The following is an excellent article containing the themes of my two earlier posts. Wealthy and powerful persons, like the Furness’ of the world, getting their own needs met by “saving” one child or orphan at a time whilst in the process creating black markets and child trafficking rings so causing harm to thousands of vulnerable children.
Every child has a distinctive family culture and heritage, whether born within or without a particular country. Many adoptees say they always feel like an outsider whether they have been adopted domestically or from overseas. If anyone wants to read the litany of mental and physical health problems from which adoptees suffer whether or not they have had loving parents please read my article: The Broken Bond – under the heading About on this Blog.
Therefore adoption should never be used to manufacture families for those who for whatever reason cannot have their own child or want the kudos of adding a little orphan to their biological troupe . As the article states the many thousands of dollars it costs to adopt one child from overseas would be far better used to support the child’s family or village so he or she never has to suffer loss of identity, culture and homeland and what’s more that community does not lose its most precious possession – its next generation.
http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/inter-country-adoption/
A short extract:
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Tony Abbott stood beside celebrity advocates, vowing to make the inter-country adoption system quicker, easier and cheaper. “The idea is we will make it easier and significantly less costly for Australians to adopt from overseas,” Mr Abbott said, announcing a new agency that will be designed to reduce adoption waiting times.
But while fast, easy and cheap adoptions may be in the best interests of prospective parents, it is not necessarily in the best interests of children. In fact, a faster, easier and cheaper system could actually put vulnerable children at even greater risk.
To that you might say: surely a child is better off in Australia than in the dire conditions of their own country? Yes, that child may be able to access a better education, a stronger healthcare system and greater physical comforts with a new family in Australia. But this was the same explanation that was given to justify the theft of Aboriginal children and the babies of unwed mothers that resulted in the lifelong damage endured by the Stolen Generation and children of forced adoption. …
Many adopted children are not orphans. A study by Save the Children found that as many as four out of five children in orphanages have at least one living parent. There are stories of children placed in orphanages temporarily during tough times whose parents have returned to find that their children have been adopted out.
Reblogged this on Social Work, Social Work and commented:
A great post by the Adoption Alliance. Several other sensible reports have been in the news lately – by Amy Stockwell on Mamamia and comments by Judge Brereton in The Australian http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/freer-foreign-adoption-risks-past-travesties-warns-senior-judge/story-e6frg6n6-1227124996265. If it wasn’t so dangerous, the ridiculous lengths some people go to for sensationalist publicity would be comical – as the desire for media attention gets more desperate, the facts become more twisted and claims more bizarre – you know the stuff you only read at the hairdresser – this recent story is a prime example – http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/only-1-of-adoptees-have-found-a-home/story-fni0cx12-1227122672365. I don’t know one ‘expert’ that would support these claims. Self-proclamation does not an expert make. The extreme pro-adoption lobby (despite a re-branding to ‘advocates’) have always believed the media is the key to their success, what they don’t realise is Australia is awake up and most of the adoption community are embarrassed.
Thanks for your post and very thoughtful comments
Good on you Chris and the Apology Alliance. As an adoptee, I am so angry and upset at the continued call for the return of forced adoption on a mass scale. Tony Abbott did not get it, the damage done by adoption and his apology was hollow and despicable to say the least. I knew that if he was elected we would lose ground on every aspect of the reforms we had fought so hard for. I was interviewed by ABC radio the day after the Federal apology, and I was very open and honest on my views about this man. And yes! as soon as he was elected he has Debra Furness by his side announcing the change to adoption, “we will be making adoption easier and faster” We will remove children from ineffective parents” (How dare He)! but he does and those who have worked with him and connected to the liberal party have continued to break the promises made at the apology. Their words mean nothing, they are a whole pack of liars. And what makes me even madder about this is, that there were two particular mother’s groups that said, that the Federal and State apologies had nothing to do with adoptees”, (not the mothers of the Apology Alliance nor did Chris ever say this, ever!) Chris has encouraged adoptees and me personally to speak up, Chris has invited me to events to speak directly to politicians and media her support has been amazing. Chris is one of the few mothers who really knew the damage to adoptees and why. She in my eyes is a hero to adoptees. I have been to visit Chris and I see a women totally committing her entire life to exposing the barbaric history of forced adoption in this country and the shocking and disgusting attempts to bring it all back. Chris has not wavered in any shape or form, she gives of her time and energy to help adoptees and other mothers, despite her own personal demons to slay and the unrelenting undermining of other groups who love to play the sabotage game. Adoptees have a friend and advocate in Chris and the Apology Alliance. And if the other groups had supported adoptees to speak up, to tell the senators at the inquiry, the media and government, I know hat we would not be where we are now, going backwards and facing the onslaught of pro-adopters. Our voices were targeted, adoptees were attacked and put down for daring to speak up, because we were seen to be taking the lime light from two particular mothers groups, but we weren’t we were attempting to confirm the trauma, damage, grief, loss and immense pain of forced adoption, upon the child taken..now adults. If we had been able to have equal say, to expose how adoption damages us, we would have shut Abbott down. I predicted this and now we are facing it….Time for adoptees to be given the greatest voice possible, with full support from all past victims..it is time for change of leadership in this area…..Adoptees need to know that they now need to lead and not hide behind anyone or any group. We are at war with pro-adopters and we need to be vocally strong NOW! before it gets anyworse before thousands of other victims are created.