Soul
Donation protected
To start, (international) adoption is epically flawed. i don't really want to go into it here, but i encourage you to check out these two articles to learn more. we (north) americans are profoundly ignorant in this area and think it's primarily a good thing. but, in truth, we know more about fair trade coffee than ethically sourced children. my country of origin, korea, set the standard for international adoption and it's worth looking at what caused it (spoiler alert: the US military was involved) and how it ignited a very disturbing human trafficking industry.
https://priceonomics.com/why-did-international-adoption-suddenly-end/
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/17533-the-korean-war-forgotten-unknown-and-unfinished
thanks to a group of adoptee advocates who have gone back to live in korea, policy changes have been made so that i can get access to my family medical history due to my extreme medical condition. this law changed in 2013, 60 years after the first koreans were exported. however, the agencies are corrupt beyond belief. they lie to adoptees, telling them their parents haven't tried to contact them, and they shame and lie to birth parents, telling them their children don't want anything to do with people who "gave up" on them. They also tell us our parents/children are dead. i am lucky to have my records. most are told theirs burned in a fire.
last year my birth mother went into my adoption agency after my US liaison forced the korean branch to reach out to her. then he left and the agency, Holt International (the first and largest adoption corporation in existence), refuses to return emails even to their own liaison, and, of course, me. the law requires that since they have contact with my mother, they have to get me my medical records. but despite knowing in 2013 that i was so sick and that it was only going to get worse, they have ignored me, happy to let me die.
i have been sponsored to go over for a 10-day "first trip home" program that isn't disguised as a christian conversion program, the only one i was able to find that wasn't about meeting jesus. a friend is paying for airfare. i am trying to stay for as long as i can to get my dual citizenship, seek their healing modalities, and possibly spend time with my family if that all works out. many adoptees lucky enough to meet their parents do so right before they die. i also very well might do some interviews and appear on national television in korea to talk about this process, why these laws are so important, why international adoption should end, and how to make that economically viable. south korea has had an "economic miracle", and it did so by amputating half of its body and exporting over 200,000 of its most vulnerable population for profit.
i need money to eat, find safe lodging, and travel, but also care for my dog is expensive and i still can't get around like a completely able-bodied person so accommodations where you have to wing it (like couchsurfing), i can't do. i hope to see my birth city and the city where i was surrendered and fostered as well as an island where korea's best healers live.
if you can contribute, i would be forever grateful to you, or if you can pass this on to people who might care. i don't know how much money I'll need, but anything will help. i still don't have a return ticket.
it has been one hell of a ride. and honestly, I'm relieved to finally live out the end of my memoir.
thank you,
mee ok
https://priceonomics.com/why-did-international-adoption-suddenly-end/
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/17533-the-korean-war-forgotten-unknown-and-unfinished
thanks to a group of adoptee advocates who have gone back to live in korea, policy changes have been made so that i can get access to my family medical history due to my extreme medical condition. this law changed in 2013, 60 years after the first koreans were exported. however, the agencies are corrupt beyond belief. they lie to adoptees, telling them their parents haven't tried to contact them, and they shame and lie to birth parents, telling them their children don't want anything to do with people who "gave up" on them. They also tell us our parents/children are dead. i am lucky to have my records. most are told theirs burned in a fire.
last year my birth mother went into my adoption agency after my US liaison forced the korean branch to reach out to her. then he left and the agency, Holt International (the first and largest adoption corporation in existence), refuses to return emails even to their own liaison, and, of course, me. the law requires that since they have contact with my mother, they have to get me my medical records. but despite knowing in 2013 that i was so sick and that it was only going to get worse, they have ignored me, happy to let me die.
i have been sponsored to go over for a 10-day "first trip home" program that isn't disguised as a christian conversion program, the only one i was able to find that wasn't about meeting jesus. a friend is paying for airfare. i am trying to stay for as long as i can to get my dual citizenship, seek their healing modalities, and possibly spend time with my family if that all works out. many adoptees lucky enough to meet their parents do so right before they die. i also very well might do some interviews and appear on national television in korea to talk about this process, why these laws are so important, why international adoption should end, and how to make that economically viable. south korea has had an "economic miracle", and it did so by amputating half of its body and exporting over 200,000 of its most vulnerable population for profit.
i need money to eat, find safe lodging, and travel, but also care for my dog is expensive and i still can't get around like a completely able-bodied person so accommodations where you have to wing it (like couchsurfing), i can't do. i hope to see my birth city and the city where i was surrendered and fostered as well as an island where korea's best healers live.
if you can contribute, i would be forever grateful to you, or if you can pass this on to people who might care. i don't know how much money I'll need, but anything will help. i still don't have a return ticket.
it has been one hell of a ride. and honestly, I'm relieved to finally live out the end of my memoir.
thank you,
mee ok
Organizer
Amanda Bardsley
Organizer
Brookline, MA