...."The Lie We Love" by E. J. Graff, from Foreign Policy - a
heartbreaking article about international adoption. Many adopted
children are not orphans. Many have been kidnapped, stolen or
purchased from their birth families. Some excerpts:
As international adoptions have flourished, so has evidence that
babies in many countries are being systematically bought, coerced, and
stolen away from their birth families. Nearly half the 40 countries
listed by the U.S. State Department as the top sources for
international adoption over the past 15 years—places such as Belarus,
Brazil, Ethiopia, Honduras, Peru, and Romania—have at least
temporarily halted adoptions or been prevented from sending children
to the United States because of serious concerns about corruption and
kidnapping.
In reality, there are very few young, healthy orphans available
for adoption around the world. Orphans are rarely healthy babies;
healthy babies are rarely orphaned. “It’s not really true,” says
Alexandra Yuster, a senior advisor on child protection with UNICEF,
“that there are large numbers of infants with no homes who either will
be in institutions or who need intercountry adoption.” ....
http://thesuburbanchristian.blogspot.com/2009/04/random-stuff-this-i-used-to-believe.html
Why is it that adoption agency's only focus on the promotion of adoption…?
and not the negative affects of it?
I've been reading article after article written by agency's, Aps, and
pro adoption organizations and the focus is pretty much on the
positive? aspects based on "perception" and not scientific research.
If adoption is about the welfare of children wouldn't it be wise to
look at all the affects adoption has on children..good and bad instead
of just focusing on the positive and dismissing the negative?
It appears that most scientific research being done on the negative
affects have been done by sources not affiliated with promoting
adoption. Why aren't Aps insisting that adoption related organizations
push for more studies to be done?
How can anyone adopting in this day and age, say that they are
adopting in the best interest of children when they don't bother or
could care less about the negative affects it will have on the
children?...
click here for remaining article
I've been reading article after article written by agency's, Aps, and
pro adoption organizations and the focus is pretty much on the
positive? aspects based on "perception" and not scientific research.
If adoption is about the welfare of children wouldn't it be wise to
look at all the affects adoption has on children..good and bad instead
of just focusing on the positive and dismissing the negative?
It appears that most scientific research being done on the negative
affects have been done by sources not affiliated with promoting
adoption. Why aren't Aps insisting that adoption related organizations
push for more studies to be done?
How can anyone adopting in this day and age, say that they are
adopting in the best interest of children when they don't bother or
could care less about the negative affects it will have on the
children?...
click here for remaining article
Dad To Madonna: Don't Adopt My Girl
Dad To Madonna: Don't Adopt My Girl
In "Early Show" World Exclusive, Malawian Man Thought To Be Her Father
Explains His Reasons For Opposing The Move
May 2, 2009James Kambewa, believed to be the biological father of
Mercy James, explains to
James Kambewa, believed to be biological father of "Mercy" James,
explains to correspondent Priya David why he does not want Madonna to
adopt his child. (CBS)
(CBS/ AP) The Malawian man thought to be the biological father of a
four-year-old girl Madonna hopes to adopt says he's opposed to it.
The pop superstar's appeal of a judge's decision rejecting her attempt
to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James is slated to be heard Monday,
reportedly by Lovemore Munlo, the Chief Justice of the poor southern
African nation.
In an Early Show world exclusive, James Kambewa tells correspondent
Priya David, "I want to take care of her and I'm capable to take care
of my baby. ... Mercy, she is a Malawian -- so (I) need her to grow as
a Malawian, as well with our culture."
click here for remaining article
In "Early Show" World Exclusive, Malawian Man Thought To Be Her Father
Explains His Reasons For Opposing The Move
May 2, 2009James Kambewa, believed to be the biological father of
Mercy James, explains to
James Kambewa, believed to be biological father of "Mercy" James,
explains to correspondent Priya David why he does not want Madonna to
adopt his child. (CBS)
(CBS/ AP) The Malawian man thought to be the biological father of a
four-year-old girl Madonna hopes to adopt says he's opposed to it.
The pop superstar's appeal of a judge's decision rejecting her attempt
to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James is slated to be heard Monday,
reportedly by Lovemore Munlo, the Chief Justice of the poor southern
African nation.
In an Early Show world exclusive, James Kambewa tells correspondent
Priya David, "I want to take care of her and I'm capable to take care
of my baby. ... Mercy, she is a Malawian -- so (I) need her to grow as
a Malawian, as well with our culture."
click here for remaining article
Adoption Facts & Abuse
This page deals with adoption in terms of it being abusive towards
mothers and adoptees. Adoption is a form of child abuse.
Adoption is child abuse, slavery and rape all combined into one pretty
package and marketed to wealthy infertile couples.
Adoption is deemed a "loving option" by social workers and adoption
agencies. Adoption puts children at risk for many psychological
problems that range in severity. This may sound like love to those
receiving the money within the adoption industry, but it should scream
child abuse to anyone else. Since the 1940s professionals have known
of the damaging affects adoption has on both mothers and their
children. Psychologists and social workers have learned that no
material advantage can make up for the loss of its own mother.
The abuse that the adoptee suffers thoughout their lives comes in many
forms. As infants, they are separated from the only person they have
ever known: their mothers. They are born into the world expecting to
have the familiar scent of family and the warm voice they grew
accustomed to in utero, and instead, they are handed over to strangers
masquarating as "mommy" and "daddy." Because of the severing of the
child's most natural bond occurs at a time when the child cannot
communicate his emotions and experiences, it is a trauma that will
stay with him into adulthood. Adopted people report to struggle with
their identities as the legal lie that they are "as if born to" their
adopters works better on paper than it does in the real world....
click here for remaining article
mothers and adoptees. Adoption is a form of child abuse.
Adoption is child abuse, slavery and rape all combined into one pretty
package and marketed to wealthy infertile couples.
Adoption is deemed a "loving option" by social workers and adoption
agencies. Adoption puts children at risk for many psychological
problems that range in severity. This may sound like love to those
receiving the money within the adoption industry, but it should scream
child abuse to anyone else. Since the 1940s professionals have known
of the damaging affects adoption has on both mothers and their
children. Psychologists and social workers have learned that no
material advantage can make up for the loss of its own mother.
The abuse that the adoptee suffers thoughout their lives comes in many
forms. As infants, they are separated from the only person they have
ever known: their mothers. They are born into the world expecting to
have the familiar scent of family and the warm voice they grew
accustomed to in utero, and instead, they are handed over to strangers
masquarating as "mommy" and "daddy." Because of the severing of the
child's most natural bond occurs at a time when the child cannot
communicate his emotions and experiences, it is a trauma that will
stay with him into adulthood. Adopted people report to struggle with
their identities as the legal lie that they are "as if born to" their
adopters works better on paper than it does in the real world....
click here for remaining article
Fewer Kids Left Behind In China Means Fewer Kids For American Adopters
By Megan, 5:30 PM on Wed Apr 29 2009,
It used to be that China opened its arms and orphanages to Americans seeking to adopt Chinese girls. These days, it's more difficult — and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Some things are bad, though, like this:
The new regulations require, among other things, that adoptive parents be married, under 50, not classified as clinically obese, not have taken antidepressant medications....
for remaining article go to click here
It used to be that China opened its arms and orphanages to Americans seeking to adopt Chinese girls. These days, it's more difficult — and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Some things are bad, though, like this:
The new regulations require, among other things, that adoptive parents be married, under 50, not classified as clinically obese, not have taken antidepressant medications....
for remaining article go to click here
Photolistings: Are They Ethical and Beneficial?
David Kruchkow
The Internet is populated with photolistings of children allegedly available for adoption. Is this a way to unite waiting children with families or is it a way for unethical agencies and facilitators to play on the heartstrings of prospective adoptive parents, and roping them into a scam? In this article, I will attempt to answer this question and look at the good, the bad and the ugly side of photolistings.
Personally, I am categorically opposed to all photolistings. All one has to do is look at real estate listings or visit cars.com or autotrader.com to see how children are being marketed and merchandized like real estate and cars. There has to be a better way. Let me just add that I do respect and understand those who claim that they found 'their child' on a photolisting, and that I do respect and understand those who claim that photolistings help children, especially those who are older and/or with special needs, find homes and families. On my website, www.adoptionagencychecklist.com, I have a page entitled, Photolisitngs and Ethics. It contains the following:
"What bothers me is how some adoption professionals are using the photolisting capability of the Internet to market and merchandise children. These photolistings can easily become a tool of the unscrupulous and unethical to victimize children and adoptive families. A family that is desperate to parent and adopt easily bonds with the right photo and becomes hooked and blinded." ....
for remaining article
The Internet is populated with photolistings of children allegedly available for adoption. Is this a way to unite waiting children with families or is it a way for unethical agencies and facilitators to play on the heartstrings of prospective adoptive parents, and roping them into a scam? In this article, I will attempt to answer this question and look at the good, the bad and the ugly side of photolistings.
Personally, I am categorically opposed to all photolistings. All one has to do is look at real estate listings or visit cars.com or autotrader.com to see how children are being marketed and merchandized like real estate and cars. There has to be a better way. Let me just add that I do respect and understand those who claim that they found 'their child' on a photolisting, and that I do respect and understand those who claim that photolistings help children, especially those who are older and/or with special needs, find homes and families. On my website, www.adoptionagencychecklist.com, I have a page entitled, Photolisitngs and Ethics. It contains the following:
"What bothers me is how some adoption professionals are using the photolisting capability of the Internet to market and merchandise children. These photolistings can easily become a tool of the unscrupulous and unethical to victimize children and adoptive families. A family that is desperate to parent and adopt easily bonds with the right photo and becomes hooked and blinded." ....
for remaining article
Should 'Going Home Barbie' go to more homes?
By Maria DiDanieli
If a little girl is on your shopping list this holiday season, rest assured the popular Barbie line of dolls will be foremost in your mind. (And if not in yours, it certainly will be on hers) Although the basic Barbie, now with a smaller chest and finally wearing knickers, is always a good choice, there are many permutations of Barbie from which to choose. International Barbies, princess Barbies, single Barbies enjoying lives of frolic and more sedate, domesticated versions that represent the young beauty's wishes to settle down.
But there is one Barbie that cannot be found in any store or through any website. She is officially called 'Going Home Barbie' but her nick-name is 'White Swan Barbie' after the one location in the world, The White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China, where she can be obtained. But, ask not 'where can she be found?' Rather, ask 'what do I have to do to get her?' The answer to this is quite specific. To become the proud owner of a 'Going Home Barbie', you must: a) adopt a child from China, and b) stay at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou while awaiting clearance for an exit visa, for your baby, from the U.S. government. There is no other way to come into possession of the 'Going Home Barbie'.....
for remaining article
If a little girl is on your shopping list this holiday season, rest assured the popular Barbie line of dolls will be foremost in your mind. (And if not in yours, it certainly will be on hers) Although the basic Barbie, now with a smaller chest and finally wearing knickers, is always a good choice, there are many permutations of Barbie from which to choose. International Barbies, princess Barbies, single Barbies enjoying lives of frolic and more sedate, domesticated versions that represent the young beauty's wishes to settle down.
But there is one Barbie that cannot be found in any store or through any website. She is officially called 'Going Home Barbie' but her nick-name is 'White Swan Barbie' after the one location in the world, The White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China, where she can be obtained. But, ask not 'where can she be found?' Rather, ask 'what do I have to do to get her?' The answer to this is quite specific. To become the proud owner of a 'Going Home Barbie', you must: a) adopt a child from China, and b) stay at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou while awaiting clearance for an exit visa, for your baby, from the U.S. government. There is no other way to come into possession of the 'Going Home Barbie'.....
for remaining article
The Big Question: Is it exploitation to adopt children from the developing world?
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Friday, 6 October 2006
Why are we asking this question now?
Madonna, the American celebrity with a talent for re-inventing herself, was reported yesterday to have flown by private jet to Malawi, the southern African country ravaged by Aids, and adopted an orphan. Malawi government officials were quoted as saying that the 48-year-old singer had chosen a one-year-old boy from among 12 children specially picked out prior to her arrival.
The pop star, worth an estimated £248m, was in Malawi to visit the Raising Malawi centre in a village 30 miles outside the capital, Lilongwe, which she is supporting. The centre provides food and schooling for Aids orphans. The story was later denied by a spokeswoman for Madonna who described it as "completely inaccurate". That did not stop it making the front pages of yesterday's newspapers and reopening the debate on international adoption....
for remaining article
Friday, 6 October 2006
Why are we asking this question now?
Madonna, the American celebrity with a talent for re-inventing herself, was reported yesterday to have flown by private jet to Malawi, the southern African country ravaged by Aids, and adopted an orphan. Malawi government officials were quoted as saying that the 48-year-old singer had chosen a one-year-old boy from among 12 children specially picked out prior to her arrival.
The pop star, worth an estimated £248m, was in Malawi to visit the Raising Malawi centre in a village 30 miles outside the capital, Lilongwe, which she is supporting. The centre provides food and schooling for Aids orphans. The story was later denied by a spokeswoman for Madonna who described it as "completely inaccurate". That did not stop it making the front pages of yesterday's newspapers and reopening the debate on international adoption....
for remaining article
Babies-for-sale trade faces a global crackdown
Attempts by Western families to adopt children from poor nations have fuelled a rogue market in young lives. But at last action is being taken. Carolyn Wheeler reports from Lviv, Ukraine.
The thick stack of photographs pulled from a manila envelope in Maria Chernyk's cupboard explains all she has to say about foreign adoptions. Each year, the director of Lviv's Orphanage No 1 sends a handful of children overseas: most to the United States, many to Italy, some to Germany, France and Canada, one to a Ukrainian couple in Manchester.
She tracks them with this collection of photos: a sweet blond boy with a crossed eye, a slender, solemn-faced girl who needed heart surgery, a little boy so traumatised by his past that he never spoke.
Each family paid dearly for the privilege of being parents, over £15,000 in many cases, to cover travel, agency fees and the demands of dozens of bureaucrats....
for remaining article
The thick stack of photographs pulled from a manila envelope in Maria Chernyk's cupboard explains all she has to say about foreign adoptions. Each year, the director of Lviv's Orphanage No 1 sends a handful of children overseas: most to the United States, many to Italy, some to Germany, France and Canada, one to a Ukrainian couple in Manchester.
She tracks them with this collection of photos: a sweet blond boy with a crossed eye, a slender, solemn-faced girl who needed heart surgery, a little boy so traumatised by his past that he never spoke.
Each family paid dearly for the privilege of being parents, over £15,000 in many cases, to cover travel, agency fees and the demands of dozens of bureaucrats....
for remaining article
New U.S. Procedures Intended To Help Intercountry Adoption
05 October 2006
Deadline announced for adoption service providers seeking accreditation
The 1993 Hague Convention sets minimum international standards and procedures for adoptions that occur between implementing countries. It seeks to ensure that such intercountry adoptions are made in the best interests of the child and aims to prevent abuses such as abductions, sale or trafficking in children, as well as the exploitation of birth parents and adoptive parents.
To date 68 countries have ratified the convention or acceded to it. The United States signed the pact in 1994 and hopes to ratify it by 2007.
In 2005 Americans adopted nearly 23,000 children from countries around the world, with more than half coming from countries that are parties to the Hague Convention, according to the State Department....
for remaining article
Deadline announced for adoption service providers seeking accreditation
The 1993 Hague Convention sets minimum international standards and procedures for adoptions that occur between implementing countries. It seeks to ensure that such intercountry adoptions are made in the best interests of the child and aims to prevent abuses such as abductions, sale or trafficking in children, as well as the exploitation of birth parents and adoptive parents.
To date 68 countries have ratified the convention or acceded to it. The United States signed the pact in 1994 and hopes to ratify it by 2007.
In 2005 Americans adopted nearly 23,000 children from countries around the world, with more than half coming from countries that are parties to the Hague Convention, according to the State Department....
for remaining article
Personal Thoughts on Ethics in International Adoption
By Ellen Fitzenrider
I am by no means an expert on ethical matters in anything (who can totally be?), let alone international adoption. The concept of ethics in itself is fraught with inherent 'gray-areas' that always seem to be open to interpretation, constant reflection and redefinition. It challenges us to be thoughtful, and to try to be our best selves by 'doing the right thing.' In the arena of international adoption there are issues small and large, but the challenge is of paramount importance and cannot wait until we have time in our busy lives to pay attention to them. There are lives at stake. Lives of children. Lives of families. Lives of those of us in the more fortunate areas of the world. Lives of those living in countries less fortunate. There are moral choices and decisions to be made that can so easily be swayed by emotion, desired outcomes and, especially, money.
Face it. There is a LOT of money flying around this world of international adoption....
for remaining essay
I am by no means an expert on ethical matters in anything (who can totally be?), let alone international adoption. The concept of ethics in itself is fraught with inherent 'gray-areas' that always seem to be open to interpretation, constant reflection and redefinition. It challenges us to be thoughtful, and to try to be our best selves by 'doing the right thing.' In the arena of international adoption there are issues small and large, but the challenge is of paramount importance and cannot wait until we have time in our busy lives to pay attention to them. There are lives at stake. Lives of children. Lives of families. Lives of those of us in the more fortunate areas of the world. Lives of those living in countries less fortunate. There are moral choices and decisions to be made that can so easily be swayed by emotion, desired outcomes and, especially, money.
Face it. There is a LOT of money flying around this world of international adoption....
for remaining essay
Baby Hotel: The Gateway to Guatemalan Adoption
Jacob Wheeler
October 9, 2006
The Marriott Hotel in Guatemala City's wealthy Zona 9 isn't really Central America. But it isn't the United States either. It's a kind of no man's land between countries, between cultures, sprawled out on the highway dividing rich and poor, where thousands of impoverished Guatemalan children make the final step in their journeys to become adopted by Americans. Most of them don't make a step at all, of course, because they're infants. Instead they are passed from a Guatemalan foster mother, or an attorney, into the trembling arms of a teary-eyed couple from El Norte who has been waiting for this moment, often not so patiently, for months or years.
In Guatemala City, in venues like the Marriott Hotel, or the Radisson, or the Camino Real right next to the American Embassy, this strange if not humorous baby handoff in a busy lobby is now an everyday occurrence. Guatemala holds the distinction of being the only Latin American country — the only country in the whole Western Hemisphere — that doesn't recognize the United Nations Hague treaty of 1989 that pushes for stringent state control over international adoptions. Adoptions here fall under the notary system, which means they are essentially privatized and run by lawyers and judges who have plenty to choose from when it comes to impoverished, malnourished, and sometimes abandoned or stolen babies....
for remaining article
October 9, 2006
The Marriott Hotel in Guatemala City's wealthy Zona 9 isn't really Central America. But it isn't the United States either. It's a kind of no man's land between countries, between cultures, sprawled out on the highway dividing rich and poor, where thousands of impoverished Guatemalan children make the final step in their journeys to become adopted by Americans. Most of them don't make a step at all, of course, because they're infants. Instead they are passed from a Guatemalan foster mother, or an attorney, into the trembling arms of a teary-eyed couple from El Norte who has been waiting for this moment, often not so patiently, for months or years.
In Guatemala City, in venues like the Marriott Hotel, or the Radisson, or the Camino Real right next to the American Embassy, this strange if not humorous baby handoff in a busy lobby is now an everyday occurrence. Guatemala holds the distinction of being the only Latin American country — the only country in the whole Western Hemisphere — that doesn't recognize the United Nations Hague treaty of 1989 that pushes for stringent state control over international adoptions. Adoptions here fall under the notary system, which means they are essentially privatized and run by lawyers and judges who have plenty to choose from when it comes to impoverished, malnourished, and sometimes abandoned or stolen babies....
for remaining article
Adopting a pose
Lilian Saleh
October 17, 2006 12:00am
FORGET the Oscar. The latest Hollywood must-have is an adopted baby – preferably a black one plucked from an impoverished Third-World country and flown halfway around the world on a private jet.
The latest celebrity to join the "let's save the world by adopting a foreign baby" trend is Madonna – who is finalising plans to adopt 13-month-old David Banda from the poverty-stricken African nation of Malawi.
It is not only that the Material Girl apparently chose David from a list of 12 "contenders" emailed to her that has angered Australian parents who have adopted overseas children – it was the ease with which she was able to complete the process, having her application to adopt fast-tracked while others are put through years of scrutiny and financial pressure....
for remaining article
October 17, 2006 12:00am
FORGET the Oscar. The latest Hollywood must-have is an adopted baby – preferably a black one plucked from an impoverished Third-World country and flown halfway around the world on a private jet.
The latest celebrity to join the "let's save the world by adopting a foreign baby" trend is Madonna – who is finalising plans to adopt 13-month-old David Banda from the poverty-stricken African nation of Malawi.
It is not only that the Material Girl apparently chose David from a list of 12 "contenders" emailed to her that has angered Australian parents who have adopted overseas children – it was the ease with which she was able to complete the process, having her application to adopt fast-tracked while others are put through years of scrutiny and financial pressure....
for remaining article
Madonna and child
Friday October 6, 2006
The Guardian
Joan Crawford, Mia Farrow, Angelina Jolie. And now, it seems, Madonna. A long list of celebrities have chosen to adopt children from abroad. But why do they go so far -and can it be right, when there are thousands of children in this country in need of a loving home? Emine Saner reports
So Madonna has adopted a one-year-old boy from Malawi. Or has she? There have been denials from her people but it's not so unbelievable, is it? After all, she wouldn't be the first. She has been thinking about it for months, apparently, and in July, her father-in-law let slip that Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, had started the process. The pop star is in the southern African country this week visiting orphanages. It had been reported that 12 children were "selected", from which she would choose a little brother for her children Lourdes, nine, and Rocco, six. "She asked us to identify boys only, which we have done after visiting four orphanages," a government spokeswoman, Adrina Michiela, is reported to have said (she also said that Madonna had originally wanted to choose a girl but changed her mind two weeks ago)....
for remaining article
The Guardian
Joan Crawford, Mia Farrow, Angelina Jolie. And now, it seems, Madonna. A long list of celebrities have chosen to adopt children from abroad. But why do they go so far -and can it be right, when there are thousands of children in this country in need of a loving home? Emine Saner reports
So Madonna has adopted a one-year-old boy from Malawi. Or has she? There have been denials from her people but it's not so unbelievable, is it? After all, she wouldn't be the first. She has been thinking about it for months, apparently, and in July, her father-in-law let slip that Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, had started the process. The pop star is in the southern African country this week visiting orphanages. It had been reported that 12 children were "selected", from which she would choose a little brother for her children Lourdes, nine, and Rocco, six. "She asked us to identify boys only, which we have done after visiting four orphanages," a government spokeswoman, Adrina Michiela, is reported to have said (she also said that Madonna had originally wanted to choose a girl but changed her mind two weeks ago)....
for remaining article
Madonna's adoption plans slammed by politicians
13/10/2006 - 09:48:50
Madonna has been slammed for her adoption plans by politicians, who fear her decision to take home a one-year-old boy from Malawi is a mere publicity stunt.
The pop queen and her director husband Guy Ritchie arrived in Malawi last Wednesday and met local orphans and government ministers during their time there.
However, members of a Scottish parliament group have hit out with concerns that the Material Girl star's motives are selfish....
for remaining article
Madonna has been slammed for her adoption plans by politicians, who fear her decision to take home a one-year-old boy from Malawi is a mere publicity stunt.
The pop queen and her director husband Guy Ritchie arrived in Malawi last Wednesday and met local orphans and government ministers during their time there.
However, members of a Scottish parliament group have hit out with concerns that the Material Girl star's motives are selfish....
for remaining article
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