Page 30 - bon-dia-aruba-20200415

a30 feature
Wednesday 15 april 2020
Americans stuck in Africa trying to bring adopted kids home

By DAVID CRARY Yaounde, the capital of
AP National Writer Cameroon, waiting for the
Stranded in Nigeria for U.S. Embassy to issue visas
months, a Colorado cou- for 2-year-old twin girls they
ple had a rare chance to adopted in Chad in 2018.
catch an evacuation flight David Parker, 29, a former
to the U.S. recently during youth pastor at a church
the coronavirus outbreak. in Denver, North Carolina,
But they refused because and his wife, Michaela, 24,
they would have had to moved to Chad two years
leave behind their adopt- ago to serve as Christian
ed daughter, who has yet missionaries.
to get a U.S. visa. In January, the couple
"After we found our were told to come to Cam-
daughter and our daugh- eroon to complete the
ter found us, it was out of U.S. portion of the adop-
the question to leave her," tion process and get U.S.
Robin Gallite said. immigration visas for the
Gallite and her husband, girls, which the embassy in
Chad does not handle.
Because of the pandem-
ic, Parker says it has been
difficult to gather all the
This Sept. 13, 2019 photo provided by the family shows Adebambo Alli, left, Robin Gallite and their evidence that U.S. officials
adopted daughter, Adenike-Rae, at the Lekki Conservation Center in Nigeria. requested as part of their
Associated Press investigation. He's increas-
Adebambo Alli, who live in The adoption council says tough for Nike," Gallite said. ingly worried the delays will
Denver, are among several nearly all of the cases it's "The stress comes from try- endanger the health and
American families facing tracking are from Africa ing to figure out how to get safety of his family, which
similar predicaments as the — where many countries, home." includes a 6-month-old
pandemic disrupts travel including Nigeria, are not In the meantime, they're son, Philip, as well as twins
and slows the final steps part of the main interna- staying with Adebambo Ariella and Claira.
needed to bring home chil- tional convention on adop- Alli's sister. Alli, who was "Everything's basically
dren who were adopted tion and investigations can born in the U.S. to a Nige- shut down," Parker said by
abroad. take longer even under rian family, has worked in phone. "We don't know
The Virginia-based Na- normal circumstances. Colorado's energy industry when or if we're going to
tional Council for Adoption Gallite, 41, and Alli, 42, but now has no job and is be able to complete this."
says it is following dozens have been in Nigeria since trying to line one up from Like Gallite and Alli, the
of cases where the foreign last August, when they ar- Lagos. Gallite is supporting Parkers were told they
adoption is complete and rived to complete the the family by working re- could board a U.S.-bound
American parents are wait- adoption of a baby girl. A motely as deputy director evacuation flight with their
ing for their child to receive Nigerian judge signed off in of an arts center in Denver. biological son but would
a visa from the State De- November, but obtaining a Also stranded in Lagos — have to leave their daugh-
partment. U.S. visa has moved slowly with her nearly 9-month-old ters behind.
"We need to do the right and is now in deeper limbo adopted daughter Zoe — "For us, that's not an op-
thing and prioritize the because of virus-related is Ufuoma Sada of Colum- tion," said Parker, whose
health and safety of these shutdowns. bus, Ohio. family is now restricted to
families," council vice presi- While the couple delight Sada has been in Nige- a missionary compound in
dent Ryan Hanlon said. in their daughter's love for ria since September while Yaounde.q
The State Department says dancing and jumping, they her husband, Ebenezer,
foreign adoptions remain a ache to return to Denver works as an engineer in
priority but has told families with 17-month-old Ade- Ohio to keep the family
that with routine visa ser- nike-Rae — nicknamed afloat. Nigerian authorities
vices suspended during the Nike — and are frustrated approved the adoption
pandemic, their requests by the uncertainty of when in December, but Sada
for emergency visas may that might be possible. says she has faced delays
not be granted swiftly, if at "We're resilient people — and communication gaps
all. we have to be strong and as she tries to get the U.S.
Consulate to make prog-
ress on a visa for Zoe.
"We're now into the fourth
month, and nothing has
been done," said Sada,
who worries increasingly
about the COVID-19 out-
break in Nigeria and wants
U.S. authorities to expedite This Sept. 21, 2019 family
photo shows Michaela Parker
their return. holding her newborn son,
About 800 miles (more Philip; adopted twin daughters
than 1,200 kilometers) east Ariella, center, and Claira,
of Lagos, another Ameri- right, and father, David Parker,
can family is stranded in in N'Djamena, Chad.
Associated Press.