Carmelo de León and Manuela González already knew that little Elena Xin, even though she was born in China, was actually from Lanzarote. This couple from Tías was aware that their adopted daughter, just over two years old, was waiting for them on the other side of the planet, but they needed the regional administration to give them approval to go and pick her up. On Friday at 3:00 p.m., more than two years of waiting finally ended, and they obtained the approval of the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Government of the Canary Islands, after they were denied the adoption because they were considered too old.
Carmelo and Manuela will travel to China on July 16, where they will stay for two weeks before being able to return with Elena Xin to Lanzarote. Their case was unblocked along with those of two other couples, who also had problems completing the adoption procedures after obtaining the certificate of suitability.
The celebration of the news coincided with one of the two annual parties organized by the Association of Adopting Families of the Canary Islands (AFAIC). Its president, María del Río, explained that her intention was to wait for the authorization to be granted to celebrate the party. Therefore, they did not want to organize anything until they had "the file in hand."
The party, which was held at Rancho Texas, was attended by 42 adults and 18 children. María del Río assured that Carmelo and Manuela "were overflowing with joy", so they invited those present to champagne. Thus, the AFAIC party also became a celebration for the arrival of Elena Xin in Lanzarote. "It is the end of three months of intensive work," said Del Río.
Institutional presence
The AFAIC party was also attended by the regional parliamentarian for the Socialist Party, Manuela Armas, who presented a non-legal proposition to speed up adoption procedures, and the new Director of Child and Family Protection, José Luis Arregui Sáez.
María del Río commented that she hopes that the arrival of Arregui in the department in charge of international adoptions within the Government of the Canary Islands will mean the end of obstacles such as those experienced by the couple from Tías.
Arregui himself is the father of a Chinese girl, so "he is very sensitive to the issue of adoption." Del Río assured that the new Director of Minors has a "very receptive" attitude.
Changes in the law
On the other hand, AFAIC presented yesterday the allegations to the draft of the new decree of action in the adoptions of the Canary Islands, which is being prepared now. As Del Río already announced, AFAIC's objections refer to the age limitations established by the law at present and which require that parents are not more than 40 years older than their children. This criterion, which had been assumed with flexibility by the Government of the Canary Islands, was what prevented Elena Xin's file from being unblocked until now.
AFAIC proposes to "eliminate the age criterion", since it considers that the certificate of suitability should be enough to certify if a couple can adopt. As the only limitation, AFAIC proposes that the child has reached the age of majority when the parent is 65 years old.
In addition, Del Río explained that in their allegations they ask that the criteria of the country of origin of the adopted minor be respected. In the case of Carmelo and Manuela, the couple met the age requirements to adopt Elena Xin according to Chinese law and yet this was not taken into account.
