A Happy Family

The Lee family (pictured above) of South Dakota has recently added three young children from Haiti to their lives. Their story appeared in this article from a local news source in Flandreau, South Dakota. The children joined the Lee family last Tuesday (Feb. 16) and, according to the article, are doing well with their new family. This adoption is one of the numerous Haitian adoptions cases that were in process prior to the earthquake and have subsequently been sped up by the disaster.

The Lee family began the adoption process for the two older children months ago and were not expecting to have the children join their family any sooner than this summer. However, in the aftermath of the earthquake the children were sent to the U.S. on refugee status and the youngest child, Mikano- whose adoption was not scheduled to occur for at least another year- unexpectedly was able to join his two older siblings, Christopher and Daniella.

The tone of  the article is uniformly light and optimistic. Scenes of the Lee children- adopted and biological, white and black- coloring together or the new adoptive father rocking his newly adopted son are described by the author. An anecdote about 8-year-old Amanda's prayers for a baby being answered by Mikano is included. And mother Sandra is lightly quoted noting the similarities between her biological children and adopted children saying "it's all typical toddler-hood", despite the fact that the children do not speak english and come from a notably different background than do her biological children. The author even quietly praises the Lee's hopes to keep the children connected with their Haitian heritage by mentioning their desired future trip to visit Haiti.

Not surprisingly, the article ends on a quasi-religious note with a section entitled "God's Call for Us." Adoptive father, Chad, speaking for the Lee family- members of the First Assembly of God church in Brookings- states that "we thought it [this adoption] was God's call for us from the very beginning." Religion is, yet again connected to the Haitian adoption situation. But, if the family is as happy as they look in this picture and are described to be in this article, this story stands as a definite beacon of hope amidst the anxiety found in the news about Haitian adoption today. 

Missionaries Freed

The final two U.S missionaries, who were being held in Haiti for further questioning regarding their attempt to transport Haitian children to the Dominican Republic, are to be released this week. This may be one of the final chapters to a story which, over the past month, has proven to be extremely convoluted. News has been leaked periodically over the weeks. The earliest news of the 10 Idahoan Baptists missionaries who travelled to Haiti to transport 33 orphans to the Dominican Republic without documentation was followed by news that at least 20 of the children were not orphans. Later, complications with the group's legal advisor  Jorge Puello revealed that he is wanted on charges of human trafficking. Information was reported about the group's leader, Laura Silsby, regarding her less than perfect financial and business history.  The story has been called a "media distraction" and has inspired such opposite reactions as both outrage and praise toward the missionaries and the Haitian authorities.

Yet, the story embodies many of the issues surrounding contemporary Haitian adoption: religiously inspired "rescue," the question of human trafficking, high-profile international legal disputes. It also begs many question: to what extent do foreigners coming to Haiti hold the right to "help" the children through adoption who do, unarguably, need some sort of assistance? The group of missionaries admitted to taking the children out of the country without proper documentation. Regardless of their intent, this is a crime. However, arguments have been made both in favor of and against this group's actions. Do their alleged "altruistic motivations" make this crime "okay?" Do laws need to change in response to such international crises as these? Or, as this case stands as a clear example, how can one's "altruistic motivations" be measured? The group came in as a group of missionaries, but became connected to a man wanted for child trafficking and was led by a woman with a less than perfect history with the law.

This story is an example of the issues at stake in Haitian adoption. It is clearly not a simple issue. However, in dealing with the issue it must be remembered that real people's lives and well-being are at stake. Officials working in Haiti are challenged to deal with these large-scale moral issues along side the micro-scale personal lives of prospective adoptive parents, agencies and, especially, Haitian orphans. Solving these issues is an inadvertently long-term task. However, in the meantime a balance must be struck between long-term solutions and helping the children who are in desperate need.

Adoption Rescuing Souls

This article from Mission Network News, a news source "dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world," focuses on an interesting piece of legislation proposed by Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R) from Holland, Michigan known as the HOPE Act. The HOPE Act would basically make it easier for U.S citizens to adopt Haitian children who were declared as orphans prior to the earthquake by expanding the Department of Homeland Security’s humanitarian parole policy on a case-by-case basis. If passed, this legislation would not affect the Haitian imposed regulations on adoption and the process would still be lengthy and difficult.

Yet, regardless of its mention of this legislation, this article is striking in itself. Its wording sets the stage for a classic adoption rescue story; a story in which the child is saved both physically and spiritually. Adoption is praised as the solution which provides Haitian children with basic needs and, equally importantly, with a Christian outlook. It clearly supports adoption as an act of redemption. Personally, I am not convinced about the appropriateness of the missionizing goals supported in this article. I am also reminded of the controversy surrounding the group of Baptists missionaries from Idaho who were arrested (although, recently eight were released) on charges of trafficking. Yet, I also recognize that religion has been a deeply motivating factor for many people in their desire to help the people of Haiti. In all, it is clear that the Haitian earthquake is reinvigorating discussion in Christian circles about their role in the world. I hope that these discussions will lead Christians, as well as others, to realize that real rescue will require more than adoption and conversion, but long-term social investment in a country torn both by disaster and deep economic trouble.

Jolie Weighs in on Haitian Adoption

In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Haiti over a month ago, talk of adoption is everywhere and who better to chime in on this conversation than one of the most famous adoptive parents in the world: Angelina Jolie. In a recent interview with CNN, Jolie urged that now is not the time for people wishing to help Haiti to adopt Haitian children. She cites the issues of Human Trafficking and the lack of infrastructure as complicating issues with Haitian adoption. This is sound advice in a time where the Haitian government is experiencing chaos and disorder and when the people of Haiti are without basic needs or communication technology. As a celebrity, her word definitely holds clout with a significant, yet likely very specific, portion of the population. However, I can't help but wonder why Jolie made this trip to Haiti in a time when the government and relief organizations are asking for money over volunteers. I wouldn't be surprised if a Haitian child will be added to the Jolie-Pitt family in the coming months or years.