The Ethiopian court system closes down for about 6 weeks at the end of every summer to coincide with the Ethiopian New Year. Typically this closure extends from mid-August through the entire month of September. The first cases after the closure are usually heard the first or second week in October.
With the court closure looming, around this time of year, families who don’t yet have a referral start to wonder if their referral will come through in time for them to go to court before the closure. If they don’t get through by early August, most likely they will have to wait till October to go to court, which means their children will not be home until late November at the earliest.
Check with your agency for more specifics, but in my understanding, people who are in the very beginning stage of paperwork processing right now will not likely see much delay in their processing. Probably the people most affected by the delay would be people who get a referral in July or later. However, the delay is likely to be only 6-8 weeks.
People who do manage to squeak through court before the closure will be glad to hear that all other offices are open during the time of the Ethiopian New Year. Other crucial parts of paperwork processing, such as passports and visas and HIV tests can still be done. It is only the courts that are delayed during this time.
Though the thought of delays like this tend to cause parents a lot of stress, it is probably wise to look at the delay with a focus on the long term. Most likely a year from now your child will be home, whether you get through court in the next 8 weeks or not. The wait is tough, I know. But hang in there– it is well worth it!
i think we are going to fall into this category, we have been waiting since 2/15 and although i havent given up hope and will be just happy to have a referral before courts close i find this further delay agonzing. the only thing that comforts me is i know we are not alone and the wait will be well worth it. thanks for your blog. lisa