SWAZILAND'S STALLED INTER-COUNTRY ADOPTIONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MBABANE 000059

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y - TEXT

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR CA/OCS/CI (SHAFFER); CA/OCS/ACS (RAUGUST)
JOHANNESBURG FOR RCO KENT MAY

E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: CASC KOCI PREL PGOV SOCI WZ
SUBJECT: SWAZILAND'S STALLED INTER-COUNTRY ADOPTIONS

REF: MBABANE 0052

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1. (SBU) On February 8, Ambassador Irving and ConOff Murphy met with
Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Themba Masuku, Principal Secretary (PS)
Khangeziwe Mabuza, Director of Social Work (DSW) Eric Maziya, Senior
Social Worker Vierah Hlatshwayo, and the three Prospective Adoptive
Parents (PAPs) to discuss the stalled inter-country adoption cases
detailed in reftel. Despite the fact that the three families came
to Swaziland three months ago to finalize their adoptions, the
adoptable status of the children still is in question and the cases
are at a standstill. DPM Masuku requested to meet personally with
the families and reiterated his regret and embarrassment for the
stalled cases. He vowed to assign top priority to the resolution of
each case, based on respective details and legal considerations. END
SUMMARY

THE STALLED CASES
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2. (U) Melanie Fullingim arrived in Swaziland on November 19, 2009
to adopt three older orphaned siblings who had been living in the
Manzini Halfway House for the past two years. At that time, Mrs.
Fullingim was informed that the children were abandoned by their
abusive father and their mother was unknown, so there was no
question regarding their orphan status. The father even provided
written consent to turn the children over to DSW. In Monday's
meeting, the DPM indicated that the father recently claimed he did
not understand he was consenting to inter-country adoption. Rather,
the biological father claimed he intended to turn them over to be
wards of the state, which would feed, clothe, and educate them and
allow him biennial paternal visits. The father further objected to
the children's surname being changed from Dlamini under any
circumstances. Reportedly, the birth mother has resurfaced after
years of unknown whereabouts, and claims to have an interest in the
children, although has expressed no interest in taking custody and
long-term care. Until the facts of the case, particularly the
mother's intentions, were fully known the DPM explained his hands
were tied and the adoption case could not proceed.


3. (U) John Messerly arrived in Swaziland per [EMI2]on November 23,
2009 to adopt two unrelated orphaned children who had been living at
the ABC Ministries for over a year. The court case for the daughter
was completed a week ago, but the son's case was declined[EMI3] by
the High Court pending written consent from either birth parent, who
are missing in South Africa. Before inviting Mr. Messerly to
Swaziland, DSW conducted an exhaustive search, including the
required newspaper and radio ads, for any relative to claim the
children, and no one came forward. It is unclear why the court is
again questioning the orphan status of the child[EMI4]. In the time
that Mr. Messerly's case has been languishing in the courts, a
paternal grand-aunt has come forward to claim an interest in seeing
the child, although has expressed no interest in taking custody and
long-term care. The DPM congratulated Mr. Messerly on the
successful adoption of his daughter, and promised to see through the
case of the little boy to closure.


4. (U) Dr. Nilou Ataie arrived in Swaziland on January 16, 2010 to
adopt an infant child whose birth mother specifically requested that
her unborn child be placed immediately after birth with a PAP rather
than be put in an institution. Although DSW approved this
arrangement in advance of Dr. Ataie's arrival in Swaziland, the
department reneged on the agreement and placed the newborn in
Manzini Halfway House, which is not equipped to care for infants.
Dr. Ataie has received no word as to when she will be granted
custody of the child, although she has been funding all of the
baby's material needs. As it turns out, the consenting birth mother
is South African and the father is unknown but assumed to be South
African, so the child has no right to Swazi citizenship under Swazi
law. This means DSW cannot process the child's adoption without a
legal opinion, and may have to deport the infant and transfer him
custody of the child to South Africa's already overburdened social
welfare system.

DECISION OF THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
--------------


5. (U) The DPM spoke with Embassy officials and the PAPs for over
two hours, conveying genuine concern for the financial hardship and
emotional turmoil being endured by the U.S. families. He indicated
that his subordinates did not properly inform him of the cases until
several weeks into the process, and it only now came to his
attention that the orphans' adoptive status was not exhaustively
investigated nor all remote eventualities considered. Masuku said
he needed to personally and carefully review each pending case and
consult with higher authorities, such as the Attorney General in the
Swazi citizenship case, to determine a way forward.


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6. (SBU) When given the opportunity to speak, the PAPs conveyed a
respect for the Swazi system and an understanding that children
should be with responsible biological family members, when possible.
They diplomatically resigned themselves to the decision of DSW and
the High Courts, although all underscored the permanent emotional
scars this systematic oversight, which allowed them to bond as a
family for over two months, would have on the Swazi orphans and
their American families.


7. (SBU) In conclusion, DPM Masuku committed to resolving the cases
on a priority basis. He maintained that the internal working of DSW
was flawed and needed to be improved before they could accept any
additional inter-country adoption cases.

IRVING