I was reading a number of articles about Haiti today. Many focused on the child victims, collapsed orphanages, and children struggling to survive without adequate food, medical care and water. On one CNN article there was about a million comments from people who wanted to adopt the children, like this very minute. Several comments in particular really sent me over the top. People were actually leaving their phones numbers and trying to get information on a particular child they saw featured in the photos or videos. Literally one comment said, "My phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx, I would like to adopt the little girl in the green dress."
I wanted to reach through the computer and strangle these people. It was sickening. Like a bunch of idiots at the dog pound trying to call out "dibs" on the cutest one. "Oh look how cute they are, I want one, I want one!" Guess what folks, three weeks ago there were HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of orphaned children in Haiti STARVING TO DEATH and you people didn't give a damn about it. And even the kids that still had parents were being carried into emergency feeding centers only to die from kwashiorkor and malnutrition. Haitians were baking "cookies" out of DIRT to eat. And now it's all over the news and they want to run in there and save these kids (who might not even be orphaned- just displaced). Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that many of the pending adoptions are being expedited (some families I know personally waited 2-5 years to adopt their Haitian kids) for cases that are pre-existing of established orphans. But why does it take a major catastrophe for an adoption to finalized in a reasonable amount of time? And providing emergency evacuation and foster homes for displaced kids is an awesome idea, but you better document the heck out of where every one of those kids goes in case they have family looking for them. And if they need to be adopted and do- fantastic. Obviously I'm a fan of that plan. But I dislike the way mass media and pop culture cheapens adoption and treats the kids like objects instead of actual people with lives and families and memories...
I'll get off my soapbox now.
10 years ago
6 comments:
You have every right to be upset. I understand what you are saying. I hope that the earth quake will at least open peoples eye's to what is going on there. I think it would be so incredible that through this horrible disaster His children were taking care of in the right way as you were saying. Your boys are so adorable we call Jace monkey all of the time and he loves his stuff animal monkey.. Have a Blessed day
oooh, move over b/c i want to share your soapbox! or we could just tape the 2 of ours together and make one BIG soapbox!!! i agree. sickening. although maybe it will FINALLY open some greedy, self-centered, richer than most of the world could even fathom eyes as to the situation in other parts of the world! (wait? you mean there are places out there that are NOT like America??? what? starving people? orphans? if i keep my eyes closed i cannot see it, right??)
I so agree with every word!
You are sooo right!
Crap. I thought it was going to be that easy! Jim said he saw some similar news coverage...crazy. (Our meeting with Joann by the way was moved to Thursday...getting anxious to know more!)
I personally enjoyed the comment on the CNN site that said "my husband and I want to adopt the baby boy that Sanje Gupta (sp?) was holding on the 6:00 news. Wow! That's all I can say about that.
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