate, we are telling our story in an effort to help bring to justice Orson Mozes, the man who perpetrated these crimes against us, and many innocent adoptive parents. While uncomfortable for some, we believe it our moral responsibility to see justice served. Both the Sapp and the Young families, by the grace of God, and in spite of Orson Mozes experienced miracles and adopted the children God planned for us.
Many other AIP clients did not. It is for these families, we chose to go public. If and when Orson Mozes is brought to justice, a very loud message will be sent to the adoption community, that in the USA, illegal adoption practices will not be tolerated. Adoptive parents who join hands, bear witness, and fight corruption have a powerful voice.
Our ultimate goal is to set a precedent in the courtroom to protect future perspective parents from the types of crimes perpetrated by Orson Mozes.
Accusations of exploitation were posted online by the Sapp's on their blog after the investigative report aired, and it is our opinion, while these accusations were directed at us and Sarah Wallace, the true culprit was Orson Mozes. The Sapp family in our opinion, were also victims of Orson Mozes and his bait and switch practices. We were always supportive of the Sapp's during their adoption of baby 749, as you have come to see and read about in this blog. Unfortunately as our story is truthfully told in its entirety and the evidence presented, the Sapp's are very much a part of our story. There is no way around it.
So, in preparation of even bigger TV exposure we again reiterate, we are telling our story in an effort to help bring to justice Orson Mozes, the man who perpetrated these crimes against us, and many innocent adoptive parents. While uncomfortable for some, we believe it our moral responsibility to see justice served. Both the Sapp and the Young families, by the grace of God, and in spite of Orson Mozes experienced miracles and adopted the children God planned for us.
Many other AIP clients did not. It is for these families, we chose to go public. If and when Orson Mozes is brought to justice, a very loud message will be sent to the adoption community, that in the USA, illegal adoption practices will not be tolerated. Adoptive parents who join hands, bear witness, and fight corruption have a powerful voice.
Our ultimate goal is to set a precedent in the courtroom to protect future perspective parents from the types of crimes perpetrated by Orson Mozes.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
America's Most Wanted
Just a quick post with some news.
I have just received word that the Executive Producer of America's Most Wanted has approved a segment to be televised on Orson Mozes.
The world just got a whole lot smaller for Orson as he is a fugitive right now.
When I have an aire date I will post it here.
I am sure it will take a few months to put together but many of Orson's victims are working together with the producer on this project to see that justice is served.
We all are looking to the day that Orson Mozes and AIP are held accountable.
Below is just a portion of the message Robert Brown AMW Producer posted on the Stop Orson Mozes Yahoo Board. If anyone reading this blog has anything to contribute you can either email me, or go directly to AMW.Com with your information.
"I just wanted to let everyone here know that after speaking with my
Executive Producer yesterday, the Orson Mozes fugitive segment has
been approved for production...which is great news!! My hope is to
have something for sweeps in November and there's early talk of
doing some kind of re-enactment to build Orson's evil backstory."
I have just received word that the Executive Producer of America's Most Wanted has approved a segment to be televised on Orson Mozes.
The world just got a whole lot smaller for Orson as he is a fugitive right now.
When I have an aire date I will post it here.
I am sure it will take a few months to put together but many of Orson's victims are working together with the producer on this project to see that justice is served.
We all are looking to the day that Orson Mozes and AIP are held accountable.
Below is just a portion of the message Robert Brown AMW Producer posted on the Stop Orson Mozes Yahoo Board. If anyone reading this blog has anything to contribute you can either email me, or go directly to AMW.Com with your information.
"I just wanted to let everyone here know that after speaking with my
Executive Producer yesterday, the Orson Mozes fugitive segment has
been approved for production...which is great news!! My hope is to
have something for sweeps in November and there's early talk of
doing some kind of re-enactment to build Orson's evil backstory."
Saturday, July 5, 2008
July 11, 2008 Both Blogs Meet
Below is the post from our first blog written the night before we left NY for Kazakhstan. Our excitement and hope are what we chose to cling to and share online. What we didn't reveal, was the content of a phone call I received from Orson Mozes while running last minute errands before our departure.
No, he wasn't calling with last minute instructions and congratulatory words to send us off. The message he delivered, and the tone in which he delivered it, quelled our excitement and again tested our faith. We were now at strike three. Orson informed me that baby 1011 our third referral, was no longer available. I had to pull off the road because the tears were blinding. The stress, the disappointment and the impending departure just 24 hours later to a place halfway around the world to adopt a child who's face had changed 3 times in a matter of 14 months began to take its toll. I entertained just giving up, and ending this emotional limbo we had been living in. I couldn't help but tell Orson that seeing his name on my caller ID always caused an immediate wave of extreme anxiety. He half chuckled, and said but Ann when you get home look on your computer, I sent another equally beautiful girl. Call me after you see her, you will be happy. Trust me.
Trust him. Isn't that what got us here to begin with? I felt completely responsible for this roller coaster of a ride we were all on, and thoughts of an unhappy ending loomed big. I became emotionally overwhelmed to the point I told Orson I had to go, and for the first time I didn't thank him as I hung up the phone.
When I arrived home and entered the house, Chris and Christopher took one look at me and their excitement turned immediately to concern. Mom whats wrong? Ann what's up? My heart broke yet again to deliver for the third time, the news. She's gone. Orson called. She's no longer available. There was silence. A brief silence, until Christopher asked "so what happens now?" Well, Orson said to check the computer as he sent another referral. I just don't think we should get our hopes up. I am really afraid this is not going to end well. My husband said "we have come this far, lets just see it through". Go check the computer.
So together we looked at referral number 4.
Orson was right, she was a beautiful little girl
but I was none the less very sad. My confidence shaky and my faith faltering.
Chris and Christopher appeared less affected by this latest loss as we did discuss at length since losing Natalia, that we wouldn't fall in love with a picture again. We would wait for the child in the flesh. To me, that advise sounded all fine and good but, I just couldn't do it. I fell in love with all 3 and I was sure, so had they. I think they wanted to appear strong for my sake. So back to packing we went, although silently I continued to have huge reservations about even getting on that plane.
Sleep for me, was difficult that night. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were in the scam of our lives, and we were continuing on a journey that so far felt more like a night mare than the miracle we anticipated when Orson told us "I can hold this child for you". I tossed and turned and listened to Chris snore. I was thankful to God for the man I called my husband. If I had to be in the scam of my life I was glad to be sharing it with him, because no matter what happened we would survive.
We were up at dawn and the excitement began anew, just as it had when we first accepted Natalia into our hearts. We were going to Kazakhstan to meet our daughter.
So with bags packed, tickets/documents in hand and 7000.00 dollars in brand new bills divided between us in money belts, we entered the town car that would be taking us to JFK for a 9pm flight.
As we do with all trips, prior to leaving the driveway we joined hands and prayed. We asked God to guide us on this journey, to keep us safe and give us the grace to accept his plan no matter what that may be. In Jesus name Amen. We turned to the driver and said OK we can go now.
The ride to the airport lasted an hour. Its amazing how conversation jumps around when everyone is excited beyond belief. We did manage not to forget anything.
Unfortunately I packed so well it cost an additional 75 dollars to check the bags. We would be lighter on the return trip because in the suit cases were gifts I bought to give to whom ever we met along the journey to our daughter, who touched our hearts.
After check in, we learned there would be a 2 hour delay. So we perused the airport and found a place to have dinner and celebrate our trip so far.
After dinner and just before boarding, I decided to call Orson one last time. I just needed to know if there were any new developments, so with trembling hands I dialed his number. When he answered right away I wanted to hang up. He must have said hello 2-3 times before I spoke.
Orson it's Ann. We are at JFK just about to board our flight. I wanted to check to see if anything had changed since yesterday.
There was an awkward silence.
"Ann I don't know what is going on over there".
"Orson what does that mean". "Is there a child there for us?"
"Ann I am not sure what child you will get".
Great. Thanks again Orson. I hung up.
I told Chris what Orson said. Then I said "Chris I think maybe we should pull the plug". I am not very confident. I don't mind losing the time and the money but you having to give up your racing and a shot at the championship for a scam is to much for me to handle."
To this day I will never forget Chris's response.
"Ann our daughter is there. We are going."
7/11/2006
Twas the night before Christmas
In our home tonight we feel a celebration beginning. Our miracle is starting to unfold. Our family and friends are acutely aware that something wonderful is about to happen and we feel the presence of God because of their love and support for us.
I headed this post Twas the night before Christmas because the excitement and joy we are experiencing tonight is much like that of child on Christmas Eve.
It truly is by the grace of God that we will be blessed with a precious gift, our daughter. Our prayer is to be worthy of this precious gift. We have been waiting for 14 months for this moment and we know our lives will be forever changed because of an innocent child. We want to share this joy with those who are following our journey via this blog.
Our flight is tomorrow and we will be in Ust Kamenogorsk by Thursday. I will try and post as often as possible.
To those who have gone before us : Chris and Michelle, Steve and Terry, Amy and Anthony, Candy, Jason and Melissa, Tim and Nell, John and Dotty and Marc and Pam. We thank you all for sharing your experiences with us thru your blogs. You have provided the light to guide us on this journey and we will be forever grateful. Although we have never met each of you have become a part of our adoption miracle.
No, he wasn't calling with last minute instructions and congratulatory words to send us off. The message he delivered, and the tone in which he delivered it, quelled our excitement and again tested our faith. We were now at strike three. Orson informed me that baby 1011 our third referral, was no longer available. I had to pull off the road because the tears were blinding. The stress, the disappointment and the impending departure just 24 hours later to a place halfway around the world to adopt a child who's face had changed 3 times in a matter of 14 months began to take its toll. I entertained just giving up, and ending this emotional limbo we had been living in. I couldn't help but tell Orson that seeing his name on my caller ID always caused an immediate wave of extreme anxiety. He half chuckled, and said but Ann when you get home look on your computer, I sent another equally beautiful girl. Call me after you see her, you will be happy. Trust me.
Trust him. Isn't that what got us here to begin with? I felt completely responsible for this roller coaster of a ride we were all on, and thoughts of an unhappy ending loomed big. I became emotionally overwhelmed to the point I told Orson I had to go, and for the first time I didn't thank him as I hung up the phone.
When I arrived home and entered the house, Chris and Christopher took one look at me and their excitement turned immediately to concern. Mom whats wrong? Ann what's up? My heart broke yet again to deliver for the third time, the news. She's gone. Orson called. She's no longer available. There was silence. A brief silence, until Christopher asked "so what happens now?" Well, Orson said to check the computer as he sent another referral. I just don't think we should get our hopes up. I am really afraid this is not going to end well. My husband said "we have come this far, lets just see it through". Go check the computer.
So together we looked at referral number 4.
Orson was right, she was a beautiful little girl
Chris and Christopher appeared less affected by this latest loss as we did discuss at length since losing Natalia, that we wouldn't fall in love with a picture again. We would wait for the child in the flesh. To me, that advise sounded all fine and good but, I just couldn't do it. I fell in love with all 3 and I was sure, so had they. I think they wanted to appear strong for my sake. So back to packing we went, although silently I continued to have huge reservations about even getting on that plane.
Sleep for me, was difficult that night. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were in the scam of our lives, and we were continuing on a journey that so far felt more like a night mare than the miracle we anticipated when Orson told us "I can hold this child for you". I tossed and turned and listened to Chris snore. I was thankful to God for the man I called my husband. If I had to be in the scam of my life I was glad to be sharing it with him, because no matter what happened we would survive.
We were up at dawn and the excitement began anew, just as it had when we first accepted Natalia into our hearts. We were going to Kazakhstan to meet our daughter.
So with bags packed, tickets/documents in hand and 7000.00 dollars in brand new bills divided between us in money belts, we entered the town car that would be taking us to JFK for a 9pm flight.
As we do with all trips, prior to leaving the driveway we joined hands and prayed. We asked God to guide us on this journey, to keep us safe and give us the grace to accept his plan no matter what that may be. In Jesus name Amen. We turned to the driver and said OK we can go now.
The ride to the airport lasted an hour. Its amazing how conversation jumps around when everyone is excited beyond belief. We did manage not to forget anything.
Unfortunately I packed so well it cost an additional 75 dollars to check the bags. We would be lighter on the return trip because in the suit cases were gifts I bought to give to whom ever we met along the journey to our daughter, who touched our hearts.
After check in, we learned there would be a 2 hour delay. So we perused the airport and found a place to have dinner and celebrate our trip so far.
After dinner and just before boarding, I decided to call Orson one last time. I just needed to know if there were any new developments, so with trembling hands I dialed his number. When he answered right away I wanted to hang up. He must have said hello 2-3 times before I spoke.
Orson it's Ann. We are at JFK just about to board our flight. I wanted to check to see if anything had changed since yesterday.
There was an awkward silence.
"Ann I don't know what is going on over there".
"Orson what does that mean". "Is there a child there for us?"
"Ann I am not sure what child you will get".
Great. Thanks again Orson. I hung up.
I told Chris what Orson said. Then I said "Chris I think maybe we should pull the plug". I am not very confident. I don't mind losing the time and the money but you having to give up your racing and a shot at the championship for a scam is to much for me to handle."
To this day I will never forget Chris's response.
"Ann our daughter is there. We are going."
7/11/2006
Twas the night before Christmas
In our home tonight we feel a celebration beginning. Our miracle is starting to unfold. Our family and friends are acutely aware that something wonderful is about to happen and we feel the presence of God because of their love and support for us.
I headed this post Twas the night before Christmas because the excitement and joy we are experiencing tonight is much like that of child on Christmas Eve.
It truly is by the grace of God that we will be blessed with a precious gift, our daughter. Our prayer is to be worthy of this precious gift. We have been waiting for 14 months for this moment and we know our lives will be forever changed because of an innocent child. We want to share this joy with those who are following our journey via this blog.
Our flight is tomorrow and we will be in Ust Kamenogorsk by Thursday. I will try and post as often as possible.
To those who have gone before us : Chris and Michelle, Steve and Terry, Amy and Anthony, Candy, Jason and Melissa, Tim and Nell, John and Dotty and Marc and Pam. We thank you all for sharing your experiences with us thru your blogs. You have provided the light to guide us on this journey and we will be forever grateful. Although we have never met each of you have become a part of our adoption miracle.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
We applaud the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Below is a bulletin released by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States.
It is my opinion that because of the resolve of many former AIP clients, and other victims of unscrupulous adoption agencies, the Embassy has embraced the need for change. In an effort to make the international adoption process from Kazakhstan transparent, the Embassy has briefly outlined in this bulletin the steps they will be putting in place to facilitate change. Having experienced some of the painful effects of an unscrupulous agency, I wanted to applaud and support the Embassy's efforts at adoption reform. Steps defined in this bulletin when implemented, will serve to promote international adoption and protect orphans and the perspective adoptive parents who open their hearts to them.
I felt it my responsibility to support these efforts and below is the email I sent the Embassy expressing that support. I have also posted the Embassy's response to my email.
If you are reading this blog and have adopted from Kazakhstan please, join me and many other adoptive parents in supporting the Embassy's efforts at adoption reform. Contact email addresses and phone numbers can be found in the bulletin. Take a moment and communicate your opinions and suggestions. We can all be a part of, and participate in the adoption reform solution.
----------------------------------------------------------
Kazakhstan
News Bulletin
Released by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States
of America
1401 16 Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
Tel.: (202)232-5488 Fax: (202)232-5845
E-mail: washington@kazakhembus.com
Web-site: www.kazakhembus.com
Special Issue No 7, June 20, 2008
Information Note
on international adoption from Kazakhstan
The Government of Kazakhstan is committed to monitoring the process of
international adoption in Kazakhstan as well as keeping a close eye on the
living conditions of adopted Kazakh children abroad. Kazakhstan considers
adoption to be one of the best forms of tutelage for children who for any
reason lack parental care, although the priority is given to biological
parents or, in their absence, to child's relatives. If a child cannot be
adopted by its relatives, adoption by Kazakhstan citizens is the next
preferred option. And if that is also not possible, only then can a Kazakh
child be adopted by foreign families.
As the economic well-being in Kazakhstan continues to grow, the number of
domestic adoptions in the country is increasing, whereas the number of
international adoptions is falling correspondingly.
Since the Marriage and Family Code was enacted in 1999, 30,184 children
have been adopted in Kazakhstan; of that number 23,012 children have been
adopted by Kazakhstan citizens, 6,791 by foreign citizens and 281 by
relatives from abroad.
The United States is by far the most popular destination for adopted
children from Kazakhstan (in 2000-2007 American families adopted more than
5,000 Kazakh kids, with highest number of US adoptions in 2004). In 2007
Embassy of Kazakhstan to the US registered 515 American families intending
to adopt Kazakh children.
The Consular Section of the Embassy of Kazakhstan closely monitors the
international adoption in Kazakhstan by US citizens as well as the living
conditions of Kazakh kids.
The step-by-step process of international adoption in Kazakhstan is
briefly as follows:
Future parents wishing to adopt a Kazakh child contract with a duly
licensed agency to collect all the required documents and prepare a
dossier which should be submitted to the Consular Section of the Embassy
of Kazakhstan. Having checked and verified all the documents (which takes
up to one month) the Embassy sends the dossier to the Foreign Ministry
where the processing procedures also last for about a month. Afterwards,
the dossier goes to the Education Ministry which, after another month-long
procedure, passes it to proper regional agencies (Education Departments
and orphanages) and their review of the dossier takes up to one month.
Having received a positive feedback from the regional agencies the Embassy
issues a special visa for parents-to-be (visa category - private, purpose
of travel - adoption). Such a visa can be issued only by invitation of
Kazakhstan's Education Ministry or a regional Education Department.
Traveling to Kazakhstan for adoption purposes with any other kind of visa
(e.g. tourist, business) is strictly prohibited.
All in all, processing of a dossier in proper Kazakh agencies can take up
to 5 months. In Kazakhstan, prospective adoptive parents must personally
choose their future child and spend at least two weeks with him/her to get
to know each other closer and learn the child's personality and habits.
The final decision on adoption of a child is then taken by a Kazakh court
based on the application submitted by the prospective parents. Adoption
cases are considered by courts on an ad hoc basis in accordance with
Kazakhstan's civil procedural law.
After a proper court order is issued, a registrar's office and migration
police issue the adoption and birth certificates and a Kazakh passport for
the adopted child.
Fees payable to Kazakh agencies in the course of the adoption process are
as follows:
The Consular Section of the Embassy charges up to $180 per dossier for
consular registration (issuing a certificate to confirm registration,
attesting translation and documents in the dossier). State agencies in
Kazakhstan charge no fee for dossier processing. There could be some
expenses for issuing the power of attorney for the parents' representative
in Kazakhstan; consular fee for a new passport for the adopted child as
well as the registration fee at the Consular Department of the Foreign
Ministry (all in all, about 12,000 tenges or $100). Besides, there are
also some legal expenses related to court proceedings, which are quite
reasonable. Parents may make a voluntary financial donation to the
orphanage if they choose to do so.
One of the main principles of adoption in Kazakhstan is the protection of
the rights and interests of both adopted children and adopting parents.
Kazakhstan recognizes the important role played in the adoption process by
such facilitators as duly licensed adoption agencies, but firmly believes
that these agencies have no right to make commercial profit through the
genuinely noble and humane process of adoption.
According to Kazakh legislation, to adopt a child, foreign citizens are
allowed to work with a representative (coordinator) in Kazakhstan, whose
rights and obligations are defined by Kazakh laws.
Our review of the current system of adoption of Kazakh children by
American citizens has revealed a number of problems which may lead to
violation of the humane principles of adoption. One of the main reasons
for such a situation is that, unlike in other countries, in the United
States there is no single authorized government agency which would oversee
the entire process of adoption, including the control over annual reports
on the living conditions of adopted children. The main players on this
field are numerous duly licensed private (not-for-profit) US adoption
agencies.
Usually, American citizens wishing to adopt Kazakh children refer to such
adoption agencies for assistance and sign contracts with them. The Embassy
has found out that in many cases parents pay upfront 50 percent of the
overall agency fee only for preliminary consultations on a Kazakh adoption
(in average, overall fees could be more than $25,000) and the most part of
the sum is non-refundable.
We have learned about some cases of unscrupulous behavior by some agencies.
For example, there have been situations where parents had to collect and
prepare all the necessary documents themselves and the agencies simply
provided them with the list of documents for a dossier which is posted and
easily accessible on the website of the Embassy of Kazakhstan.
It seems also that some adoption agencies are trying to make undue
commercial profits by dealing with such routine matters as consular
registration, documents translation and processing, and sometimes agencies
even try to gain benefits from changing the region in Kazakhstan where a
child is going to be adopted from. For instance, one agency put in its
contract a $840 charge for consular registration with the Embassy of
Kazakhstan, whereas the Consular Section of the Embassy charges no more
than $180 for the registration (the Embassy does not charge American
Parents any other fees). Besides, the contract says that the "family
understands that fees related to the adoption process abroad might be
changed and are out of Agency's control. Therefore, the Agency does not
take responsibility for such changes and is not liable for additional
expenses." Such a provision makes it possible for the agency to charge
extra fees for alleged
"fast-tracking" of adoption process in Kazakhstan.
Analysis of documents submitted by various agencies showed that some of
them deliberately concealed invalid data and ill-validated documents in
dossiers to speed up registration with the Consular Section of the
Embassy. For instance, one dossier contained a forged copy of doctor's
license; there were other forged documents. Some agencies even tried to
use unethical methods to "fast-track" registration with the Consular
Section.
We also have learned that some agencies made attempts to "monopolize" the
international adoption for US citizens in Kazakhstan and even threatened
other agencies that if they did not start working under their aegis, these
agencies' activity in Kazakhstan would be blocked through their
coordinators on the ground.
We believe that the reason for all the above shortcomings and violations
is the lack of transparency in the activity of a number of US adoption
agencies as well as in the lack of knowledge by American parents about the
adoption procedures in Kazakhstan, related fees and other expenses.
Therefore, it seems that adoption of Kazakh kids by American parents may
have become a source of undue commercial profits for some unscrupulous
agents, who abuse the humane principles of adoption enshrined in The Hague
Convention and Kazakh legislation.
Yet another negative aspect of the issue is that it mars Kazakhstan's
image as some agencies use the parents' lack of knowledge to present
adoption in Kazakhstan as a protracted and inefficient process full of
red-tape and corruption; and request additional expenses on behalf of
parents to "overcome" these obstacles. In other words, some agencies and
their coordinators in Kazakhstan abuse parents' willingness to pay "any
price" to adopt a child as soon as possible, and make undue profits. It is
worth repeating here once again that there are no major fees to be paid to
Kazakh government ministries or agencies in the process of adoption
(except for the above consular and registration fees at the Embassy and
the Foreign Ministry as well as minimal legal expenses).
Therefore, the Embassy has begun considering certain measures to optimize
and refine its work with US adoption agencies.
These measures are aimed at protecting the rights and interests of Kazakh
children and their adopting parents in the US as well as at maximizing the
transparency of the adoption process and eliminating loopholes for making
undue profits through the noble process of adoption.
In particular, we believe that these measures will help to optimize the
number of US adoption agencies willing and able to work efficiently on
behalf of American parents to adopt Kazakh kids. The main criteria for us
to evaluate the agencies will be their ability to supply the Embassy with
transparent information on the rules and procedures of their work with
adopting parents, fees and tariffs involved, as well as their commitment
to send to the Embassy regular post-adoption reports on adopted children
until they reach the age of 18 as required by Kazakh law.
We would like to emphasize that until the above complex work is completed
the Embassy will continue as normal receiving and processing adoption
documents from all agencies except for those that have seriously violated
ethical norms.
Authorities in Kazakhstan are also taking relevant steps to ensure
transparency in the work of coordinators on the ground who represent the
interests of American parents in the country and serve as their liaison
with Kazakh government agencies involved in the adoption process. Efforts
are being taken to create a databank of such coordinators.
We would also like to announce that the Parliament of Kazakhstan is
currently considering joining and ratifying the Hague Convention on
Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry
Adoption. Kazakhstan is also drafting a new Family and Marriage Code which
will also cover the issue of proper accreditation of foreign adoption
agencies' branches in Kazakhstan.
All these efforts will contribute to providing greater transparency,
fairness and order in Kazakhstan's cooperation with foreign partners
(including the US) on international adoption.
Our efforts are also aimed at eliminating the unacceptable and often
unscrupulous practice of "fast-tracking" documents in various Kazakh
agencies. We recognize that the adoption process is not swift but this is
justified by the high responsibility of adoption decisions. We hope for
understanding on behalf of parents and adoption agencies.
As a matter of principle, the Embassy has briefed the US State Department,
through Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizens Service Ms.
Michele Bond and Consular Affairs Bureau representative Mr. Gerry Fuller,
as well as the Joint Council on International Children's Services on the
situation around the adoption of Kazakh kids by American families.
We are glad that a friendly dialogue and mutual understanding have been
established with our American counterparts over this complicated issue.
Interestingly, a number of agencies reacted to our efforts in a
peculiar way.
The Embassy has a copy of an email message that has been circulated by an
agency to other agencies and parents stating that the Embassy is
groundlessly stonewalling the process of adoption. The message was written
in the form of an unambiguous instruction calling for maximum pressure on
the Embassy through a wave of complaints to various US institutions,
including US Embassy in Kazakhstan, Senators and Congressmen representing
the districts where parents and their agents reside.
The Embassy would like to point out that it won't yield to any kind of
pressure and firmly intends to implement its plans on streamlining and
improving the process of adoption in Kazakhstan by American parents. The
Embassy is fully open, however, to holding a face-to-face meeting with
adopting parents and adoption agencies to jointly look for ways of
providing maximum convenience for parents and full transparency of the
adoption process.
The Embassy would also welcome the creation of an association of American
parents who have adopted kids from Kazakhstan. Such an association could
be instrumental in assisting American parents to find better ways of
building relations with their Kazakh kids during the post-adoption period
and in many other ways.
In its next Information Note on international adoption the Embassy will
provide more information on adoption procedures as well as offer some
practical advice on cooperation with US adoption agencies working in
Kazakhstan and with their coordinators on the ground.
We will also offer a set of transparent criteria for adoption agencies
which will lay the basis for optimizing the list of most preferred
agencies that could be recommended to all American parents intending to
adopt children from Kazakhstan.
Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United States
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC, 20036
Tel: 202-232-5488
Fax: 202-232-5845
E-mail: washington@kazakhembus.com
Consulate of Kazakhstan in New York
305 East 47 street, 3rd floor,
New-York, NY 10017
Tel: 212-230-1900
email: kzconsulny@un.int
News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Contact person: Zhanbolat Ussenov
Tel.: 202-232-5488 ext 104; Fax: 202-232-5845
E-mail:zhan@kazakhembus.com
Web-site: www.kazakhembus.com
Zhanbolat Ussenov
Assistant to the Ambassador and Third Secretary for Press
Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United States of America
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC, 20036
Office: 202-232-5488 (ext 104)
E-mail: zhan@kazakhembus.com
Dear Sir,
After reading Special Issue No 7, June 20, 2008
Information Note on international adoption from Kazakhstan
I wanted to express my gratitude for your efforts of adoption reform here on the USA side of International Adoption from Kazakhstan. As we were victims of Orson Mozes/AIP and his illegal, immoral and unethical adoption practices, by the grace of God and the government of the country of Kazakhstan we were able to successfully adopt a wonderful daughter from Ust Kamenogorsk. We will forever remain thankful that the government of Kazakhstan granted us the privilege to adopt one of their children. In return we will teach our child all we can about her homeland. Already at the age of 3 when asked where she was born she proudly answers KAZAKHSTAN. Words cannot express how thankful we are for the miracle and subsequent joy we experienced in country, and will continue to experience raising our daughter.
Our stay in Kazakhstan without a doubt enriched our lives. Our coordinator Almagul, driver Bulat, translator Sveta and Ministry of Education representative Oksana were always professional and informative. The care our daughter received from the head doctor (Natalya) and all who cared for and loved her for the first 15 months of her life is still evident today, as she is healthy, intelligent, loving, and a well adjusted 3 year old who obviously is very special. Her smile lights up a room and she touches the heart of everyone she meets.
We gained a healthy respect for the Kazakhstan adoption process and the laws that govern said process. Kazakhstan adoption laws are clear, concise and do protect the interests of the child, the biological parents/family and the perspective adoptive parents, and rightfully in that order.
Orson Mozes did not educate us as to the adoption process/laws as it applies in Kazakhstan. When we called AIP because of a photo he listed on the Internet of a 7 month old baby girl available for adoption, Orson claimed he could "hold" this child for us if we paid his agency fee immediately. When we asked about the adoption process and the laws governing this process Orson claimed he had been doing International Adoptions for 15 years and this is how it is done. The only requirements he educated us on, were the collection of documents for the dossier and the mandatory 15 day wait after the judge grants the adoption. He told us this was the period we had to wait, and it was in place in case "we" changed our minds about the adoption. He was never truthful about the exact law of Kazakhstan. Laws we learned about only after Orson had collected his fee, and we discovered the child he claimed he would "hold for us" was adopted by another AIP client. In retrospect the laws of Kazakhstan are deserving of respect from all perspective adoptive parents and should have been respected and followed by Orson Mozes and incorporated into AIP's contract.
While we were given fraudulent information and claims from Orson Mozes/AIP during our adoption process, we in no way hold the government of Kazakhstan responsible for his actions and his victimization of us. Kazakhstan adoption law and the court that supervise and apply this law deserve the respect of US citizens who travel there with the hope to locate and adopt a child.
Your efforts to educate US citizens regarding laws governing adoption in Kazakhstan, will most definitely provide transparency to the process and should be applauded. Successful efforts to weed out unscrupulous USA adoption agencies and the developing a data base of "coordinators on the ground in Kazakhstan" will facilitate even greater transparency. These efforts combined, will serve to protect Kazakhstan orphans and American perspective adoptive parents who have the desire to adopt them.
We are committed to your efforts. Please feel free to contact us if you desire any assistance from us for your efforts at adoption reform.
Respectfully,
Ann and Chris Young
Many thanks for your kind words. Will pass your message on to Ambassador and Consul. All the best to you and your daughter.
Sincerely,
Zhanbolat
Zhanbolat Ussenov
Assistant to the Ambassador and Third Secretary for Press
Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United States of America
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC, 20036
Office: 202-232-5488 (ext 104)
E-mail: zhan@kazakhembus.com
It is my opinion that because of the resolve of many former AIP clients, and other victims of unscrupulous adoption agencies, the Embassy has embraced the need for change. In an effort to make the international adoption process from Kazakhstan transparent, the Embassy has briefly outlined in this bulletin the steps they will be putting in place to facilitate change. Having experienced some of the painful effects of an unscrupulous agency, I wanted to applaud and support the Embassy's efforts at adoption reform. Steps defined in this bulletin when implemented, will serve to promote international adoption and protect orphans and the perspective adoptive parents who open their hearts to them.
I felt it my responsibility to support these efforts and below is the email I sent the Embassy expressing that support. I have also posted the Embassy's response to my email.
If you are reading this blog and have adopted from Kazakhstan please, join me and many other adoptive parents in supporting the Embassy's efforts at adoption reform. Contact email addresses and phone numbers can be found in the bulletin. Take a moment and communicate your opinions and suggestions. We can all be a part of, and participate in the adoption reform solution.
----------------------------------------------------------
Kazakhstan
News Bulletin
Released by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States
of America
1401 16 Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
Tel.: (202)232-5488 Fax: (202)232-5845
E-mail: washington@kazakhembus.com
Web-site: www.kazakhembus.com
Special Issue No 7, June 20, 2008
Information Note
on international adoption from Kazakhstan
The Government of Kazakhstan is committed to monitoring the process of
international adoption in Kazakhstan as well as keeping a close eye on the
living conditions of adopted Kazakh children abroad. Kazakhstan considers
adoption to be one of the best forms of tutelage for children who for any
reason lack parental care, although the priority is given to biological
parents or, in their absence, to child's relatives. If a child cannot be
adopted by its relatives, adoption by Kazakhstan citizens is the next
preferred option. And if that is also not possible, only then can a Kazakh
child be adopted by foreign families.
As the economic well-being in Kazakhstan continues to grow, the number of
domestic adoptions in the country is increasing, whereas the number of
international adoptions is falling correspondingly.
Since the Marriage and Family Code was enacted in 1999, 30,184 children
have been adopted in Kazakhstan; of that number 23,012 children have been
adopted by Kazakhstan citizens, 6,791 by foreign citizens and 281 by
relatives from abroad.
The United States is by far the most popular destination for adopted
children from Kazakhstan (in 2000-2007 American families adopted more than
5,000 Kazakh kids, with highest number of US adoptions in 2004). In 2007
Embassy of Kazakhstan to the US registered 515 American families intending
to adopt Kazakh children.
The Consular Section of the Embassy of Kazakhstan closely monitors the
international adoption in Kazakhstan by US citizens as well as the living
conditions of Kazakh kids.
The step-by-step process of international adoption in Kazakhstan is
briefly as follows:
Future parents wishing to adopt a Kazakh child contract with a duly
licensed agency to collect all the required documents and prepare a
dossier which should be submitted to the Consular Section of the Embassy
of Kazakhstan. Having checked and verified all the documents (which takes
up to one month) the Embassy sends the dossier to the Foreign Ministry
where the processing procedures also last for about a month. Afterwards,
the dossier goes to the Education Ministry which, after another month-long
procedure, passes it to proper regional agencies (Education Departments
and orphanages) and their review of the dossier takes up to one month.
Having received a positive feedback from the regional agencies the Embassy
issues a special visa for parents-to-be (visa category - private, purpose
of travel - adoption). Such a visa can be issued only by invitation of
Kazakhstan's Education Ministry or a regional Education Department.
Traveling to Kazakhstan for adoption purposes with any other kind of visa
(e.g. tourist, business) is strictly prohibited.
All in all, processing of a dossier in proper Kazakh agencies can take up
to 5 months. In Kazakhstan, prospective adoptive parents must personally
choose their future child and spend at least two weeks with him/her to get
to know each other closer and learn the child's personality and habits.
The final decision on adoption of a child is then taken by a Kazakh court
based on the application submitted by the prospective parents. Adoption
cases are considered by courts on an ad hoc basis in accordance with
Kazakhstan's civil procedural law.
After a proper court order is issued, a registrar's office and migration
police issue the adoption and birth certificates and a Kazakh passport for
the adopted child.
Fees payable to Kazakh agencies in the course of the adoption process are
as follows:
The Consular Section of the Embassy charges up to $180 per dossier for
consular registration (issuing a certificate to confirm registration,
attesting translation and documents in the dossier). State agencies in
Kazakhstan charge no fee for dossier processing. There could be some
expenses for issuing the power of attorney for the parents' representative
in Kazakhstan; consular fee for a new passport for the adopted child as
well as the registration fee at the Consular Department of the Foreign
Ministry (all in all, about 12,000 tenges or $100). Besides, there are
also some legal expenses related to court proceedings, which are quite
reasonable. Parents may make a voluntary financial donation to the
orphanage if they choose to do so.
One of the main principles of adoption in Kazakhstan is the protection of
the rights and interests of both adopted children and adopting parents.
Kazakhstan recognizes the important role played in the adoption process by
such facilitators as duly licensed adoption agencies, but firmly believes
that these agencies have no right to make commercial profit through the
genuinely noble and humane process of adoption.
According to Kazakh legislation, to adopt a child, foreign citizens are
allowed to work with a representative (coordinator) in Kazakhstan, whose
rights and obligations are defined by Kazakh laws.
Our review of the current system of adoption of Kazakh children by
American citizens has revealed a number of problems which may lead to
violation of the humane principles of adoption. One of the main reasons
for such a situation is that, unlike in other countries, in the United
States there is no single authorized government agency which would oversee
the entire process of adoption, including the control over annual reports
on the living conditions of adopted children. The main players on this
field are numerous duly licensed private (not-for-profit) US adoption
agencies.
Usually, American citizens wishing to adopt Kazakh children refer to such
adoption agencies for assistance and sign contracts with them. The Embassy
has found out that in many cases parents pay upfront 50 percent of the
overall agency fee only for preliminary consultations on a Kazakh adoption
(in average, overall fees could be more than $25,000) and the most part of
the sum is non-refundable.
We have learned about some cases of unscrupulous behavior by some agencies.
For example, there have been situations where parents had to collect and
prepare all the necessary documents themselves and the agencies simply
provided them with the list of documents for a dossier which is posted and
easily accessible on the website of the Embassy of Kazakhstan.
It seems also that some adoption agencies are trying to make undue
commercial profits by dealing with such routine matters as consular
registration, documents translation and processing, and sometimes agencies
even try to gain benefits from changing the region in Kazakhstan where a
child is going to be adopted from. For instance, one agency put in its
contract a $840 charge for consular registration with the Embassy of
Kazakhstan, whereas the Consular Section of the Embassy charges no more
than $180 for the registration (the Embassy does not charge American
Parents any other fees). Besides, the contract says that the "family
understands that fees related to the adoption process abroad might be
changed and are out of Agency's control. Therefore, the Agency does not
take responsibility for such changes and is not liable for additional
expenses." Such a provision makes it possible for the agency to charge
extra fees for alleged
"fast-tracking" of adoption process in Kazakhstan.
Analysis of documents submitted by various agencies showed that some of
them deliberately concealed invalid data and ill-validated documents in
dossiers to speed up registration with the Consular Section of the
Embassy. For instance, one dossier contained a forged copy of doctor's
license; there were other forged documents. Some agencies even tried to
use unethical methods to "fast-track" registration with the Consular
Section.
We also have learned that some agencies made attempts to "monopolize" the
international adoption for US citizens in Kazakhstan and even threatened
other agencies that if they did not start working under their aegis, these
agencies' activity in Kazakhstan would be blocked through their
coordinators on the ground.
We believe that the reason for all the above shortcomings and violations
is the lack of transparency in the activity of a number of US adoption
agencies as well as in the lack of knowledge by American parents about the
adoption procedures in Kazakhstan, related fees and other expenses.
Therefore, it seems that adoption of Kazakh kids by American parents may
have become a source of undue commercial profits for some unscrupulous
agents, who abuse the humane principles of adoption enshrined in The Hague
Convention and Kazakh legislation.
Yet another negative aspect of the issue is that it mars Kazakhstan's
image as some agencies use the parents' lack of knowledge to present
adoption in Kazakhstan as a protracted and inefficient process full of
red-tape and corruption; and request additional expenses on behalf of
parents to "overcome" these obstacles. In other words, some agencies and
their coordinators in Kazakhstan abuse parents' willingness to pay "any
price" to adopt a child as soon as possible, and make undue profits. It is
worth repeating here once again that there are no major fees to be paid to
Kazakh government ministries or agencies in the process of adoption
(except for the above consular and registration fees at the Embassy and
the Foreign Ministry as well as minimal legal expenses).
Therefore, the Embassy has begun considering certain measures to optimize
and refine its work with US adoption agencies.
These measures are aimed at protecting the rights and interests of Kazakh
children and their adopting parents in the US as well as at maximizing the
transparency of the adoption process and eliminating loopholes for making
undue profits through the noble process of adoption.
In particular, we believe that these measures will help to optimize the
number of US adoption agencies willing and able to work efficiently on
behalf of American parents to adopt Kazakh kids. The main criteria for us
to evaluate the agencies will be their ability to supply the Embassy with
transparent information on the rules and procedures of their work with
adopting parents, fees and tariffs involved, as well as their commitment
to send to the Embassy regular post-adoption reports on adopted children
until they reach the age of 18 as required by Kazakh law.
We would like to emphasize that until the above complex work is completed
the Embassy will continue as normal receiving and processing adoption
documents from all agencies except for those that have seriously violated
ethical norms.
Authorities in Kazakhstan are also taking relevant steps to ensure
transparency in the work of coordinators on the ground who represent the
interests of American parents in the country and serve as their liaison
with Kazakh government agencies involved in the adoption process. Efforts
are being taken to create a databank of such coordinators.
We would also like to announce that the Parliament of Kazakhstan is
currently considering joining and ratifying the Hague Convention on
Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry
Adoption. Kazakhstan is also drafting a new Family and Marriage Code which
will also cover the issue of proper accreditation of foreign adoption
agencies' branches in Kazakhstan.
All these efforts will contribute to providing greater transparency,
fairness and order in Kazakhstan's cooperation with foreign partners
(including the US) on international adoption.
Our efforts are also aimed at eliminating the unacceptable and often
unscrupulous practice of "fast-tracking" documents in various Kazakh
agencies. We recognize that the adoption process is not swift but this is
justified by the high responsibility of adoption decisions. We hope for
understanding on behalf of parents and adoption agencies.
As a matter of principle, the Embassy has briefed the US State Department,
through Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizens Service Ms.
Michele Bond and Consular Affairs Bureau representative Mr. Gerry Fuller,
as well as the Joint Council on International Children's Services on the
situation around the adoption of Kazakh kids by American families.
We are glad that a friendly dialogue and mutual understanding have been
established with our American counterparts over this complicated issue.
Interestingly, a number of agencies reacted to our efforts in a
peculiar way.
The Embassy has a copy of an email message that has been circulated by an
agency to other agencies and parents stating that the Embassy is
groundlessly stonewalling the process of adoption. The message was written
in the form of an unambiguous instruction calling for maximum pressure on
the Embassy through a wave of complaints to various US institutions,
including US Embassy in Kazakhstan, Senators and Congressmen representing
the districts where parents and their agents reside.
The Embassy would like to point out that it won't yield to any kind of
pressure and firmly intends to implement its plans on streamlining and
improving the process of adoption in Kazakhstan by American parents. The
Embassy is fully open, however, to holding a face-to-face meeting with
adopting parents and adoption agencies to jointly look for ways of
providing maximum convenience for parents and full transparency of the
adoption process.
The Embassy would also welcome the creation of an association of American
parents who have adopted kids from Kazakhstan. Such an association could
be instrumental in assisting American parents to find better ways of
building relations with their Kazakh kids during the post-adoption period
and in many other ways.
In its next Information Note on international adoption the Embassy will
provide more information on adoption procedures as well as offer some
practical advice on cooperation with US adoption agencies working in
Kazakhstan and with their coordinators on the ground.
We will also offer a set of transparent criteria for adoption agencies
which will lay the basis for optimizing the list of most preferred
agencies that could be recommended to all American parents intending to
adopt children from Kazakhstan.
Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United States
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC, 20036
Tel: 202-232-5488
Fax: 202-232-5845
E-mail: washington@kazakhembus.com
Consulate of Kazakhstan in New York
305 East 47 street, 3rd floor,
New-York, NY 10017
Tel: 212-230-1900
email: kzconsulny@un.int
News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Contact person: Zhanbolat Ussenov
Tel.: 202-232-5488 ext 104; Fax: 202-232-5845
E-mail:zhan@kazakhembus.com
Web-site: www.kazakhembus.com
Zhanbolat Ussenov
Assistant to the Ambassador and Third Secretary for Press
Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United States of America
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC, 20036
Office: 202-232-5488 (ext 104)
E-mail:
Dear Sir,
After reading Special Issue No 7, June 20, 2008
Information Note on international adoption from Kazakhstan
I wanted to express my gratitude for your efforts of adoption reform here on the USA side of International Adoption from Kazakhstan. As we were victims of Orson Mozes/AIP and his illegal, immoral and unethical adoption practices, by the grace of God and the government of the country of Kazakhstan we were able to successfully adopt a wonderful daughter from Ust Kamenogorsk. We will forever remain thankful that the government of Kazakhstan granted us the privilege to adopt one of their children. In return we will teach our child all we can about her homeland. Already at the age of 3 when asked where she was born she proudly answers KAZAKHSTAN. Words cannot express how thankful we are for the miracle and subsequent joy we experienced in country, and will continue to experience raising our daughter.
Our stay in Kazakhstan without a doubt enriched our lives. Our coordinator Almagul, driver Bulat, translator Sveta and Ministry of Education representative Oksana were always professional and informative. The care our daughter received from the head doctor (Natalya) and all who cared for and loved her for the first 15 months of her life is still evident today, as she is healthy, intelligent, loving, and a well adjusted 3 year old who obviously is very special. Her smile lights up a room and she touches the heart of everyone she meets.
We gained a healthy respect for the Kazakhstan adoption process and the laws that govern said process. Kazakhstan adoption laws are clear, concise and do protect the interests of the child, the biological parents/family and the perspective adoptive parents, and rightfully in that order.
Orson Mozes did not educate us as to the adoption process/laws as it applies in Kazakhstan. When we called AIP because of a photo he listed on the Internet of a 7 month old baby girl available for adoption, Orson claimed he could "hold" this child for us if we paid his agency fee immediately. When we asked about the adoption process and the laws governing this process Orson claimed he had been doing International Adoptions for 15 years and this is how it is done. The only requirements he educated us on, were the collection of documents for the dossier and the mandatory 15 day wait after the judge grants the adoption. He told us this was the period we had to wait, and it was in place in case "we" changed our minds about the adoption. He was never truthful about the exact law of Kazakhstan. Laws we learned about only after Orson had collected his fee, and we discovered the child he claimed he would "hold for us" was adopted by another AIP client. In retrospect the laws of Kazakhstan are deserving of respect from all perspective adoptive parents and should have been respected and followed by Orson Mozes and incorporated into AIP's contract.
While we were given fraudulent information and claims from Orson Mozes/AIP during our adoption process, we in no way hold the government of Kazakhstan responsible for his actions and his victimization of us. Kazakhstan adoption law and the court that supervise and apply this law deserve the respect of US citizens who travel there with the hope to locate and adopt a child.
Your efforts to educate US citizens regarding laws governing adoption in Kazakhstan, will most definitely provide transparency to the process and should be applauded. Successful efforts to weed out unscrupulous USA adoption agencies and the developing a data base of "coordinators on the ground in Kazakhstan" will facilitate even greater transparency. These efforts combined, will serve to protect Kazakhstan orphans and American perspective adoptive parents who have the desire to adopt them.
We are committed to your efforts. Please feel free to contact us if you desire any assistance from us for your efforts at adoption reform.
Respectfully,
Ann and Chris Young
Many thanks for your kind words. Will pass your message on to Ambassador and Consul. All the best to you and your daughter.
Sincerely,
Zhanbolat
Zhanbolat Ussenov
Assistant to the Ambassador and Third Secretary for Press
Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United States of America
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC, 20036
Office: 202-232-5488 (ext 104)
E-mail: zhan@kazakhembus.com
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Adoption International Program/Orson mozes
We the victims of AIP will be vigilant until Orson Mozes is apprehended and held accountable.
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