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So many viewers have written wanting to open their homes and offer Iraqi children new lives. Unfortunately, Iraqi lawyers, international child care agencies, officials at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and the U.S. State Department in Washington all tell us adoption is not possible. Here is why:
Iraqi laws/Islamic laws
Adoption is not allowed in Iraq for both religious and Islamic reasons. It is illegal for a foreigner to an adopt an Iraqi child. It is illegal for a non-Muslim to adopt a Muslim child.
Guardianship
What is allowed in Iraq is a system of guardianship, in which a family cares for an orphan without the child actually becoming a son or daughter. Currently, it is not permitted for a foreigner to become a legal guardian of an Iraqi child.
Wartime
Aid agencies, including UNICEF and the U.S. State Department, also discourage adoptions from countries in crisis because it is difficult to establish if children are in fact orphans, or have just been separated from living relatives because of the chaos of war.
What to do
Most aid groups working with children tell us the best way to help orphans in countries in crisis is to try to place them with their extended families and provide those families the financial support and training to care for the children. UNICEF has agreed to earmark all donations it receives as a result of our story for this type of program in Iraq. Click here to visit their Web site.
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Cervical cancer
Richard, is it possible for you to post an address to the orphanage so that people can send letters to the girls?
Camilla, Grand Rapids, Michigan (Sent Jun 8, 2006 9:28:07 PM)
As and Iraq Veteran, I witnessed this first hand, and started War Kid Relief as a program to assist the youth of Iraq. We have been featured as a Making a Difference segment here at NBC. Richard, I applaud your coverage of this important topic.
61% of Iraq is under 25 years old, and of the millions of dollars we have spent in that country, ZERO has gone toward Youth Development.
To learn more about War Kids Relief, please visit our website at http://www.vvaf.org/war-kids-relief/
Jonathan Powers, Washington, DC (Sent Jun 8, 2006 4:51:39 PM)
Richard, thank you for doing that story that aired last night, and I was glad to be able to see it the second time around. These girls have nothing, yet somehow, they remain so optimistic. This story showed the human side of this war, which is very rare since we usually only see reports on fighting, dying, and death. As a 19-year-old, your report truly taught me to appreciate my life and to not take it for granted. Everything that has happened to me in my life seems so trivial compared to what these girls have gone through, are going through, and probably will go through as they get older. I hope that they all will find the good life that each and every one of them so much deserves. The picture of you and the girls is so sweet. Please continue to report these stories, and please stay safe Richard.
-Kim
Kim, Texas (Sent Jun 7, 2006 10:54:17 PM)
I thought that there was a news item a few weeks ago on "Making a Difference" about a soldier who returned from Iraq with a son with a disability - a young Iraqi boy he adopted. Did he not adopt his son, or were the rules bent because his son had special needs? Or perhaps it was because he was in the military that he was able to receive the paperwork so quickly to bring the son home. As I recall, the soldier was not Muslim or Iraqi by birth.
Tracy Rounds, Claremont, NH (Sent Jun 7, 2006 7:51:02 PM)
How about doing a special report on the orphanages in this country? Maybe one in New York ? Or are there no children in this country waiting to be adopted ?
Tom Johnson - Warwick, R.I. (Sent Jun 7, 2006 7:05:19 PM)
Mr. Engel. You are the luckiest of all. Reporters normally get to stay objective, but you have been able to do so much good with your bringing world attention the situation of the Iraqi children.
I am reminded of the Gandhi quote "the way back from Hell is if you are Hindi, take a Moslim orphan and raise him as a Moslim, If you are a Moslim, take a Hindi orphan and raise him as a Hindi. I suppose that this would work for Shiites & Sunnis as well.
Edward Cutter, Los Angeles, California (Sent Jun 7, 2006 6:39:21 PM)
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