[REBORN FROM THE ASHES][comment][02.09]

123runfordreamUID: 2697608

International adoption

Saviours or kidnappers?

Amid catastrophe in Haiti, a new controversy about adoptions

Feb 4th 2010 | From The Economist print edition

AFP Out of Haiti, but not to the highest bidder

IT MUST have seemed like a good idea at the time. The New Life Children’s Refuge, a Christian group from Idaho, saw no need to bother with paperwork or official permission when they decided to take 33 Haitian children to the Dominican Republic where they apparently hoped to build an orphanage.

Furious officials arrested ten of the group’s members on charges of kidnapping (which they deny). Many of the children turned out to have families. A similar row erupted in 2007 when workers from Zoé’s Ark, a French charity, were accused of kidnapping 103 children in Chad. Ostensibly orphans from the Darfur region of Sudan, destined for adoption in France, many turned out to be local children, and not orphans. Six charity workers were jailed.

The sentiment behind inter-country adoption may sound noble and often is. Why should governments stand between loving people in one country and needy children in another? Support for inter-country adoption is particularly strong in America, where parents adopt more foreign children than all the rest of the world. Some would-be adopters may at times be overhasty but Michele Bond, the senior State Department official dealing with the issue, insists that those concerned act from the best possible motives.

But inter-country adoptions happen in a fuzzy and sometimes murky world. One worry is that demand creates supply. Outsiders’ money can distort the decisions of officials and parents in poor countries. That may hamper chances of the most desirable outcome, in which children are fostered by relatives or adopted locally. Very few children described as orphans have no living relatives. If they move to another country, their chances of staying in touch with family members shrivel. Even the most ardent free-marketeers do not support free trade in children, with blonde female babies attracting a hefty premium.

Another worry is that adopted children may disappear from view when they cross international borders. International law stipulates that reports on the adopted child should be sent regularly to the source country. In some countries that is observed punctiliously. In others it is in effect voluntary. American law, in particular, does not require parents to send such reports. Once in America, an adopted child is treated like any other, with the state getting involved only in cases of evident abuse. Officials in countries such as Ethiopia or Ukraine may lack the means or motivation to chase up dilatory American parents.

Many critics of inter-country adoption cite experiences in Romania. Following reports of scandalous conditions in orphanages there after the collapse of communism, outsiders flocked to adopt children. But of the 30,000 children adopted by foreigners between 1990 and 2000, around 20,000 are now untraceable, according to Rupert Wolfe Murray, who worked as a lobbyist on the issue.

Roelie Post, who as a European Commission official dealt with adoption in the run-up to Romania’s entry to the European Union, has written a book on her experience of dealing with what she sees as a powerful adoption lobby that preys on weak and poor countries. Mr Wolfe Murray says that after wars and natural disasters adoption agencies descend like “vultures” to find suitable children. The countries that provide the most children for international adoption include China, Vietnam, Kazakhstan and, until recently, Guatemala, which are also among those with the weakest legal systems, he notes.

Most adoption agencies are non-profit outfits that see their work as entirely charitable. They may charge only expenses and a reasonable fee, according to The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. An international treaty with a supporting bureaucracy, it has had growing clout since America joined it in 2008. But the sums involved leave ample room for doubt. A Love Beyond Borders, an agency helping would-be parents adopt children from Haiti and elsewhere, says the process may cost more than $30,000.

The Hague rules also govern the agencies’ accreditation. That should, for example, stop the practice (often criticised as exploitative) of putting photographs of “children awaiting adoption” on their websites. But American agencies may dodge that by saying that they are seeking accreditation, or cite some other endorsement, for example by the consulate of the country they are dealing with.

As legal regimes on adoption tighten, activity tends to shift. When Romania banned inter-country adoption, agencies moved to lightly regulated Moldova and then Ukraine. Hans van Loon, the secretary general of The Hague regulatory body, highlights Guatemala, once the source of 5,000 annual adoptions, mainly to America. That seemed a lot for a country of 13m people. (Only about 10,000 foreign adoptions a year take place in China.) Now the number has dropped to zero after a temporary suspension. When it resumes, he expects only a few hundred children, mainly with disabilities, to be adopted.

Inter-country adoption may often be wonderful for the children and families concerned. But it does not solve the problems of poverty and abuse that make it so seemingly desirable.

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15469423&source=hptextfeature

海王泪UID: 2673613

这一篇用词蛮有意思~支持一下 :loveliness:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unfamiliar Words
Orphanage, Furious, row (quarrel, dispute), punctiliously, scandalous

Useful Expressions
Words and Phrases
Saviours or kidnappers?
Saviors <-> kidnapppers

Ostensibly orphans from the Darfur region of Sudan, many turned out to be local children, and not orphans.
But it does not solve the problems of poverty and abuse that make it so seemingly desirable.
Ostensibe=seeming (表面上的)
e.g. The ostensible reason wasn’t the real reason. (多指理由等)假装的、表面的

The sentiment behind inter-country adoption may sound noble and often is.
Sound adj.=seem adj.

Some would-be adopters may at times be overhasty
Would-be=aspiring (desiring or aspiring to be a specified type of person)
E.g. a would-be suicide, a would-be economist

But inter-country adoptions happen in a fuzzy and sometimes murky world.
Fuzzy= indistinct=vague= unclear
Murky=dishonest or immoral (not fully explained or understood, especially with concealed dishonesty or immorality)

If they move to another country, their chances of staying in touch with family members shrivel.
(chance, interest, momentum, desire)Shrivel=shrink
E.g. As American interest shriveled, so did the government's.

Once in America, an adopted child is treated like any other, with the state getting involved only in cases of evident abuse.
Get involve in=intervene in

Why should governments stand between loving people in one country and needy children in another?
Needy=poor

Outsiders flocked to adopt children.
Flock to=go together into crowd

She writes a book on experience of dealing with what she sees as a powerful adoption lobby that preys on weak and poor countries. Adoption agencies descend like “vultures” to find suitable children.
Prey on(Stronger economic/military entities掠夺)（Stronger animals捕食）

It has had growing clout since America joined it in 2008.
Growing clout=increasing influence (of business/politics)

As legal regimes on adoption tighten, activity tends to shift.
(Legal/political)Regime=system

Functional Sentences
【Policy to Undesirable outcome】
That may hamper chances of the most desirable outcome.

【Argument-before Pointing out other possibilities】
The ostensible reason wasn’t the real reason.

【Argument-Doubtful Statistics】
But the sums involved leave ample room for doubt.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Comment
Seemingly international adoption solves problems of orphan in poor countries when developed world expressed their philanthropy. However, pursue of benefits sometimes hampers chances of the most desirable outcome.

Nowadays the adoption seems like a market. Certainly demands create supply. So we see in the title that kidnapping occurs, or children who could originally be adopted by relatives or locals now flocked to foreigners’ houses. What’s more, adopted children crossing international borders bring problems when they probably disappear from view. Trader in human beings would be happy if there are some loopholes between original and destined countries.

Cooperation among countries on the issue of inter-adoption should be tighten. Otherwise, children with hope may fall into evil traps.

plukaUID: 2721764

02.09COMMENT
NOTE

saw no need to bother with paperwork or official permission…

The sentiment behind inter-country adoption may sound noble and often is. Why should governments stand between loving people in one country and needy children in another? 

their chances of staying in touch with family members shrivel（使枯萎）. 

Another worry is that adopted children may disappear from view when they cross international borders. International law stipulates（规定保证） that reports on the adopted child should be sent regularly to the source country. In some countries that is observed punctiliously（一丝不苟的）. In others it is in effect voluntary. 

Most adoption agencies are non-profit outfits that see their work as entirely charitable. 

But the sums involved leave ample room for doubt. 

As legal regimes on adoption tighten, activity tends to shift. 

Inter-country adoption may often be wonderful for the children and families concerned. But it does not solve the problems of poverty and abuse that make it so seemingly desirable.

COMMENT
This article reveals to me another aspects of the charity system. Have the international children adoption been the international children trade? This is the last question that anyone who really cares for the benefit of children would willingly answer. Surely the philanthropic affection is always inspiring people to adopt kids, offering shelters and ordinary living conditions for them to grow up. And American couples have long been lauded for their munificent passion for suffering kids in impoverished countries. However, as the article points out, the goodwill sometimes does not lead to an happy ending, while some agencies swallow large sums of money out of illegal process in the name of charity. This necessitates the involvement of governments to ensure the intention of benefactors is not in vain.

qisaimanUID: 2703629

comments;
inter-country adoption
After the disaster in Haiti, the vulture of child-adoption seems to begin its haunt. Although without obvious evidence in the passage, it is not hard to imagine that there is a profession on the inter-country adoption to meet the demand coming from those couples, I guess, who are not able to have their own babies. The haunters, sometimes pretending to act for charity, mainly target those countries where the legal system is weak. This may serve as one of the persistent problems in the world, the trade of population, and therefore becoming a good and urgent study for the world university.

tequilawineUID: 2702008

saviour
[sav·iour || 'seɪvɪə(r)]
n. 救助者, 救星, 救世主
catastrophe
[ca·tas·tro·phe || kə'tæstrəfɪ]
n. 大灾难; 大祸
ostensibly
[ɑ'stensəblɪ /ɒ-]
adv. 表面上; 明显地
in a fuzzy含糊不清的 and sometimes murky黑暗的 world
ardent
[ar·dent || 'ɑːdənt]
adj. 热心的, 激烈的, 燃烧般的
stipulate
[stip·u·late || 'stɪpjəleɪt /-jʊl-]
v. 规定; 约定
punctiliously
[pʌŋk'tɪlɪəslɪ]
adv. 小心翼翼地, 谨小慎微地; 一丝不苟地
prey on   
v. 捕食,掠夺
accreditation  [əˌkredi'teiʃən;əˌkredə'teiʃən]   
n. 委派，信赖，鉴定合格
dodge
[dɒdʒ]
n. 诡计; 躲藏
v. 闪避, 闪身躲开; 躲避, 巧妙地回避; 闪开, 躲开; 躲避, 巧妙地回避
overhasty

adj. 操之过急的
in effect   
1 有效
2 实际上, 事实上
1 Why should governments stand between loving people in one country and needy children in another?
2 But inter-country adoptions happen in a fuzzy and sometimes murky world. One worry is that demand creates supply. Outsiders’ money can distort the decisions of officials and parents in poor countries. That may hamper chances of the most desirable outcome, in which children are fostered by relatives or adopted locally.

comment:
It saddens me to hear about this news such a murky and fuzzy corner under the ostensible hallow behaviors, especially when they use such innocent and pathetic orphans as their tools. What can we do to prevent the catastrophe is to utilize our powerful government policies and provoke our conscientious public to pay more attention to the sneaky scandals behind them, with these manners, we can achieve our goal not merely about how to protect our children but also punish the people who deserved.

But just the author said, should government stand between the loving parents in one country and the needy children in another? Answer is definitely not. Without at the cost of both sides, the obligation should come from multilateral sides, only through this action, the outcome may go as we hope, to let more and more abuse and children involved crime cut down.

dingyi0311UID: 2627919

Inter-country adoption may often be wonderful for the children and families concerned. But it does not solve the problems of poverty and abuse that make it so seemingly desirable.
It is a good thing for the orphans and Haiti to be adopted by person in rich country, it can reduce the burden on the Haiti’s government and provide children with better lives and education. The motive of the parents should not be blamed, they just want to have a child and I believe they will fulfill their obligation to give good care to those adopted children. What should be blamed is those outfit that facilitate the adoptions. This institutions, thought depict themselves as charitable institution, have asked for too much money. They turn this benevolent behavior into a business to make money, which are unbearable and obviously stigmatize the underlying spirits of adoption.

To curb this unpleasant trend, the government needs to reinforce regulation and enact relevant laws. Any children that was adopted should be registed and make sure that receive good care. It may be not practical to as the parent to send reports regularly to the source country since most of them want to keep their adopted children’s identity secrete, yet a investigation to check whether this child are treated well, may be one or two time before they grow up, is preferable.