After years of delays, 11 Congolese children are finally arriving in Canada today to live with their adopted families.
Several Canadian families have waited more than three years for the government to issue their children a travel visa. Fred and Shelley Muntau are one of 11 families that adopted a child from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and have been caught in bureaucratic limbo.
READ MORE: Local families struggle to bring adopted children to Canada
It’s a process that, in some cases, has taken years and cost the families tens of thousands of dollars. Last July, the Muntaus found themselves caught in a Catch-22: the Congolese government said it couldn’t issue an exit letter for Pedro until the Canadian government issued him a visa. However, officials here said they couldn’t do that without the exit letter.
But since the election of the Liberal government and with repeated pressure from the families, the kids received their approved paperwork and arrived in Montreal on Wednesday.
Fred Muntau was there to meet his son, Pedro, for the first time.
“My wife has a broken leg and just had surgery on Thursday and couldn’t come. So I had to go,” an emotional Fred Muntau told Global News.
In December the Muntaus said they were running out of time and money, and had already taken out a second mortgage on their home. So Pedro’s arrival couldn’t have come at a better time.
For the Siebert family, who are heading home to Edmonton with their adopted Congolese children 8-year-old Ruth and 5-year-old Jonathan, things still seem a little surreal.
“I don’t think it quite feels real yet that they’re actually here,” Faith Siebert said.
“When you’re watching your kids grow up through pictures and you know you can’t be with them, it’s hard.”
Fred Muntau and Pedro will arrive home in Vancouver on Wednesday night, where his wife Shelley, with her broken leg and all, will meet them.
Partisan issues may be put aside but the bad news is there are still five adopted children in the Congo waiting to head home to Canada, including Pedro’s best friend, whom he calls his sister.
It’s hoped their paperwork can be approved in the next couple of weeks.
– with files from Randene Neill and Nadia Stewart
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