US-bound Haiti orphans stuck after prime minister leaves country
SEATTLE -- A local man's mission to bring dozens of Haitian orphans to their adoptive families in the U.S. has hit a sudden road block.
The parents who expected joyous reunions on Friday are left waiting for one man's signature.
Scott Gordon boarded a plane at Sea-Tac Airport last week and headed to Haiti to bring those orphans back. The group was due back on Friday, but they won't be on their scheduled flight home on a chartered plane.
Laura Trinnaman represents the parents left frustrated and angry. Their children are among hundreds who were in the middle of the adoption process when the country was hit by an earthquake.
The U.S. has tried to ease requirements to get them out of the country, but many parents just can't wait. That's why Gordon went to Haiti -- to oversee the process.
Amid chaos and devastation, Gordon and the children managed to get through all the red tape. Things were moving along until Haiti's prime minister left the country before signing the paperwork for Gordon's kids.
Now both governments are trying to work out an agreement, and the kids are stuck in the middle in the meanwhile.
"Day after day, these kids are sleeping in...no supplies," said Trinnaman.
Gordon has been voicing his frustration on his blog.
"These poor kids have been the victim over and over and over again. They just can't catch a break," he wrote. "We're demanding that the U.S. government find an alternative to the signature of a prime minister who obviously doesn't put the children first."
On Friday the chartered plane that was supposed to bring back Gordon and the children will return with just a few relief workers on board.
The hope is for senators from Washington state and Utah, where Gordon's group is based, to step in and help push the paperwork through so the kids can leave Haiti as soon as possible.
The parents who expected joyous reunions on Friday are left waiting for one man's signature.
Scott Gordon boarded a plane at Sea-Tac Airport last week and headed to Haiti to bring those orphans back. The group was due back on Friday, but they won't be on their scheduled flight home on a chartered plane.
Laura Trinnaman represents the parents left frustrated and angry. Their children are among hundreds who were in the middle of the adoption process when the country was hit by an earthquake.
The U.S. has tried to ease requirements to get them out of the country, but many parents just can't wait. That's why Gordon went to Haiti -- to oversee the process.
Amid chaos and devastation, Gordon and the children managed to get through all the red tape. Things were moving along until Haiti's prime minister left the country before signing the paperwork for Gordon's kids.
Now both governments are trying to work out an agreement, and the kids are stuck in the middle in the meanwhile.
"Day after day, these kids are sleeping in...no supplies," said Trinnaman.
Gordon has been voicing his frustration on his blog.
"These poor kids have been the victim over and over and over again. They just can't catch a break," he wrote. "We're demanding that the U.S. government find an alternative to the signature of a prime minister who obviously doesn't put the children first."
On Friday the chartered plane that was supposed to bring back Gordon and the children will return with just a few relief workers on board.
The hope is for senators from Washington state and Utah, where Gordon's group is based, to step in and help push the paperwork through so the kids can leave Haiti as soon as possible.
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