Marking my calendar for Deb Sivigny’s work in fall 2017

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arts and culture

excited to hear about performance art coming in fall 2017 from kad Deb Sivigny, as told on The Rambler.  Sounds fascinating, the idea is to take the audience through the experience of an adoptee’s perspective first hand.  How do we get this produced in NY after the DC run?

http://therambleradhd.podbean.com/e/episode-41-deb-sivigny/

As a side note, really liked Mike’s description of adoptee commonality while interviewing Sophie Samperil:

We have all had, separately, a shared experience.

Realizing this shared experience can be an amazing mental threshold to cross, and is a fundamental basis for our KAD nation.

The Gathering of the First Generation of Adult Korean Adoptees: Adoptees’ Perceptions of International Adoption

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history / research

This report contains an historical overview of the international adoption of Korean children; the results of an Adoption Institute survey conducted prior to historical Gathering conference of the first generation of Korean adoptees, and synopsis of the adoptee discussion groups.

Author: Madelyn Freundlich, Joy Kim Lieberthal

Published: June 2000

http://www.holtintl.org/pdfs/Survey2.pdf

Summary: http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/old/research/press3.html

 

Emotional reactions to Kristen Kish win on Top Chef

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arts and culture / news

It was a long time ago that she won, but still found it amazing the emotional connection that TV can create, even in a cooking show.

http://mykoreanadopteestory.tumblr.com/search/kish

http://www.blogher.com/top-surpise-top-chef-does-adoption-right

The second post explores several aspects of Kristen’s background in an honest and sympathetic way.  This quote is so on point:

Well, for me, I don’t know how authentic things can be, but I know what tastes good…. I hope I’m not offending any Asian people. But…I was raised by white parents. But I’m Asian. But I kinda don’t know a lot about Asian cooking.

Adam Crapser to be deported for his parents’ failures

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news

Is there bigger news this year for KADs then Adam Crapser being deported, punished because his parents failed to get him naturalized?  Yes, he had some run-ins with the law in the past, but he served his time – and most fundamentally, he would not be deported if his parents (2 sets of them!) had not failed in their parental responsibility to naturalize their adopted son.

On Monday, October 24, 2016, Immigration Judge John C. O’Dell ruled that Korean adoptee Adam Crapser would not be granted relief for cancellation of removal and will be deported to South Korea. Adopted at the age of 3 by U.S. citizens and surviving two sets of abusive adoptive parents, Mr. Crapser is being deported to a country where he does not speak the native language, does not know the culture, and will have great difficulty securing gainful employment and integrating into Korean society.

Adam is one of an estimated 35,000 intercountry adoptees who do not have U. S. citizenship. Introduced in November 2015, the Adoptee Citizenship Act will close a loophole in a 2001 law and grant citizenship to these adoptees.

After the hearing, Adam said, “While I am disappointed in the judge’s ruling and worried about my family’s future, I hope that what has happened to me will further demonstrate the importance of passing the Adoptee Citizenship Act.”

Jenna Cho Ness of the Adoptee Rights Campaign, who attend the hearing, remarked, “The outcome is extremely disheartening for the adoptee community. It seems outrageous that we were brought to the United States for adoption as children but can be later deported back as adults. This goes against what this country is supposed to stand for.”

Please take 5 minutes to support the Adoptee Citizenship Act now and put an end to the deportation of adoptees by:

* Calling your Member of Congress and asking them to support the Adoptee Citizenship Act. Click HERE to find your Member of Congress.
* Donating to the Adoptee Rights Campaign at http://adopteerightscampaign.org/donate/

http://adopteerightscampaign.org/727/

The realities of adoption…

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commentary
Mea's mother, September 2016

This was posted on facebook, and the author allowed me to share it here.  It is such a poignant distillation of some of the complex emotions about our families and mothers that many adoptees carry.

“I reunited with my birth mother in 1997 but have not seen her since. This morning my Korean half brother messaged me and told me that she saw the kids’ pictures on FB. He also told me she had surgery for cancer in May. It’s so weird to hear about such a big life event after the fact, so casually.

I asked if he had a recent picture of her because I have not seen her since 1997. I didn’t realize that she was with him and he sent this picture. It’s surreal to see a picture of her now as an older lady. And to feel so disconnect to her, my mother, the one who carried me in her womb, that I am related to by blood. Seeing this picture made me cry with so many different emotions. Happy to see what she looks like now. Sad that I don’t know much about her. Grateful that I was adopted and given an amazing family. Sad that she doesn’t know her only grandchildren. Guilty that I long for a maternal relationship with her when I have such an amazing adoptive Mom…

I so want to tidy up this story with a neat ending…but I can’t…this is the realities of adoption… “

– Mea Fajardo, 2016

mea-fajardo-duo-1st

Mea and her mother in 1997, the first and last time she saw her since adoption.

Capturing kad history, one Kaomi Goetz work at a time

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news

Reunions are considered a dream come true, but in reality they can come with lots of complications.  Here’s one story.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/09/30/mn-korean-adoptees-family-search-emotional-quest

From Kaomi Goetz, who is doing amazing work while on her Fulbright in Korea.  Here’s her personal site of her reporting articles.  But that’s not her current blog, this is.  And none of that is her big current project, this is.  As part of the audio project, you can hear more from Meghan Arnesen, who is featured in the article above.