"'If there had not been an earthquake, he would be here by June'"

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Story Published: Jan 14, 2010 at 5:57 PM PST

By Laura Rillos KVAL News


EUGENE, Ore. -- Alicia Swaringen looks through pictures of her four-year-old son, Sthainder, filled with relief -- and frustration.

She knows the young boy was not injured in the Haiti earthquake, but she doesn't know when she'll be able to bring him home.

"If there had not been an earthquake, he would be here by June," said Swaringen. "But with the earthquake and not knowing if that's going to add to the time, who knows? These last few steps could take years."

Sthainder is at Holt International's Fantana Village, located 30 miles north of Port-au-Prince. The building is still standing and is running on generator power.

It's an agonizing limbo. Swaringen has spent two years trying to adopt Sthainder, on top of another 7 months starting the initial adoption process.

Swaringen said she needs one signature from the Ministry of the Interior to clear the way for Sthainder to get a passport and for Swaringen to have her final interview with U.S. officials to obtain Sthainder's visa.

"The one signature we've been waiting on, we've been waiting for 5 months," said Swaringen. "And I don't even know if that building is still in existence."

For now, Swaringen clings to the photos and memories from her trip to Haiti last May, the first time she met her son.

"He was only three when I went, how's he even going to know who I am?" she wondered. "But he knew, he knew. And I knew."

Swaringen spent five days with Sthainder, swimming, playing on the beach and learning about her son and his country.

"The moment of meeting him was really magical too. We bonded just really immediately," she said. "He's really cute and smart and funny and kind and gentle. I can't wait to bring him home."

Kim Brown, the director of Holt International, has said the earthquake could draw out adoptions for another year or two. He said the U.S. state department will have to work with Haitian officials to see if they can expedite adoptions already in process.