On February 12, 2020, the Korea Children's Rights Protection Agency and Yonhap News Agency launched a "Tracing Of Adoptees" campaign.
Such a "family search" news unveiled a history of asian girl adoption.
Cho Sung-fu , president of Yonhap News Agency ( left ) , and Yoon Hye-mi , president of the Children's Rights Protection Agency , signed a publicity campaign on jointly carrying out the "Search for Relatives of Children Adopted by Transnational Adopted Children" Source: Yonhap News Agency
"Intercountry adoption" is not new, and about tens of thousands of girls in Asia are adopted by transnational families every year.
In 2015 alone, about 15,000 children were adopted by American families.
South Korea, which opened up for foreign adoption earlier than China, was once the largest exporter of overseas adoptions.
The United States is the world's earliest and largest adopter.
In the 1950s, the United States began mass adoption of orphans displaced by war.
The first famous U.S. adoption proposal was the Holt Proposal.
In December 1954, Ms. Holt of Oregon and her husband, Harry, wrote to the U.S. Congress applying for intercountry adoption after learning that countless North Korean orphans were living in plight due to the outbreak of the Korean War.
A North Korean child adopted by Ms. Holt and her husband, Harry
In 1995, the United States passed the proposal, and Holt was revered as the "grandmother of the adopted child."
She once said: "All children are beautiful, as long as someone loves them." ”
Ms. Holt
The famous American writer Pearl Buck is also a caring person who actively calls for "transnational adoption".
Feeling the unfair treatment of Asian-American children after their adoption, she founded the welcome house, the first institution in the United States to adopt abandoned children, in 1949.
Of the more than 5,000 orphans adopted, half were from Asia, Pearl Buck herself adopted seven children.
Author Pearl Buck, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
Since the beginning of the 21st century, most of the children who have been "adopted by countries" have changed from orphans to abandoned babies, of which girls account for a large proportion.
Overbirth, son preference, and congenital diseases are important reasons why most Asian girls are abandoned at birth.
From the news reports, we see a lot of happy life after abandoned babies are adopted.
In the eyes of most people, it is a blessing to be adopted by a foreign family.
Developed countries such as the United States have relatively higher welfare and security, which means that the quality of life of abandoned babies will be improved.
Behind these beautiful things, there is also the confusion and sadness of tens of thousands of Chinese.
Because she was from China, she was shot by her adoptive brother
On August 10, 2019, a Chinese girl in Norway was shot dead at home with three shots in the head and one shot in the chest.
It was her adoptive brother PhilipManhaus who shot her.
Chinese Girl John Zhang Jia Eile Hansen Source: Look at the news
On October 7, Philip Manhouse, who created the "810 Shooting Terror Case," appeared in court and was tried without remorse.
He also told the police that he had shot his adopted sister only because she was from China.
Philip Manhouse Source: Look at the news
Cases of extreme bloodshed due to racial discrimination are not uncommon in intercountry adoptive families.
If they can't enter the adoptive family, why should they be home
On YouTube there is a 3-year-old internet celebrity Meimei, a yellow-skinned, dark-eyed little girl in the daily life of american families, which has been played more than a million times.
meimei
This little girl from hunan welfare home was brought home by her current parents when she was 2 months old.
From the daily video of her adoptive mother's life, more than 2 million YouTube fans have witnessed her growth.
From teething to toddlers to learning the first letter, meimei grew up like every American child.
Meimei and family
As you can see, meimei is lucky.
Because she met her parents who loved her and were courteous and courteous sisters and brothers.
Like meimei, there are many more abandoned children who have been adopted.
And these adopted overseas girls, there are more untold follow-up stories.
In 2018, a stay-at-home mom in Tennessee turned her gun on her 4 children because of strained relationships.
These four children are the Chinese children they adopted.
Room for 4 adopted children of Chinese descent.
In addition to these bloody cases, the issue of identity is also a problem that adopted girls need to overcome for life.
In the home of adoptive parents, whether it is actively helping them to learn the culture of their native homeland or avoiding the issue of racial color.
They will still have doubts about the identity of the "banana people" after entering the social group.
Unfriendly views from all walks of life and contempt from ethnically narrow-minded people can make them psychologically bear a heavy burden in their foreign years.
Discriminated Against Chinese Identity
In 2014, Emily Olson, an Asian-American girl adopted by an American family, ended her 14-year-old cardamom years by committing suicide at home by shooting herself.
Emily Olson
In her short career in a foreign country for more than a decade, she was constantly insulted by her classmates verbally, physically and online, mostly against her Chinese identity.
This made her regain the warmth of her family begin to become isolated until she ended her life after shooting.
In Hangzhou photographer Cao Mengwen's "i stand between" album, we spied more such examples.
"When I came back to China, people thought I was too American; when I was in the United States, people thought I was too Chinese. Where do I belong? ”
Emily Roe was born in China, adopted at 4 months old and is 26 years old this year.
emily roe 图源：《i stand between》
Because of her Asian identity, she grew up in a white environment but was excluded by other Asian groups, and the complex identity relationship made her unable to find a corner to be accepted.
Many adopted girls who return to their homeland to find their families are difficult to integrate because of their snubbed affection and unfamiliar foreign cultures.
As an adopted Chinese girl in the documentary Middle Ground put it: "I don't consider myself purely Chinese or pureLy American. At any point in my life, I will be in some kind of middle ground. ”
Source: Documentary "Middle Ground"
In addition to psychological problems, adopted Asian girls are also the hardest hit areas for sexual assault and domestic violence.
Cases of sexual assault and imprisonment and beatings of chinese adopted daughters have been popping up every year.
Twin sisters separated at opposite ends of the world
In 2013, after the broadcast of a BBC documentary "Twin Sisters", more people learned about these adopted Asian girls and touched hundreds of thousands of viewers from all over the world.
Image source: Douban Movie
The protagonist of the documentary is a Chinese twin sister.
They were found in a cardboard box in 2003 and then adopted separately from families from the United States and Norway in welfare homes.
While leaving the welfare home, the two families were surprised to find that they were twins.
Source: Documentary "Twin Sisters"
A pair of Chinese twin sisters who were supposed to live under the same roof have been separated ever since.
The two sisters are separated at opposite ends of the world and live two very different ways of life.
Her sister in California's big city had a typical American sweetheart childhood, while her sister, who lived in rural Norway, became a forest girl.
They first met at the age of 6 and it was like an adventure where no matter what they were doing, they would find a way to be together.
Blood is connected to emotions, so that they finally find the closest relatives in the world.
They know each other that they are unlikely to live together in the future.
They are so unfortunate that they have to disintegrate because of the changes in their lives, but they are so loving to fate that they are adopted by two loving families who have come from afar.
In one of the decisions of the welfare home, the two sisters lived very different lives, allowing them to meet two pairs of parents who loved them deeply.
Because of the language barrier, the two sisters now rely on the Internet and talk weekly.
During the Spring Festival and Christmas, they will also mail each other gifts of their choice.
More and more overseas adopted girls are also choosing to use the Internet to build their own little world.
On the Internet, they find each other who have experienced the same experience, encourage and praise each other, and listen to and talk about their joys and troubles.
This format also gives these adopted girls, who have wandered around the world, the opportunity to integrate into the adopted country and know that they are not alone.
At the 2019 World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Maggie McNeil, who represented Canada, had a typical oriental face and long black hair.
At the World Championships, she won the 100m butterfly with a time of 55.83 seconds and broke the world record.
Maggie McNeill
Like all lucky adopted girls, Maggie from China met a family member who loved her and grew up in an atmosphere of friendliness, acceptance and encouragement.
In the positive guidance of the Network and various adoptive children's associations, she integrates into the social life of the adopted country with a better mentality, and the sense of belonging has not become a burden for her.
Even more gratifying is the fact that the number of cross-border adoptions has been decreasing for nearly 10 years.
From 12,753 in 2009 to 4,059 in 2018, the straight line has dropped by 70%.
This means that there has been significant progress in the improvement of poverty in Asia and the correction of gender equality.
At birth, they have no choice between parents, family and nationality.
From the moment of drifting to the ground, all misfortune and luck are reshuffled.
I believe that with the efforts of all, these adopted Asian girls will find a fearless skin color in the future.