CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!

Well I guess it is time to move on to plan B. But before we do, I want to give you a little update as to what seems to be happening.
The girls made it out of Kyrgyzstan with no troubles.. The airport security and the passport control was very nice to them and there was no trouble... When they reached the Moscow airport, they were met by a friend of a friend that was able to help them in the terminal transfer, and to the departure gate, he even gave them a phone to call back to Talant to assure every one that they were OK. Then when they landed in Kiev, they had a special VIP greeting that assisted them through the passport control, helped them with their bags, and brought them to Ed, who had a wonderful room for them to stay.
Then they went to the Canadian Embassy and the wheels fell off... They waited from 7am till about noon, paid there fee, and were promptly told No. None of their supporting documents were read, and no interview was granted... The person who did this was not a Canadian , and had only been hired by the embassy to work the front lines. We made some calls and it was suggested that we re apply... provide even more documents..this time focusing on the need for Canadians to have them here ... as well they were given a private number of someone from our MP's office that would speak to the agent if they had difficulties.
Once again they stood in line at 7 am, and once again, they were rejected...again, none of their documents were read, none of the many support letters , representing several thousand Canadian Citizens nor the letter from a member of Parliament ... they were not even allowed to call for help, and they were told that they don't care what some member of Parliament thinks... the answer is no... and once again no interview..and once again they never got to see a Canadian.

So the problem appears to be this... in an attempt to make sure that front line visa workers were not cowersed, they have been given an incredible power, in fact it appears that even Government ministers do not have the power to over turn their decisions... then if that was not bad enough, what I would imagine was a cost saving measure, the front line workers in our Embassy's have been replaces by nationals from what ever country they are in... this has left Canada's entire Visa and Immigration in the hands of NON Canadians who are not answerable to anyone. ! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT !

I sure would not have believed it, but I have witnessed first hand the incredible amount of work and passion that My member of Parliaments staff have put into this... they have gone above and beyond, working every angle that they can think of, and still there is no movement. I came away from the office yesterday with real mixed emotions... I wanted to have the utmost respect for my representatives office staff for everything that they are doing and continue to do, and at the same time, I am so angry at a system that is so incredibly broken. For years now I have heard people complaining about some of the dangerous criminal types that some how manage to get back into Canada over and over, and I have to ask myself , "Is it any wonder when that decision is not in the hands of Canadian Citizens..."

Now I would love it if I got a phone call or a letter explaining to me how I am wrong in my understanding of the situation, but that would mean that there was someone that could do something and that we have just been lied to... and that my friends would be enough to put me over the top.

The girls may not make it home now, and may have to spend there summer working in the orphanages in the Southern Ukraine, but It will not end here.. As I have researched this more I have heard of cases of Canadians who have adopted internationally, and because the worker in what ever country, who was not a Canadian was not in favor of international adoption, the visa was declined .. I am not sure, but I think that this is an issue that I could see easily becoming an election issue... especially if I put a little wind in it's sails... Hummmm