Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Helen Morrison's View of Intercountry Adoption

The following blog is by my daughter Helen, who has written a blog as a part of her school assignment to write on an issue, and she has chosen the issue of intercountry adoption.  Helen is not an adoptee and currently is a freshman at Biola.  I really appreciate her insight into her exposure and experience in the issues related to intercountry adoption.

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               For as long as I can remember, my father was always saying, “Every child was created to be loved.” But, how can they be loved if they have no home and no family? I have a lot of experience with the idea of adoption because I was raised in a home where adoption was highly promoted. Of course, my knowledge is miniscule compared to my father’s knowledge of what is going on, simply because as an adoptee himself, he set out to advocate international adoption in Korea. Therefore, he has done extensive research and thinking to better understand the situation.

              Adoption in Korea is a taboo, of course--if you are reading this blog, it is most likely that you know that already. In Korea, adoption is often done in secret and families that go public with their adoption are often looked down upon. The stigma of adoption in Korea has even affected the mindset of some of my friends, who come from a Korean background. I remember the first time I experienced this was when I was having a conversation I had with one of my friends wherein she asked me why my brother and I were the same age but, weren’t twins. I told her that he was adopted and then she asked, in surprise, “Oh, and are you just okay with just sharing that information?” Surprised and confused by that response I replied, “Yes.” In an obvious tone. Then she went on and called my parents brave for not being ashamed of adoption. That was not the only time I experienced something like this. Throughout the years, I’ve seen traces of the negative social stigma in the people I interact with daily. This leads me to the purpose of writing this blog post.

              I believe my dad being orphaned was an immense blessing. It’s a strange assumption, correct? However, if he wasn’t orphaned he would not have had a passion to change Korea’s views on adoption. Because of my dad’s suffering and experiences, he is helping to ensure that nobody goes through the same experience as he has. He is also igniting more hearts to the problem that is still very much relevant today. One of those hearts is mine. I believe that me being my father’s daughter was not coincidental. My father being who he is is also not coincidental. My dad’s vocation is to promote international adoption in Korea, and he has inspired me to take on that lifestyle as well.

-- Helen Morrison

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