FamiLee Life

Ramblings on The Hague :: Where Adoption and Beach Intersect

Here is the latest news from the U.S. State Dept on efforts to ratify the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions. Click here to read the news briefing. Also, here is a link to Bastard Nation's response to the latest U.S. efforts with the Hague Convetion. It really is quite thought provoking stuff and worth a read. Hopefully, the U.S. will move quickly but effectively in its implementation. Oversight and standardization of the adoption process is crucial.

For those curious, Bastard Nation - beyond its provocative name - has a worthwhile mission. From their website...

Bastard Nation advocates for the civil and human rights of adult citizens who were adopted as children. Millions of North Americans are prohibited by law from accessing personal records that pertain to their historical, genetic and legal identities. Such records are held by their governments in secret and without accountability, due solely to the fact that they were adopted.

Bastard Nation campaigns for the restoration of their right to access their records. The right to know one's identity is primarily a political issue directly affected by the practice of sealed records adoptions. Please join us in our efforts to end a hidden legacy of shame, fear and venality.

In effect, BN serves as an advocacy group run by adoptees and for adoptees. It is a needed voice within the adoption dialogue. Too often, we allow one dominant group to define a population or determine the fate of a population. BN ensures that more voices (i.e., the voice of adoptees) to be heard.

While on my trip to Holland, I had a chance to meet with Korean adoptees who are actively involved in the adoption community. Our Korean-Dutch friend Hilbrand - a Korean adoptee whom I met a few years earlier in Copenhagen during an international conference on Korean adoption - took us to Den Haag (The Hague) for a day at the beach. If you are like me, you might be scratching your head thinking "beach" in Holland? I know. But it's true. Nestled by the North Sea, Scheveningen is a seaside neighborhood/resort.

It was consistently hot, hot, hot while traveling in Europe and Holland was no exception. By our fifth day in Holland, it was finally starting to 'cool down' to a humid 90+ degrees or so. The beach was a calling and we abided. To my surprise, the Scheveningen beach was a perfect respite from the heat. The beach was sandy, the water was warm, and the beer was nice and cold. We were joined by his friend, Angie, and had a great time. Most folks travel to Amsterdam, but I encourage folks to really take the train to The Hague for a day at the beach.

Later in the evening, we met up with some other Korean adoptees who live in Holland for a Korean dinner (my comfort food). Of course, as often is the case, we all had mutual friends from around the world. The Korean community is so small and the Korean adoptee community is even smaller! It was the perfect meal and a great evening of enlightening and often funny conversation.

Having previously consulted with adoption scholars in Holland, I was able to learn one side of the adoption experience (from academics and adoptive parents). At dinner in The Hague, I was able to learn the other side of the adoption experience (from adoptees themselves). Much was similar but there were some notable differences in opinion too.

To me, as an outsider studying adoption (i.e., neither an adoptee nor an adoptive parent), I am always struck by the lack of dialogue between adoptive parents and adoptees. I also have found it typically to be the case that many adoption researchers rely upon adoptive parents as sources of information without due consultation with adoptees, particularly adult adoptees who can offer guidance, criticism, and suggestions. What I hear from many adoptees is that they feel their viewpoints are minimized and invalidated, often portrayed as extreme and not realistic, by adoption scholars/adoptive parents.

As I listened to the Korean adoptees talk of their ignored experiences in Holland, I mentioned that their experience reminds me of early U.S. civil rights efforts in which Black whose protests against inequity and racism were dismissed as radical and extremist. The 1950s and 1960s dominant discourse on race prevented dissent from emerging as a legitimate voice. Of course, nowadays, we largely look back at those radicals needed heroes in our efforts to establish racial justice.

Perhaps in due time, Bastard Nation and other adoptee rights organizations will emerge in a similar light. In the short term, I hope the U.S. finally ratifies and institutes the Hague Convention and pushes forward more legislation that protects the rights of all members of the adoption triad.

Posted by richlee at August 3, 2006 09:20 AM