Belarus Restricts Respite Visits to Some Countries

On Monday October 13th 2008; President Lukashenka of Belarus by Presidential Decree #555 changed the regulations and eligibility provisions previously outlined in Presidential Decree # 98 for Belarusian children participating in respite programs in countries other than Italy.

For our purposes it stated that in order to participate in respite programs with Belarus that our governments must enter into agreements to ensure the safety of and the safe return of the children.

That for all countries other than Italy the ages of the children will be from 7-14 years and that no child can return to the same country more than 3 years.

This action was initiated because of an incident on August 5th, 2008 where a minor Belarusian girl who was supposed to fly home after a six-week stay with her host family and did not show up at the airport. Her host family hired an immigration lawyer in an attempt to allow her remain in the United States. This was her ninth summer visiting the Manuel and Debra Zapata family of Petaluma, California as part of the Chernobyl Children’s’ Project. She said she wanted to stay because she was afraid to return home to an abusive father although she apparently had lived with her Grandmother in Belarus. The Belarusian government demanded her return, accused the family of kidnapping and suspended all future respite program trips for other children to the United States. As a matter of standard operating procedure she had been issued a United States visa that would expire on December 25, 2008. and until that date she was in the country legally.

A similar incident had taken place Italy in September of 2006. At the time Alessandro Giusto and his wife Chiara Bornacin who served as host parents for a 10-year-old Belarusian orphan girl, hid the girl for three weeks from Italian authorities. They refused to release the girl known only as Maria, claiming she was being sexually abused in the orphanage in Belarus. Italian Police found Maria after nearly three weeks on the run with two women she called her "grannies" - the mothers of her host parents. They had been staying in a monastery in Valle D'Aosta in north-western Italy, after being given refuge by a priest. She was eventually returned to the orphanage in Belarus.

As in the American incident the Government of Belarus suspended all respite programs to Italy and they were not re-instated until the Italian Government signed an agreement with Belarus guaranteeing the return of the children to Belarus.

In February the Irish Government became the first to sign a new agreement.

As of May 26th. 2009; of the 26 countries including Italy that previously participated in respite programs with Belarus, only Ireland, Germany, Holland, Spain and the United Kingdom had reached new agreements.

During the Spring of 2010; The Belarusian Government lifted the caveats restricting the ages of the children to 14 years and under and the restrictions regarding visiting the same country for more than 3 years. Providing an agreement had been reached between the Host country and the Government of Belarus.

Sadly; negotiations are ongoing between the Government of Belarus with both the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and the United States Department of State. Most programs in North America have remained in a state of suspension through the summers of 2009 and 2010 affecting hundreds of children in need.