Getting The Word Out re Haiti

As the Haitian situation will be with us for a long time, it is important that we continue to keep focus on it to avoid as much harm done tot he children and the nation as possible.

This VanCouver Sun headline makes clear that a very real threat still exists:

Earthquake prompts hundreds of B.C. families to consider adoption 

Those of us in the know, know that this is the worst time to first consider taking on the responsibilities of adopting a child who is likely older, may have been institutionalized, is surely traumatized and may or may not even be orphaned! But...

Heartbreaking images of hungry and homeless children in Haiti following last week’s devastating earthquake have prompted hundreds of British Columbia families to consider foreign adoption, according to local agencies.
“We are absolutely overwhelmed with phone calls and e-mails,” said Angie Appenheimer, adoption worker with the Hope Adoption Services in Abbotsford.

And they are comparatively bargain priced:

Appenheimer said couples who’ve been approved for the process can expect to pay between $15,000 and $20,000 and wait up to two years to pick up their child.

Note the set up I wrote about previously. You pay and then wait for "your" child!  There is something very wrong with this matching system that sets up expectations of entitlement to a fever pitch.

Closer to home, a FOX affiliate in Indianapolis reports: 

Haiti earthquake leads to more Indiana adoptions: Hoosiers touched by the disaster in Haiti are turning to adoption in surprising numbers. It's a blessing not just for children in the ravaged country, but right here in Indiana.

In a period of 24 hours, there were literally hundreds of families that were willing to accept these Haitian children," said John Ryan of the Indiana Department of Child Services. They are babies, toddlers, pre-teens and teenagers, some abused, most neglected. All vulnerable and in need of a safe and loving home. And thanks to the passion that's been stirred, more will find them. But more are still needed. 

We need to keep getting the word out that these are BAD ideas.  I am thus pleased that a very hastily written piece: "Tragedy Exploited: A Sad History Repeating Itself in Haiti" which was published by, Dissident Voice has now also picked up by Humanitarian Texts, Worldwide Aasian-Euraisan Himan Rights Forum. You can read it at either link or here on this blog. "What is the use of knowing, unless what is known to one be also known to others." -Emanuel Swedenborg