- Title: RUSSIA: American mothers prepare to leave Russia with adopted kids
- Date: 11th February 2013
- Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (FEBRUARY 11, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ADOPTIVE MOTHER BECKY PREECE PLAYING PEEK-A-BOO WITH CHILDREN IN HOTEL ROOM VARIOUS OF CHILDREN'S TOYS AND GEAR ON TABLE ADOPTIVE MOTHER JEANA BONNER PUTTING SHOES ON DAUGHTER JAYMI VIKTORIA, WHO GOES BY 'VIKA' CHILD'S CUP ON TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ADOPTIVE MOTHER JEANA BONNER, SAYING: "It's a lot of money; it's a lot of travel; it's a lot of sacrifice. And, like I mentioned with my (biological) daughter, we went through some difficult things in the early days of her life, and that was a testament to me and my husband that we could do something hard and that we had learned from that experience. And so, essentially, that's why we came - because it wasn't an easy path, and there's not a lot of people that will do it." VIKA DRINKING FROM CHILD'S CUP (SOUNDBITE) (English) ADOPTIVE MOTHER JEANA BONNER, SAYING: "It is definitely one of the hardest things I've been through, and we've been through some hard things with our other little girl, but their (other potential adoptive parents in the U.S.) hearts are broken, and they want to be able to bring their children home. And they are so concerned about them because, especially those with special needs, there's not much of a chance they're going to be adopted, and provided medical care and the therapies and everything that they need to reach their highest potential." VARIOUS OF VIKA AND GABRIEL ARTUR PREECE EATING BREAD TOY AIRPLANE ON BED VIKA PLAYING WITH CURTAIN GABRIEL PLAYING IN CURTAINS VIKA PICKING UP 'CAT IN THE HAT' BOOK BALLOON AND CHILD'S SHOE ON TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ADOPTIVE MOTHER BECKY PREECE, SAYING: "We would often get very exciting news that made it sound imminent, that we were going to pick up our court decrees, pick up our kids and then the next day or even 15 minutes later, we would hear 'no it's going to be another 15 days or 10 days' or we have to go through some other process. So, the rollercoaster has been really hard." PREECE'S EYES (SOUNDBITE) (English) ADOPTIVE MOTHER BECKY PREECE, SAYING: "I mean, when our facilitator took his new clothes in to his caregivers to get him dressed, as soon as he saw her he knew that that meant that Mama was there, and he was just - you could hear him yelling and shouting 'Mama, Mama, Mama!'." And then he came out and was just so happy, so excited, came right over, gave me huge hugs. I got all of his coats and hat on and we left, and he never looked back. He's just so excited." VARIOUS OF PICTURES ON WALL (SOUNDBITE) (English) ADOPTIVE MOTHER BECKY PREECE, SAYING: "I think in every mother there's kind of that mama bear in you. You're protective of your children, and you'll do whatever it takes to keep them protected. So I felt that way toward him, that this wasn't right; He was supposed to be in our family, and so I was going to do whatever it took until that happened." PICTURE ON WALL MOMS AND CHILDREN PLAYING BALLOON ON BED GABRIEL ASKING PREECE TO GIVE HIM A SHOWER, PREECE GETTING UP
- Embargoed: 26th February 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Russian Federation
- City:
- Country: Russia
- Topics: General,People
- Reuters ID: LVA8E9NM3HN8XQP0Y6JJS58FPYO5
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Strewn with children's toys and books, a hotel room in Moscow is taking the place of playrooms for two children who until last week were wards of the Russian state, but it doesn't seem to phase them or their parents.
Jaymi Viktoria "Vika" Bonner, 5 1/2 and Gabriel Artur Preece, 5, and their adoptive mothers Jeana Bonner and Becky Preece are biding time with games of "peek-a-boo" until they can join the rest of their families in the United States.
Bonner and Preece have spent a month in Moscow, visiting orphanages, attending court hearings, and racking up huge hotel bills to secure the adoptions of Vika and Gabriel, despite a ban on Americans adopting children from Russia. Both children have Down Syndrome and lived in orphanages in Moscow.
The two mothers, who did not know each other before they started the adoption process, became fast friends, on an emotional "rollercoaster" as their cases wound through Russian courts.
The Bonner and Preece adoptions were in the pipeline before Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the ban into law that retaliates against U.S. legislation intended to punish Russian human rights abusers. The original U.S. law and the Russian tit-for-tat move dragged ties between Washington and Moscow to new lows since President Barack Obama first announced a reset in relations.
Bonner and Preece only received their official paperwork allowing the children to enter the United States on Monday (February 11).
Both mothers have children with Down Syndrom back in the states.
Bonner told Reuters that her experience with her first daughter, who was born less than 2 pounds (1 kilogram) and almost died as a baby but now is flourishing inspired her to try to adopt a special needs child from Russia.
"(Adopting from Russia) It's a lot of money; it's a lot of travel; it's a lot of sacrifice with my (biological) daughter, we went through some difficult things in the early days of her life, and that was a testament to me and my husband that we could do something hard and that we had learned from that experience. And so, essentially, that's why we came - because it wasn't an easy path, and there's not a lot of people that will do it," Bonner said.
She said she sympathised with other American parents whose Russian adoptions may not be completed.
"It is definitely one of the hardest things I've been through, and we've been through some hard things with our other little girl, but their (other potential adoptive parents in the U.S.) hearts are broken, and they want to be able to bring their children home. And they are so concerned about them because, especially those with special needs, there's not much of a chance they're going to be adopted, and provided medical care and the therapies and everything that they need to reach their highest potential," Bonner said.
Preece said time away from her other three children and waiting for the adoption to be finalised was excruciating.
"We would often get very exciting news that made it sound imminent, that we were going to pick up our court decrees, pick up our kids and then the next day or even 15 minutes later, we would hear 'no it's going to be another 15 days or 10 days' or we have to go through some other process. So, the rollercoaster has been really hard," Preece said.
Preece told Reuters that her maternal instinct has gotten her through the ordeal.
"I think in every mother there's kind of that mama bear in you. You're protective of your children, and you'll do whatever it takes to keep them protected. So I felt that way toward him, that this wasn't right; He was supposed to be in our family, and so I was going to do whatever it took until that happened," Preece said.
Both Preece and Bonner said they have had only positive encounters with Russians, and that the caregivers in the children's homes were completely supportive of their adoptions.
More than 650,000 children are considered orphans in Russia and 110,000 of them lived in state institutions in 2011, official data shows. Adoptions by Russian families stood at some 7,400 in 2011 compared to 3,400 adoptions by families abroad.
American families adopt more Russian children than those of any other country with more than 60,000 cases since the 1991 Soviet collapse, including 962 in 2011. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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