Well. Ronel's story has hit a nerve. I woke up this morning to find this story retweeted 41 times. Countless emails of letters to our ambassador (and quite well- written, might I add). My dear readers, you are riled up. ME LIKEY. Since nothing gets me more excited than a little social activism, what say you we step it up a notch? This is a story that begs telling, and a cause that begs fixing. Ernest remains at the embassy for the 4th day in a row. Sleeping on the concrete. Surrounded by other desperate families. Pregnant women. Sick children. Awaiting a response. Getting none.Since he can't seem to get any news, how about we bring the 'news' to him? If I've learned anything in the past month, it's the power of the media. I think this picture of stalled families might be one of interest to the American people. And to Silverfox 360, too. (Oh, I'm sorry. Do you not call him that too?)Here is my thought. If we all contacted the national media today, surely someone posted in Haiti would be interested in making their way over to the embassy to see this for themselves. Let's hit them en masse. If you have twitter, tweet @CNN. Tweet @AC360. Tweet any news outlets you can think of.If you know someone in the media, call them. If you don't, call the tip lines for major news outlets. Tell them there is a backlog of families with humanitarian parole sleeping at the embassy and just waiting for permission to leave. Ask them to go interview the families. Encourage them to expose the political motivations behind this stall. Larry King did an hour long story on Haiti orphans last night. He spent half the hour talking to well-intentioned celebrities who are clueless to the complex situation in Haiti, and then spent the other half letting UNICEF have the floor. It's time for the truth to be told, from the people who are really living this. Not talking heads and movie stars.
It's time for people who care to ask for the truth. You in?
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I'm in and sooooo fired up! Getting on it right now.
Susan Taylor
Church Planting Missionary to NYC
Friends of Ernest and Debra Parker
Oh yay! I just called Fox News and spoke with a live person and passed on all of the info before I ever read this. Let me get the numbers for you. I spoke with someone in DC.
Fox’s main number 888-369-4762.
Bill O’Reilly, O’Reilly Factor Host o Phone: 212-301-3320 Kathy Ardleigh, Sen. Politics Producer o Phone: 212-301-3186
Thom Bird, Fox News Sen. Producer o Phone: 212-301-3250
Ian Rae, Exec. VP News o Phone: 212-301-8552
John Moody, Sen VP News o Phone: 212-301-8560
Brian Lewis, Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications o Phone: 212-301-3331
Irena Briganti, Vice President of Media Relations o Phone: 212-301-3608
Brian Knoblock, International Editor o Phone: 212-301-5486
Kim Schiller Hume, Wash DC Bureau Chief o Phone: 202-824-6389
Ken LaCorte, Los Angeles Bureau Chief o Phone: 310-571-2000
Justin Schmidt, Chicago Bureau Chief o Phone: 312-494-0428
Brit Hume, Managing Editor o Phone: 202-824-6470
David Asman, Fox News Host o Phone: 212-301-3944
Shepard Smith, Fox Report Host o Phone: 212-301-3711
Bill O’Reilly, O’Reilly Factor Host o Phone: 212-301-3320
Jane Skinner, News Anchor o Phone: 212-301-5023
John Moody, Sen VP News o Phone: 212-301-8560
David Asman, Fox News Host o Phone: 212-301-3944
Shepard Smith, Fox Report Host o Phone: 212-301-3711
Fox News NY – 212-301-3xxx (direct lines to a real person or news desk)
Fox News DC – 202-824-64xx (direct lines to a real person or news desk) 212-301-3300
Breaking News Desk 212-301-3301 Control Room (Live Broadcasts)
I just posted on Anderson Cooper's facebook page since I don't have Twitter. I linked your story about Ronel and the Livesay's blog post from today. Hope you don't mind!!
Great Idea. I have been following this story since last week, and I have been in prayer with everyone for a safe trip home.
I am planning to pitch my contacts at the AP (Associated Press) about this ordeal tonight. Will keep you posted.
-Kim
Knoxville, Tenn.
Already did it an hour or so ago 🙂 Tweeted ABCnews, CNN, CNBC, NBCnews, and Fox. Praying, praying, praying! What a rejoicing there will be when the Lord shows the strength of His Arm.
I posted yours and several other blogs on my Facebook this morning!
(Leah Spring on Facebook)
I'm in. Bring it on. Let's get these babies home to their families.
I am in and my daughter is sleeping over at a friend's house tonight, whose father works for Fox 5, Washington, DC. I just called, he is out getting pizza, but sent this to him and talked to his wife. I am also going to write Fox, and others. When I first started reading your blog and your story, after the earthquake struck Haiti, I started to contact people all over asking how I can help and let them know we are willing and able to take in a child from Haiti. I know it is a long shot, but I am trying daily. I think your idea is a great way to come together to be heard. I started a little company last year called Beecome United…with the tag line reading "Life Happens Together". It is a pink bird and blue bee as the logo. I haven't really done anything with my business, yet (4 kids, husband who travels, etc.) but one day it is my dream! Any way I have cute t-shirts made already and I have been trying to come up with a way to use my t-shirts and company for something meaningful. This cause might just be the jump start I needed to get this going, for the sake of the orphans. To get their story told and to get them into the arms of families willing and able to give them love. It is a sin to see these kids suffer when there are so many people willing to jump in and help. So, yes, count me in as trying to reach out and try and cut through this red tape.
We're on it! Have sent some emails and left messages. Thanks for not letting your happy beginning be the end to this story.
Please update your readers for prayer!!! Debra tweeted that the Prime Minister is staying late and there is a CHANCE that E and R could leave with a group heading out at ***midnight***. PRAY, y'all – PRAY!!!!
I'm on it. My heart breaks for Ronel. Let's GET HIM HOME!!
praying and praying for ronel today….i used twitter to contact anderson cooper..again. i am going to try and contact the news agencies. i am going to post on my FB…someone has to know a higher up, right?
praying for a break through tonight.
THANK YOU for your update.
amy
I emailed CNN and FOXNEWS as well as the local Philadelphia news affiliates. The first thing my husband asks when he walks in is "any news on Ronel?" I feel like we know him. Praying for good news tonight!
You better believe it!! I love a good mission. On it!! Thanks for giving me direction!!
Emailed CNN and tweeted Anderson Cooper…. !!! I really don't know how to tweet so I hope I did it right 🙂 Here to help!!
You people are sick and seriously misguided. You are not helping your own cause by making all these phone calls. People in the State Department here in DC are human beings working as fast as they can to help Haitian children, and your appeal to flood the govt with appeals is only making the State Department's job MORE DIFFICULT. This isn't a high school student body president election, in which you can further your cause simply by "getting the word out." Even if your band friends weren't using this cause to promote themselves, I would still suspect this family to be the Christian equivalent of some Baloon Boy-esque tendency. Please please please get a friggin clue.
And the inevitable Anonymous name-caller arrives. Lovely. Someone should explain to Anonymous that, for better or worse, our government actually is still affected by the input of the unwashed masses outside of DC. It does matter for people to advocate, even in moments of crisis. There are countless examples of this, even in the last three weeks in Haiti.
If people eager to love children who have no family, no home, and an indefinite place in a literal and bureaucratic hell are "sick and seriously misguided," then here's my prayer: "God, make us all sick and seriously misguided, including name-calling internet tough-guys/girls. Wreck us from comfort and cynicism and anger and unforgiveness, and move us to selflessness for the sake of the orphan, the widow, and the refugee."
Anonymous (if that's even your real name),
Living in DC as you say, I would think you might be more familiar with how to influence our government. Registering our voice with our elected officials is EXACTLY how the game works. The people who got their children out of harm's way the fastest are the ones who had their representatives championing their causes.
Thanks for helping us help, Kristen. I contacted CNN, which was the best I knew how to do. We have a couple in our church who were able to get their adoptive daughter out of Haiti this week also, and as an added miracle, were offered another baby girl as well, and came home with them both! I just know it is going to happen for this couple as well and that Ronel will be home with his family soon. Thank you for your action minded attitude. I would have never thought I could make any difference in the situation, until you suggested we all help.
Anybody know how to get a hold of Angelina Jolie?:)
Anonymous ..what a coward not even to give your name. You criticize people who are trying to help innocent children who are left with no mom or dad. Shame on you. I bet you had a home, a bed to sleep on, food in your belly, parents to love you. I bet you were provided an education and grew up able to read, write and get a job. These kids don't have any of that. How appalling of you to put down our efforts to HELP the innocent, who are not able to help themselves. To give them a chance to have a happy life. Every human deserves to be loved and cared for. In our great country, people coming together for the same cause gets results. That is how you make things happen. Just look at the latest elections and the health care bill. People fight for a cause, eventually they are heard. How could anyone not want to help the sweet little children? It sounds as if you work at the State Department and this is a burden on you.
I wrote to Anderson 360. I have been praying for your family for over a week now. Sometimes that is all I can do. Pray.
I agree with you Anon 9:06. Like a bunch of children whining to the government. As if they'll listen to these nobodies.
Anon 9:06. It is like high school to this crew because that's about what their mentality is. A bunch of mommies who seem to love to collect children. It would be nice if they had this much concern for the homeless kids living in their own country. Bleeding heart liberal freaks. Get jobs and quit putting foreign kids on our already overwhelmed system.
What's childish (and like high school) is repeatedly visiting a blog you don't agree with and leaving anonymous comments. Do you think this is a slambook or something? Very mature. If you would like to keep playing, you're gonna have to man up and leave your name and email next time.
PS We have jobs – and these kids aren't going into our overwhelmed US fostercare system (that I also adopted from). They are going into homes.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cb_haiti_earthquake_americans_detained
It's working!!
Funny, Kim. It’s not relevant at all. People smuggling kids across an international border have nothing to do with the hundreds of parents sleeping on the embassy floor trying to complete a legal and legitimate adoption. Straw man argument. UNICEF absolutely should be monitoring the illegal removal of kids – a better use of their time than meddling at the embassy as the state department tries to process kids with registered adoptive parents.
If we are "nobodies" why do you keep visiting?
I posted this story to Eric Klein's Facebook wall and sent him a message, he is the founder of Can-Do.org and has been on the ground in Haiti since a few days after, don't know if he can help but I know he will try if he gets to read the story.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1553353544#/candoorg?v=wall
http://www.can-do.org
–Mary Turner ([email protected])
Regarding the article Kim posted.
11:55:21 AM
Jan 31, 2010
My guess is they did not pay off the right government officials. The Haitian Govt. is one of the most corrupt on earth. Given the chance they will sell everyone of those kids to the highest bidder. The UN has been in Haiti for almost 8 years. The rest of the wold has been funneling aide money to the UN and the Haitian Govt all that time and yet the place is still a cess pool. Why? Because the UN is incompetent and the Haitian govt are crooks. I will not donate a dime that is destined to go through the Haitian Govt., the UN or the USAID program. The USAID folks were seen on the runway screaming at the US Military who was trying to bring order to the mess but the USAID folks wanted to stick their fingerrs in the pie and tell the military how it should be done. No clue.
Wow. I cannot even begin to imagine what it takes to become so spineless as to spend your day commenting anonymously about things you know nothing about – empty and sad.
tara livesay
(not a chicken shit anonymous comment)
Kristen and friends. You are ROCK STARS. Keep kicking ass for those kids and advocating for those who can't help themselves. I'm right there with you. And anybody who sits on their hands and bitches about those who have the balls to actually do something is gonna have hell to pay and I mean, HELL to pay when it's Jesus having a talk with them and not us. Keep charging on for these kids. They need it.
I love how anonymous thinks that everyone who supports you is a "liberal freak". Conservatives aren't allowed to be concerned about what's going on and have a HUGE desire to help? Please. This isn't a liberal/conservative issue. This is a "protect the children" issue. Leave them in Haiti with all the destruction and disease? Or bring them into homes where families can love and protect them. I would hope that if something this devastating happened in the U.S. loving families from other countries would want to help protect our children.
Great plan….Copying the numbers now…
Been following you since the earthquake.
So glad to see your family all together!
I just wanted you to know that this conservative, Utahn, Mormon mommy of four thinks that you kick ass. (yes, I am Mormon and just said ASS!;-)
Friends and I continue to contact those who have power to help.
Hoping and praying that it works.
Kristen, you rock. Keep it up.
Kristen –
Continue your advocacy!! As we all should. I along with thousands of other adoptive parents had to press hard when Guatemala started shutting down, leaving our children who had already been through much of the process, stranded. There are I think 600 children who were in process still stranded in Guatemala. UNICEF had blood on its hands, in my opinion. Ignore anonymous. So annoying, uncalled for, probably works for UNICEF. I just sent e-mails to the US Ambassador to Haiti and the Haitian Ambassador to the U.S. Check in with http://www.jcics.org, as they are great advocates for international adoption.
Beth, mom to Griffin, 7, and Izzie, almost 3!, who was adopted from Guatemala and has been home about a year and a half.
Anderson Cooper will be at Reagan Library on the 19th. Maybe you could have a face to face with him. Here's the link…
http://www.reaganlibrary.com/details_t.aspx?p=PE40002PGE&h1=7&h2=13&sw=&lm=programandevents&args_a=cms&args_b=888&argsb=N&tx=1810
Wow…obviously your anon commenter is as uneducated as she/he is cowardly. The sole reason we got the kids home to Canada when we did was the incessant phone calls, emails, letter, media interviews, etc that we, the adoptive community organized. Our immigration minister's office called me and told me that it was because of the overwhelming parental campaign that the kids were coming home.
I am not sure if it's just me, but I am so incredibly sick of hearing about how we should be "saving our own" instaed of the children around the world. Like, an American or Canadian child is somehow more worthy of a home than a child of Haiti, Ethiopia, etc…Maybe anon could enlighten us to why that it is considering the fact that I am sure she/he has adopted several children from the US fostercare system….