Calm Spirit/Ying Yu Jade China Trip 2006
Chinese Adoptions and Orphans
The baby adoption business in Guangzhou is more apparent than any other Chinese city I've been to. I would guess more than half the people staying at the hotel are parents and families who came to adopt a Chinese baby. Sometimes the sibs were there, too, sometimes this was a second or third adoption. The average length of stay is two weeks. They get their baby a couple of days after they arrive then meet with the coordinator and stay for at least a week to make sure they adjust to each other before they go home. It's really bizarre, the strollers, the intense focus on the child, who is always a girl. We didn't see any boys. The mood is a mixture of bliss and euphoria, seasoned with a little apprehension. It's really interesting to observe the siblings. Some of them are really excited and involved and push the strollers around, while others seem to exhibit a lot of age regressive behavior like thumb sucking in kids who are too old to do that. Some of it's passive, but there's a lot of acting out behaviors too. Everywhere you go around the hotel the focus is on the Chinese child. I wonder what the hotel staff think about this, seeing it every day.
We also noticed that most of the girls are not "perfect", harelip is common as is port wine stain. These families who adopt Chinese children take on a lot to deal with. It's also disturbing to think about all these throw-away children, and what their future would be if they weren't adopted
Since returning from this trip, I've talked with three families who have adopted one or more children in China. The American Embassy is in Guangzhou which is helpful for the families. The parents are expected to tour China and become more familiar with Chinese culture, then they go to the orphanage to get their child and spend time at the hotel adjusting. A woman told me that when she was in Beijing and asked about orphanages there, the tour guide told her there were not orphanages in Beijing. That's the Party propaganda, concerned about Beijing's image. She also told me that they were expected to contribute $3000 to the orphanage, which she was happy to do, but expressed concerns that the money was not going to help the children because they seemed to be slightly underfed. Unfortunately, corruption is a big problem in China, especially with government workers. I also contribute to an orphange in Feng Huang City, for children with disabilities. This is an orphanage that is not licensed for adoptions. My friend in Dandong checks on them occasionally and lets me know how they are doing. I try to make sure the money goes to the children, but also know the realities of China.
I
don't have photos of the families with their newly adopted Chinese children because
it would not have been appropriate to take them. Here are photos of some of the
orphans in the Feng Huang
City orphanage.
Next: Shamian Park and More Jade Market Shopping
