GlobalShift

When did foreign adoptions become a novelty?

Celebrity adoptions of foreign children have been increasingly common, and increasingly controversial. Angelina Jolie and Madonna in particular caused a flurry of publicity when adopting several children from overseas. The children seem happy, and people assume, what Third World child wouldn’t want to live a glamorous Hollywood lifestyle? However, no one sees the true difficulty of adopting a child from another country, the large amounts of money and time it takes, or the culture differences that must be overcome. Instead, people might be starting to see these children as a sort of exciting novelty, as shown in this disturbing Internet game where you can create a character with accessories, including orphans.

The kids are named after the adopted children of celebrities, such as Jolie’s children: Cambodian Maddox, Ethiopian Zahara and Vietnamese Pax. Also included are David and Mercy from Malawi, named after Madonna’s adopted children, and Mongolian Jamiyan, after Ewan McGregor’s adopted daughter.

This game is a horrific sign of what Hollywood can do to society. A celebrity does something, and it instantly becomes a trend. Now, with the recent disaster in Haiti, people have come out saying they wish to adopt Haitian children. Among them are 10 Americans accused of kidnapping 33 Haitian children who say they were only trying to help them, but face child trafficking charges. Many people have popped up, willing to adopt Haitian orphans, but do they really understand what it takes to adopt an orphan, much less one from a foreign country? Cultural and racial differences must be overcome, and those can be even more difficult than the adoption process itself.

A couple from my church has been in the process of adopting two Haitian children for two years. Because they had already been approved for the adoption, these children’s visas were rushed and are now home and happy with their new parents. I’ve been watching their story happily as they are adjusting to their new life and being introduced to their new church family. This couple has visited these children many times and has been preparing for a long time to bring them home with them. Even so, the adoption and adjusting the children to their new life has been very difficult.

Adopting Elmise and Armon is not a trend, and no children should ever be seen as a novelty, or popular to have. These are real human beings, and they are struggling everyday with what has happened to them.

To go from being involved in an earthquake and watching their orphanage collapse to suddenly being whisked away to a new country with their new parents was terrifying. It took a long time before they were even willing to talk. When they got home, there was snow on the ground, something they had never seen before but were excited to learn about. The family also has a small dog that was staying at their grandma’s house while they were picking up the children in Florida, but the children were scared of the dog and it took a while before they would let him in their house. They started school this week, and upon walking into the classroom, Elmise walked up to the class pets, a tank full of fish, and selected which ones she wanted to eat.

This particular story is a happy one, but the bottom line is that adopting a child from a foreign country is difficult and a huge life decision, and should not be looked at as a trend. If someone really wants to adopt, they should also consider adopting within the United States as well. People may not be prepared for the cultural differences that may be faced with their new child, and if they are looking at the adoption as something cool, exciting or trendy, they would be in for a shock to find out what life with this new child is really like. Here you can learn more about the process adopting foreign children.

What do you think about the adoption of foreign children? Can Americans properly raise children from another culture or race? How do you think Haiti should organize new adoptions and handle pending ones after the earthquake?

Photo: Newsweek