Home away from home.

*I JUST REALIZED THAT LAST WEEK ALL THAT POSTED WAS MY OUTLINE FOR MY BLOG, NOT THE REAL CONTENT. HAHAHA. Apparently I'm not great at blogger/draft/publish. THIS IS AN UPDATE. So sorry!*

Home away from Home. 

What would it mean to be born one place and taken to grow up somewhere else- different people, different country, different continent. How would that happen? Elena Kim gives the history, benefits, missteps and opportunities of transnational adoption in Adopted Territory. “Transnational adoption is a phenomenon that may be precipitated by a social crisis of the welfare state and actualized through the extraordinary abilities of ordinary people, but, as these examples illustrate, its full collaboration as a system dependent upon the coordination of a range of technologies: national family and immigration legislation; expert knowledge and universal notions of children's best interest; missionary, development and humanitarian charitable projects; the circulation of images in the production of transnational imageries and affects; and the availability of international communication and transportation technologies” (71). 

Christian Americanism + anticommunism = adoption

Adoption is something I’ve been familiar with for the majority of my life. One of my best friends from childhood was adopted. My parents were foster parents. In my catholic school, there were big families who at some point thought- what’s one more? and adopted internationally and domestically. Everyone was motivated by the “Christian morals” Kim talks about. They had verses like-

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” Matthew 18:5 ESV

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” Matthew 28:19 ESV

hanging on their kitchen walls. 

And that’s not a bad thing. It’s not altogether a bad thing. It makes sense to me that after years of fighting communism the American media and international propaganda would encourage the rescuing of as many “orphans” as possible. But the American (and European) transnational adoption phenomenon desperately needed to be examined. What happens when a child from South Korea is forced to grow up white? Is the disconnect from their heritage and disregard for their culture worth getting to grow up in the suburbs of Lansing, Michigan? We assume so. 

What about the children that were painted as “orphans” but weren’t really? Wouldn’t that be something to celebrate? After 4 years of being in an orphanage your biological parent is found! A family reunion! Instead, across an ocean Americans were feeling cheated. “In the cases of Sul Ja and Chong Ja present discordant moments that bring to light cultural assumptions and social structural relations. In both cases, assumptions about opportunity, entitlement, and familial ownership were rhetorically mobilized by desiring Americans in their attempts to adopt the children they had decided were theirs” (69). That’s when you know the Christian Americanism, as Kim calls it, has morphed  into American entitlement. 

Online communication + major conferences = Korean adoptee community

I used to love eBay. You could find things you didn’t even know needed. I would get bored and shop for my favorite things- I would type “headband” or “Zeta Tau Alpha” or “Burberry” into the search field to find something I didn’t even know existed but then instantly needed. The internet is funny that way. 

The picture Kim paints of people building online community just by searching “other Korean adoptees” is amazing. Community is a difficult thing to create, but technology made it easier for the Korean adoptee community to connect over blog posts, shared experiences, plan for in person conferences. The world is getting smaller. 

I love the idea of community that connected each of the text this semester so far- the ICIs traveling together, the Haitian women crossing the border together, the Dominican women helping take care of each others children. The Korean adoptees sharing their unique, but similar experiences. In a world of turmoil, striving, often suffering- the human connection is priceless. 

Things I found helpful when navigating this texts. 

ethnicity- a social group that shares a common and distinctive culture, religion, language or the like.

race- a group of persons related by common descent or heredity; a socially constructed category of identification based on physical characteristics, ancestry, historical affiliation, or shared culture. 

culture- the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group.

transnational- going beyond national countries or interest; comprising persons, sponsors, etc, of different nationalities.

international- between or among nations; involving two or more nations.

emigrate- to leave one’s place of residence or country to live elsewhere.

immigrate- to enter and usually become established; especially: to come into a country of which one is not a native for permanent residence.

migrate- to move from one country, place, or locality to another.