People still trapped in the rubble, hunger, death, and complete social collapse.

What’s the story here in America?

Adoption.

Natural disaster, for some, spells an opportunity to extract Haiti’s children.

Haitian adoption used to take roughly two to two and a half years. Some will use this as an excuse to call for efforts to fast track resettling these kids into new families internationally.

If you ever needed a reason not to give money to those who conflate disaster relief with extraction of children Marley’s vital and timely post lays out the lay of the land. It’s a long, but very important post,

HAITI CHILD EVACUATION: A NEW OPERATION PEDRO PAN?

Where should donations and resources be going instead?

Donations should be aimed towards those who explicitly reject the re-branding of kids as “orphans” at every opportunity (particularly when the kids still have living relatives) and who explicitly reject strip mining disaster striken countries for child export.

Look towards organizations with a track record of rejecting child export as anything other than relocation to other family members.

Stealing a country’s children means stealing a country’s future.

Haiti, pre-quake was already a nation of dire poverty, a culture in turmoil and a country of children.

See this from the Unicef Executive Director’s Jan. 13th statement:

“Expert estimates suggest that 46 per cent of Haiti’s nearly 10 million people are under 18 years of age.”

Sadly when it comes to the redistribution of children in the wake of natural disasters (as well as  wars and other such) the industry has learned that getting in quick, getting the kids out, and then forcing their country of origin, or individual family members to mount legal battles to reclaim children can be an effective strategy.

In adoption, as in many other such extra-legal grabs in the wake of catastrophes, disgustingly, the mere act of possession (and relocation) can end up being 9/10ths of the ‘law’.

Just ask the mothers of children stolen from Guatemala and relocated to America who have yet to have their children restored to them.

Return to the Table of Contents of my Haiti series.