The fate of Africa's children with no parents and a bleak future was the topic of a House hearing held today by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the Africa and global human rights subcommittee.

    The U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, adoptive parents and advocacy groups testified on options to ease the crisis, including international adoptions. The hearing was entitled “The Growing Crisis of Africa's Orphans.” The factors contributing to the crisis include war and civil unrest, children who don’t know if their mothers and fathers are alive or dead after they become separated in  flight for sanctuary, HIV/AIDS, which has wreaked havoc on the continent, and other diseases.

    “The orphans of Africa, if grouped together in a single country, would be the fourth largest country in all of Africa,” said Smith, referring to the millions of orphans of Africa. “Behind every statistic about orphaned children, behind the pie charts and graphs, there is also a portrait in miniature: a lonely child who is left without a mother or a father, perhaps dealing each night with the pangs of hunger pain, or just seeking a place where one can lay one’s head down in safety until the morning comes.  That child awakes to forage and fend for another day.  Behind every statistic, there is a young boy or girl who has to deal with the sense of abandonment, or with the trauma of having seen parents killed before his or her eyes.

    “One remedy for this crisis is inter-country adoption, which sometimes brings children from Africa to our shores to provide them with loving homes. This is, of course, only a partial remedy, because for every child who is given a loving home, there are many more for whom there never will be such a refuge,” Smith said. Click here to read Chairman Smith’s opening statement.

    The Democratic Republic of the Congo is of particular concern for suspending the issuance of exit permits for Congolese children adopted by foreign parents– even though parents have been officially declared the legal guardians under Congolese law. More than 900 American families are caught up in varying stages of this adoption limbo.

    Witnesses (click on name to read testimony) includedRobert P. Jackson, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); Kelly Dempsey, General Counsel and Director of Advocacy and Outreach, Both Ends Burning; Shimwaayi Muntemba, Founder, Zambia Orphans of AIDS; Jovana Jones, Adoptive mother of a Congolese child, and; Muluemebet Chekol Hunegnaw, Senior Director, International Programs, Save the Children.

    “We know children can be vulnerable to international and domestic human trafficking, whether through sex trafficking, forced child soldiering, or forced labor,” Jackson testified. “Children throughout the continent are exploited in domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced labor in a variety of sectors, including mining, fishing, cattle herding, and harvesting coffee or rice. Armed conflict and other instability, poor economic conditions, food insecurity, rural poverty, and lack of social safety nets can also leave children vulnerable.

    “There are so many ways for us to help children in Africa, and it is important for us to work collaboratively to address the issue with a survivor-centered approach: lobbying countries for laws to protect them, supporting efforts to implement those laws, and establishing protective services in conjunction with civil society,” Jackson said.

    Lindborg recounted her March visit to South Sudan, where violence and insecurity have forced more than 1.5 million people from their homes since December.

    “Among those fleeing are thousands of children separated from their families – some sent to safety by parents desperate to save their children,” Lindborg said. “Others became separated from their parents during the recent violence that has ravaged their country.

    “While the needs and challenges in these settings are often overwhelming, I have seen the enormous difference USAID-supported programs can make in the lives of those affected,” Lindborg said.

    Jones, who is an adoptive mother of a Congolese child, testified that she has been waiting three years to bring home her adopted daughter, Ana Lei.

    “As adoptive parents, we’ve spent years preparing and it is imperative that our children come home immediately,” Jones said. “We have done our part. Our families have done all we can and we are at our limit. We boldly ask for the backing and support of our President, congressmen, and elected officials, that you all draw your focus on removing any further delays of the adoption process within the countries of Africa. We sincerely appreciate the efforts that have been made thus far, but frankly it’s not enough. It’s not enough until we have each orphan home with his or her American family. Each moment of delay makes it more difficult for them to adjust and more challenging for the parents to provide them care. Our arms are open now, and our homes are ready to receive them today.”