Haiti, Adoption, and Anderson Cooper
Here’s an excellent post from Rage Against the Minivan in response to Anderson Cooper’s piece (which I saw) on keeping Haitian children in orphanages, rather than allowing them to be adopted. I agree with every word, so rather than trying to repeat or summarize what she wrote, just go read it.
This reminds me of a recent conversation (and a lot of other past conversations) Mr. B. and I had with some family members about First Nations children in foster care here where I live. Although only 8% of the kids in our province are Aboriginal, Aboriginal children account for 52% of the children in government care, as of 2009. More info here.
It’s pretty much government policy that Aboriginal children must be adopted by Aboriginal families. There are countless excellent reasons for this policy. Exceptions happen, but they’re rare and very complicated to obtain. Sadly, for a complex host of reasons, there are not enough approved Aboriginal adoptive homes for the kids who need them. Most of these kids will “age out” of foster care, often having passed through numerous foster homes, without permanent families. Only about a tenth of all adoptable foster kids ever actually get adopted, and I suspect that percentage is even lower when it comes to Aboriginal foster kids. Statistically, the likelihood is that these kids will end up on the streets, in prison, or dead at an early age. Is that better than being adopted by non-Aboriginal families and being forced to struggle with the many difficulties that brings? That’s a question I can’t easily answer. On an individual basis, I’d say no, of course not. But this situation is the result of a horrific history of widespread social injustice and tragedy, much of which was perpetrated by the very system that now holds responsibility for these kids. Allowing them to be adopted by non-Aboriginal families doesn’t change that system or quell the opressive forces that still run rampant through our society. It could even be argued that it contributes to the continued existence of those forces by making change appear unnecessary, or at least less pressing.
Do we sacrifice individuals in the pursuit of a greater good (because it’s impossible, in my opinion, to argue convincingly that allowing kids to age out of foster care or orphanages without permanency is good), or vice versa? Is there a different and better way? I don’t know, but as someone who plans to adopt from foster care in the future, that question has kept me awake at night more than once.
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