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.