Blogger extraordinaire Marijane Buck Nguyen left the following comment on my “Stop International Adoption” post:
I don’t think there’s an easy answer to the question of whether international adoption should be stopped or not. I think that we must continue to work toward ending child trafficking and unethical adoption practices through advocacy, awareness and implementing and enforcing federal laws.
(If you haven’t read her comment (entire comment) please do so. If you haven’t subscribed to her blog, what are you waiting for!?!?)
She’s right: there is no easy answer. I’m not sure there is an answer. I knew when I wrote the post that all international adoptions are not equal. Different agencies, different legal standards from country to country, and difficult cultures make simple answers impossible. An adoption from Korea is not an adoption from Africa is not an adoption from China.
Rather than searching for answers I’m looking for an education. To hear from all of those affected by adoption. Here’s a few sites I’ve found beneficial over the last few months.
- One of the first “eye opening” sites I discovered after returning from China was Brian Stuy’s Research-China.Org. Brian’s detailed posts explain why the “one child policy” is not the only (or even main) reason for China’s orphans.
- I look forward to Land of Gazillion Adoptees Facebook updates. Kevin Haebeom Vollmers, the founder of LGA posts frequently. Entertaining and informative. Community building in action.
- I read a guest post on Riley’s in Uganda and have followed the site since. The Welsh family of five adopted a son from Uganda and write about their experience and international adoption from Africa.
- A few weeks ago an article posted on The Lost Daughters appeared in my Facebook feed. A great all around site with postings from first mothers, adoptees, and many others.
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In his blog post “They Got It All Wrong Joshua Zhong, co-founder of CCAI, said
…adoption is not about finding babies for families. It should be other way around. Adoption is not about imperialistically forcing other countries to open their doors to us all the time simply because we want to adopt. Adoption is not about trying with all our might to keep adoptions going simply because many loving families are willing to fill adoption agencies’ pockets with money.
I received a private message from someone after my initial post. They pointed out that many people are intent on keeping international adoption alive and thriving, regardless of consequences. This person said that many people don’t want to peek behind the curtain, afraid of what they may find. It’s tough to face the complexities of life when you have all the answers.
To those of you I mentioned and the many others I’ve read and not listed here, thank you. Thank you for opening up, for informing, and researching.
