| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Troy Cox" |
| Date: |
17 Oct 2006 04:03:48 AM |
| Object: |
Africa And Celebrity Adoptions |
David Banda is not a household name but he soon will be. The
one-year-old is about to be airlifted out of his native Malawi to a new
life in Britain. He's the latest "celebrity adoption" after Malawi's
high court granted Madonna and film-maker husband Guy Ritchie interim
custody for 18 months. It is possible that Madonna picked up the idea
from Angelina Jolie, who adopted son Maddox from Cambodia and daughter
Zahara from Ethopia. Jolie might have picked up the idea from Ewan
McGregor who adopted a four-year-old daughter from Mongolia or Meg Ryan
who adopted her daughter from China. But Ms. Ryan's geographical
selection is probably the exception here -- the prevailing preference
(at least for the time being) is to adopt from Africa. No one would
deny the terrible circumstances in Malawi where HIV/AIDS has left
nearly one million children without their parents -- an absolute
disaster, to be sure. It is understandable that celebrities with the
best of intentions want to help. But it is also important that the
response be primarily driven not by those wanting to help but by the
people needing the help. A rough comparison could be drawn with the
tsunami response when some Australian (political) activists were
demanding that survivors be airlifted into Australia as refugees. The
idea was killed off, fortunately, because the relocations likely would
have only added to the trauma. Of course, African children like David
Banda have bleak prospects. It's reassuring that compassion exists but
sponsoring children is an equally valid -- if less public -- way to
assist them. The birthplace plays an important role in personal
identity. Bipolar identities are likely to be the end result of these
adoptions if the children can't make sense of it all.
---
Troy Cox
http://troy-cox.blogspot.com/
.
|
|
| User: "David Moss" |
|
| Title: Re: Africa And Celebrity Adoptions |
17 Oct 2006 06:58:55 PM |
|
|
In article <1161075828.575062.8780@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com>,
troycoxnews@dodo.com.au writes...
Of course, African children like David
Banda have bleak prospects. It's reassuring that compassion exists but
sponsoring children is an equally valid -- if less public -- way to
assist them. The birthplace plays an important role in personal
identity. Bipolar identities are likely to be the end result of these
adoptions if the children can't make sense of it all.
Wishful thinking on your part.
I was raised nearly 20,000km from by birthplace and I have no sign of
the problems you mention. A friend of mine is currently raising 3 foster
children from Africa and Asia and they are as well adjusted as any other
kids in the neighborhood. I myself have cared for 10 or more foster
children over the years and none of them experienced bipolar identity
problems.
There are ways of helping foster children to grow up knowing who they
are and therefore reinforcing self esteem. In Queensland all foster
parents are now taught these techniques as part of the accreditation
process.
--
DM
personal opinion only
.
|
|
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
