In January, Ethiopia's parliament voted to ban foreign adoptions following numerous cases of abuse of children in American homes. In 2011, a young girl in Seattle died of hypothermia after being left in the cold by her family. In years past, Ethiopia has been second only to China in terms of popularity for adoptions. Now, it is impossible for families anywhere to adopt from the East African country. Parliament stated that Ethiopia has a responsibility to raise its own children and teach them about their identity and history. Ethiopian orphanages also feel confident that the ban is the correct decision. They say that there is no shortage of funding and have plenty of room to house all the children they need to. They are allowed to go to schools nearby and someday may attend college. The ban also comes at a time when Ethiopia is becoming more nationalistic. People want children to grow up in their home country so they can make it better when they are grown. Nationality "cannot be replaced by money," says an administrator at a private orphanage.
This is similar to American periods of isolationism and extreme nationalism. After the first World War, America retreated into a severe period of isolationist living and policies and nationalism rose due to their war victory and the flourishing economy. Americans continued to live like this until after World War II, when we realized it was nearly impossible to be a major world power while at the same time not getting involved in any foreign affairs.
https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/04/02/595150800/in-ethiopia-a-new-ban-on-foreign-adoptions-is-about-national-pride
This makes me very sad. The living conditions in Ethiopia are not great and now the children there can not have a better live.
ReplyDeleteI'm perplexed by this decision on Ethiopia's part. My cousin was adopted from Ethiopia a few years ago, and it's scary for me to think that if this law had been passed sooner he may have never been in my family's life. I understand where the country is coming from on this decision, but I think that for the children's sake, families who want to adopt should be allowed to adopt, as long as they're viable candidates.
ReplyDeleteWhile cutting off all adoptions just rubs me the wrong way, unfettered adoption isn't much better when such awful people are able to take custody of a child; there should (in my opinion) ideally be a good vetting system put into place so that countries can be assured that their children can not only find a home, but be safe in said home.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Connor on this one. If the children are being placed in bad homes outside of the country it should be halted, but I believe a vetting system would be much more effective and efficient than simply banning the adoption process.
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