Miró’s work, Daughter of the Ganges, tells the story
of an girl born in Mumbai, who spent the first six years of her life in an
orphanage, but was then adopted to a family in Barcelona. The work is a memoir
of her return to India as an adult and the emotional journey that that was for
her. This book is a valuable resource in the world of adoption ethics because
it provides prospective on some largely disregarded issues. One of the
interesting facets that this work explores is the idea of a child’s autonomy.
In the majority of adoption scenarios we have discussed in class, the child is
adopted as an infant, and upholding the best interests standard for the child
comes down to the parents’ best judgment on what those best interests are. In
this case, not only did the author not have any significant parents or
guardians to speak for her, but also she was old enough to speak for herself,
and actually personally requested an adoption! The author asked the sisters
running her orphanage the parents every day for a year until they submitted.
Miró was actually one of the first children in the orphanage to ever be
adopted, as this was very out of the norm in Indian culture. If Miró had not
said anything, it is inconceivable that she would have been adopted, but given
the fact that she wanted it so earnestly, the sisters made an exception and
found her a family. This is an extremely interesting concept because the child
acted in her own best interests, and
the sisters trusted that she knew what was best for herself. Miró’s experience
shows that at least in some cases, a child can agree that adoption is the most
desirable solution.
Another interesting perspective
the author gives is the recommendation that future adoptive parents trying to
weed through the international adoption process should relax. She
compares the time spent doing paperwork and waiting for its processing to the
natural birth process, saying, “[natural parents] make their decision with all
the goodwill in the world, and then they have nine months to go through all the
worries, to be scared, to [wonder] if they know what they are doing,” (133).
The idea that an adoptive parent’s waiting period mirrors the gestation period
of a pregnant couple is a pretty interesting concept, and one that I believe used
frequently by adoption agencies when working with future adoptive parents.
Blog Post Reply # 7 - Jen D.
ReplyDeleteAdam,
I loved your take on the book review and think I would like the book itself. I think the book's topic fits your views perfectly and really gives another angle inside the controversial topic of what's best for the child.
I think one thing we need to question is whether even a six year old can make the decision of what's best for them. Personally, I think that's old enough for a child to know deep down what they want. However, if they were making a decision like how much ice cream they should get, it'd be a different story. And that's where I think the controversy comes in.
Obviously it's wonderful that Miró had a great experience by being adopted, and I truly believe a lot of children would benefit from being taken out of an orphanage. However, I think it's important to recognize that the story could have gone the other way and to think about those implications. If she would have regretted wanted to be adopted so bad, the responsibility would have been on the orphanage.
Lastly, to connect this with experiences I've seen, the orphanage I visited in South Africa faces the same dilemma. They have 40 children and made the decision in the beginning to disallow any adoptions. I think this book would be great for many of the staff there to read to fully understand the situation. There's cultural implications adoption can have and that's one of the main reasons they have chosen to forgo the option of adoption.