Chapter Thirty

Bulgarian Misrepresentations

    Now we return to Anguel.

    During the time that the back and forth was going on about Cyril’s autopsy report, Anguel’s adoption was not going well. We had two things going on at once — wondering how Cyril had died and obtaining his information, and what the heck was going on with Anguel’s paperwork process.

    Problems began immediately upon our return from Russia with Anguel’s adoption, as you have already read. But soon we were to find out that Denise had lied to us yet again.

    This one concerned the Bulgarian timeline. When we originally had expressed an interest in adopting Anguel, we were told that it would take four to six months. Of course, Denise backpedaled, but this is the fact.

     Other clients had been promised this too — the first people to travel in June 1999 to Bulgaria has been promised a four-month timeframe; they picked their children up 14 months later, in August 2000.  

    Please reread the BBAS Electronic Newsletter of August 1999 and the email that Denise sent us originally about Anguel’s adoption.

    Why would she have lied? (Besides her natural tendency to do so whenever the opportunity presents itself, that is).

    Easy. Her Russian program, and her relationship with Dennis Gorontsaev, was tanking. 

    As more people lost referrals, or when referrals weren’t coming their way, Denise attempted to steer ignorant adoptive parents towards her burgeoning Bulgarian program.

     Again and again we would later hear from fellow Bulgarian clients “We were promised four to six months, but the timelines just kept on getting longer and longer.” 

    Denise lured us all in with the health of the children, immediate referrals in the summer of 1999, a fast first trip to really nail us and then the big lie about the timeline.

    But it would not be just that.

    AT NO TIME WAS THE BULGARIAN PROCESS FULLY EXPLAINED TO US WHEN WE FIRST PURSUED ANGUEL’S ADOPTION. I want to emphasize this.

     When we came back from Russia, we were to get clued in very fast about how slow the Bulgarian system really was, as well as to the true paranoia that Denise Hubbard had about her clients contacting one another

    Our attention after finally getting back towards some semblance of normality was focused getting ready for Anguel coming home. Working with the timeline we had been originally given, we were under the impression that he would be home by March 2000 — May at the latest.

    Lori Homeyer, whom we contacted when we got back and told her about Cyril’s death, sent us this email on Dec. 6 when we asked about when she was to pick her daughter up.  

    (Background: They had made their first visit in August, two months before I visited Anguel. Their daughter was in Kurjali. Lori was also in fairly regular communication with Sue and Rob Corrigan as they both lived in the same state).

I talked to Sue on Thursday.  They received a referral for a little girl.  YES, we are supposed to pick up M. sometime in mid-Jan.  We are praying that everything goes as planned as she is here (at home) within 5-6 weeks from today.  

We were told by e-mail right before Thanksgiving that on November 29, our paperwork would enter the last phase.  It will take about 4 weeks in that Ministry (forgot which one it it) and then another 2-3 weeks for her passport.  We were also told we should be traveling by mid-Jan.

The courier service MAY be for something to do with Washington.  Unfortunately I really do not know.  ASK questions.  I know you probably are very upset right now, but it’s your money and your need to know what you are paying for…As far as your paperwork goes, I really do not know.  Our first phase took about 8 weeks to process.  Our paperwork was submitted in early September and it is now in the last part.  Hope this helps.   Lori  

   Sue and Rob Corrigan did indeed travel to Bulgaria in early January to visit their referral, a little girl. She was in Anguel’s orphanage in Burgas as well. 

    I had told Sue via email what happened in Russia, and she had been shocked.  We were to speak again on the telephone and again I was to learn more interesting tidbits.           

    Sue said that she had spoken with Denise in early December and asked her how we were. When she asked this, she had no idea Cyril had died or our standing with the agency.  

    According to her, the normally gregarious Denise suddenly became reticent. She told Sue: “I can’t discuss that! That is private information!” and immediately dropped the subject.

    She once again found this odd and this in turn planted even more serious doubts in her mind as to Denise’s trustworthiness.

    Before their trip to visit their new daughter in Bulgaria, Denise told Sue how “behind” the Bulgarian reps were — almost as if they were some sort of rubes or hayseeds.

    But later, Sue told me that she had found Valeri Kamenov a very sophisticated man. She had learned that he had served as an officer in the Bulgarian army and was much more worldly than Denise had let on. 

    She didn’t know why Denise had try to downplay her Bulgarian reps’ abilities, because she and her family had been well taken care of by Mr. Kamenov during their trip.

    Sue was not too pleased with BBAS’s overseas document delivery system. Most documents were traveling to Bulgaria with other traveling families at that time.

    Most specifically, Sue was upset that she had been instructed by Denise to take things for other families – she only learned of this request when these items were Federal Expressed to her the very day they were leaving, and caused some space problems with her luggage which she had already packed meticulously.

    She questioned the wisdom of sending other clients’ important documents with “traveling families” such as she and her husband and son. I had also done this for my trip, but I was only sent over to Bulgaria with a small envelope that fit easily into my carry-on. 

    Why were any and all sensitive documents being sent with traveling families? What a shoddy, cheap and inefficient way to get documents to Bulgaria!

    Federal Express and DHL deliver there, after all. Most clients would very gladly have borne the cost of express-mailing their dossiers to get the process underway.

    It wasn’t until 2001 that BBAS began to offer their clients these services. And even then they still relied on “traveling families” for the safe delivery of paperwork.

    The day she left for Bulgaria, Denise sent us the following email regarding Anguel’s paperwork status, dated Dec. 8.  We had inquired as to exactly where his dossier was – the embassy in Washington, DC, or in Bulgaria being translated.

Your docs are in Bulgaria!  Not the Embassy!  They are being translated!  I have sent them to the Embassy and to another adoptive parent to hand carry and Valeri has them and took them to get translated!

So when I travel I will let you know when and where they are and what process they are in when I return.  Have a good day.  Denise

    This was good to know. While Denise was off on her Bulgarian Christmas gift-donating venture to Burgas, Kurjali and Buzovgrad, the three orphanages BBAS did placements from, Daniel and I waited patiently for the video that she had promised us with Anguel.  

    We couldn’t wait to see it, for we were now deathly afraid of how he was being treated in his orphanage, if he was being fed, if his diapers were being changed.

    We also took the opportunity to properly sign ourselves up for the EEAC’s Bulgaria list, the APR of Bulgarian adoption, which I hadn’t handled right the first time.

    It was difficult finding other families who had adopted from or were in the process of adopting from Bulgaria.  We desperately needed to find out more about the process, the health of the Bulgarian children and how long the process was taking. But we also wanted to connect with others who had or were adopting from Anguel’s orphanage in Burgas and what sort of place it was.

    The EEAC Bulgaria list was a godsend. At long last we could interact with others and hear about their experiences.

    In many ways adopting from Bulgaria was more of an intimate experience than adopting from Russia.  The Bulgarian families were more open and level-headed about their children.  They seemed to exchange information more freely and were not adverse to talking about the process and its perils.

    What was most troubling, however, was what we read of others’ waits and timelines. We began to realize that this process was likely going to take much longer than four to six months. And just what that entailed ... a process more complex than Russia’s.

    People were speaking about having their dossiers “signed” by various Ministries.  Which ministries? What was this all about?

    We learned that the first stage of the adoption process was a signature from the Minister of Health in Sofia. From there, the dossier went to the Minister of Justice.

    After that, the dossier sat and waited for a court date where a judge in Sofia signed off on the case. At length a birth certificate was issued listing the new parents as the child’s parents, and then a passport was issued.

    Unfortunately, in January 2000, there were delays being caused by the issuance of passports. Bulgaria was switching over to more computer-friendly passports, much like we have here in the United States, at the request of the European Union, which it has applied to join, so it could better keep track of its citizens.

     Every citizen had to have this done, and the issuance of passports to orphans was at the bottom of the list, whether they were due to be placed with families overseas or not.  The delays caused by this were unsettling to some clients who had been waiting and waiting for their travel dates.

    And then we began to read about delays at the Ministry of Health (MOH). Then delays at the Minstry of Justice (MOJ).  

    Then court cases being suspended and rescheduled. This had never been fully explained to us.  

    Why? Ignorantly, we didn’t think this affected us at BBAS.

    True to her word, right before Christmas on Dec. 23, we received the promised video of Anguel in Burgas at the Christmas party.  We also received some accompanying photos in the mail.

    In the video, Anguel was happy, chunky, and walking around in some funky pink pants. What was it with the leyalas (“aunties,” as the caregivers in Bulgarian orphanages are known) in Burgas?  Why did they insist on dressing Anguel in a dark purple top and bright pink corduroy pants?

    He was quite funny in the video, walking around, squatting in his catcher’s position as he filched a toy from a fellow orphan. In the video he appeared interactive, able to move freely, full-cheeked.

    In essence, nothing like Cyril. It eased some worries we had been having about his care.  

    We shared his video and the photos with our families who seemed cautiously optimistic about his adoption. It was the second best Christmas gift we could have received.

    I emailed Lori Homeyer and asked her if she too had received a video and photos of her little girl. She said she had.

    But on Dec. 27, right after Christmas, she sent me the following email. It looked like Denise was checking up on her clients, wanting to know who was communicating with who about what.  Some things were never going to change.

            Hi!  Hope you had a good Christmas!!!

Just wanted to let you know that I talked to Denise today.  I wanted to know where my documents stood.  And she asked me if I had talked (e-mailed) anyone lately from Building Blocks.   I was honest with her and told her….I talked to you when you got back from Russia about what to buy your little boy for Christmas to be taken to the orphanage in Bulgaria.  I never said anything about what happened in Russia.  I thought you should know, because she seemed to be pressing me for info and I wasn’t sure if you had talked to her or not.  Have a GREAT day.  Lori

    My response: 

About your conversation with Denise – you don’t have to worry about saying anything about us and Russia.  It’s a free country, a well hooked up Internet and we are free to exchange information about anything we so chose…You can tell Denise next time if the subject is brought up that I did tell you what happened in Russia.  As I said, I will not be silenced on Cyril’s death.  Denise’s company is her problem and her concern; all we need are M and Anguel out of Bulgaria safely.  I am playing by those rules now.  No carping about BBAS; as far as Bulgaria is concerned, I am a happy satisfied customer.

    That “happy satisfied” Bulgaria customer was going to change when the clock hit midnight on Jan. 24, 2000.

    Lori wrote back the next day under the title, Our Talks:

You are too much.  I had to laugh when I read your e-mail this morning.  So NOW you’re playing by the RULES – what took you so long? Ha, ha!!!

I will tell her after M is home with me…if she asks again.  For now, NOTHING.  When I talked to her yesterday, she let me know that only the Ryders and [us] are traveling in February.  The Patenaudes are having to wait until March.  I am not causing ANY trouble right now.

    Was this not insane that us clients had to sneak around like this and hide the facts from one another, in fear of what Denise might say or do to us?  Honestly!

    Finally, after reading all the EEAC Bulgaria list traffic about the waits and signatures, I emailed Lori Homeyer again to compare notes as to what she had been told about all these signatures. Her response indicated that she too had been misled about the Bulgarian process.

    I had sent her a snippet of an email from a client who was using Americans for International Aid and Adoption (AIAA) to adopt from Burgas. Her son was two months older than Anguel and both boys were most likely housed in the same room at the orphanage.

    Unfortunately, I don’t recall what the email said, but it disturbed me enough that I sent Lori a copy. On Jan. 18, Lori sent me the following:

First of all, my understanding through Denise and Valeri is that we do NOT have to wait for signatures like they are talking about.  Our orphanage directors sign off for us.  As for agencies, a lot of people adopting with Denise are upset we are not given more information.  We were originally told we would travel end-Dec, then mid-Jan, then beg-Feb – I personally am hoping for beg-March.  I know that seems like such a long time, but I do not want to get my hopes up anymore!!!!  I too have been a little depressed lately, if not for being busy at work, I think I would go nuts.  I pray EVERYDAY that God will let my little girl come home ASAP.  I have totally turned it over to God – knowing I have no control in any way.

We were told 2-3 weeks for a courtdate once they received our updated paperwork and then travel within 30 days of court date.  I PRAY Denise is not lying to me!!!  We were told by Valeri, that no adoption he does takes longer than 6 months.  To be honest with you, even with the delays, we are right on schedule. We traveled in early August, but our paperwork was not submitted until Sept 7 or 8.  Which puts us at early March to travel.  I’m not giving up FAITH yet!!!!  I truly believe God does everything for a reason – not necessarily a reason I know, but a reason nonetheless…Try to be POSITIVE!! And know everything will work out…Lori

    I read this and reread it. What schedule was she talking about? We hadn’t received any schedule or timeline for Bulgaria from Denise or anybody at BBAS.

    Even today, not much has changed at BBAS. Clients are still aggravated at the lack of information they receive from Denise about the process and their children, whatever country they are in.

    Since the scandals of spring 2001, BBAS appears not to have sent any more clients to Bulgaria, at least not under its own auspices. But the average adoption from Bulgaria with BBAS has taken one year to 14 months.

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