Can You Hear the People Sing?

Crazy things are happening in Russia, folks!  First of all, people are scared.  In this article, it describes some of the insane laws that the Duma is working to pass.  A quote from the article says, "Having captured the world's attention in December by banning all adoptions of Russian children by American families, members of Parliament have dreamed up a variety of further proposals to purge Russian politics and civic life of foreign influences."  Laws that would limit travel, study abroad, owning assets abroad, laws about screening movies, laws about criticizing the government on television, etc.  One member of the Duma, Aleksei Makarkin, said, "You know, there is principle in questions of patriotism or protecting the interests of the country, as the authorities see it, that it's better to overdo it than to show weakness.  If you try too hard and come up with some exotic, scandalous draft law, you are in any case one of us.  Maybe you are too emotional-you're a patriot."  Yikes.  
Last year when elected, President Putin said that if there was ever a petition against a law that had more than 100,000 signatures, the Duma would need to reevaluate the law.  There are over 120,000 signatures on a petition against the ban of adoptions, and the lawmakers have rejected the call to review the law.  They are stating that "there is nothing to discuss" because the appeal didn't comprise a "legislative initiative". 

Things are looking grim for the Russian people.  There are many comparisons to a Cold War Russia.  They do not have the same freedoms we enjoy here.  People cannot speak out, their voices are not heard.  Officials are wanting to shut out influences from around the world and focus inward only.  Despite all this political unrest, something amazing happened yesterday.  

Organizers of a march against the American adoption ban got permission to hold a march yesterday in Moscow.  In frigid temperatures with soldier lined streets, protesters showed up in the tens of thousands.  

 You can read all about the march here.  Protesters called it the "March against Scoundrels".  Protesters chanted "take your hands off children" and carried posters of lawmakers with the word "shame" stamped across them.  It is estimated anywhere from 20-40,000 people showed up.  This to me is absolutely incredible.  It was 12 degrees F.  I'm sure officials took the names of people marching and protesting.  They took risk to themselves to try to have their voices be heard.  They took the risk for their orphaned children.  It makes me happy that, at the very least, awareness is being raised about the conditions their orphans are living in.  Things truly do need to change from the inside, or conditions will remain the same.  One woman said, "They expected that, as usual, we would swallow it, keep quiet.  We have had two weeks to think about this law, and not everyone understood right away, but as time passed, people realized what it means to leave invalids, sick children in Russia, where there is no help.  Everyone knows what kind of medicine we have here."  

A friend of mine got to Moscow yesterday for their "gotcha trip" (meaning the trip where they get to bring their boy home).  Things are still sketchy as to whether Russia's going to let them go or not.  Here is what she had to say this morning about the march, "Just visited with our boy. I had to tell you about our talk with our facilitator. She was at the protest with her family and she said it has been like a war here, and they feel like soldiers. She said at one point, there was a helicopter over the protest, and part of her thought they might bomb the protesters. In her mind, she said, she was willing to die for this cause! Can you believe that? She also says that everyone, the judges, the Ministry of Education, etc are all on our side. I asked her about the amendment and she said, "we can only hope". She had tears in her eyes when she told us about the protesters, many who were rich people. Some had brought their children. She said the signs were not all political, many were just pleas of parents. One mother had her daughter on her shoulders. Her daughter was holding a sign with some words from a popular children's poem that talked about how even when children play hide-and-seek, their parents will ALWAYS find them. Her mother held a sign that said "children don't know borders." We both had tears in our eyes as we talked about this, and I told her how all of us at home are praying and holding on to any shred of news we can get."

It gives me the chills!  I love how people are fighting back!  Similar marches (though not as big) were held in 7 other cities throughout Russia.  I have been singing the Les Mis song, "Can you Hear the People Sing" in my head for two days now.  These people are our only hope!  If they can speak loud enough, their voices might be heard.  This article, if you're interested, is very interesting.  It's about Putin and his choke hold on Russia.  This march might be about an adoption ban, but Russians have worked too hard for their freedom.  They can't let this evil man take hold of their country and freedom again! 

As far as the adoption ban goes, we don't know any more information yet.  Supposedly the Duma and the Ministry of Education were meeting today, but nothing has been reported on how the meeting went.  We are all waiting for word from Russian Supreme Court.  It would take a miracle, but they have the power to overturn this law.  At the very least, we're praying they grant an exception for families that have already met their child.  In a country that's all about "image", all we can do is pray they find a way to overturn this law in a way that upholds theirs.  These are crazy times indeed.