Most of the families with files at Canadian Immigration in Nairobi received updates today on their files, but Hayley Tarikua's file was not mentioned at all. I phoned CAFAC (my adoption agency) and no one knows if this is good or bad. CAFAC will try to get more information, but it is always challenging to get a response from Immigration so it could be awhile before I hear anything.
It seems that all of the updates that were received were not good news. Immigration is asking families for further documentation including such things as new sets of chest X-rays or papers from the Kebele (which is like a neighborhood council with some judicial power, see below for more info). Some families were also notified that they have now been chosen as a "random sample as part of their field investigation." This is a new addition to the process and is believed to be similar to the random screenings that happen at airport security.
I spoke at length with a representative at CAFAC and our impression is that Immigration has had a major shift in its dealings with the papers received in regard to Ethiopian adoption. Basically, it used to be that once the paperwork was in order, they would issue the Visa. Now they are investigating the paperwork itself in a way they never have before.
In light of this and because of the serious errors in the paperwork initially submitted to Immigration on Hayley Tariqua's behalf, Hayley and I are so off of the beaten path that it is really impossible to tell when her Visa will be issued. It could be next week, it could be a year from now. In the meantime the families who are log-jammed at Immigration are discussing ways to talk to politicians and/or the press to encourage Immigration to move a little more expeditiously.
It's been a difficult day. Emotions are running high with these families whose children are stuck and I am feeling it along with them. Hayley Tariqua and I have missed six months together because of these hold-ups. Six months at such a crucial time of development and bonding. It is heartbreaking.
I want to say a special thank you to my colleagues at work for not asking me about the status of the adoption. I know that you are all rooting for Hayley Tarikua and I and it made my unexpected return to work much easier to handle not to have to talk about the situation.
Keep Praying!
Love,
Tisha
----
From Wikipedia
A kebele (Amharic "neighbourhood") is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia similar to ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people. It is part of a woreda, or district, itself usually part of a Zone, which in turn are grouped into one of the Regions based on ethno-linguistic communities (or kililoch) that comprise the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.[1] Each kebele consists of at least five hundred families, or the equivalent of 3,500 to 4,000 persons. There is at least one in every town with more than 2,000 population. A keftanya, or representative, had jurisdiction over six to twelve kebeles.
