As we all know, Vietnamese adoptions will temporarily cease between the US & Vietnam on Sept 1, 2008. The reasons for this stated by the USCIS is corruption, fraud, and baby selling. I have read the articles and a few of the cases of "baby selling" which they refer to. Here is the thing... the cases they refer to are the same ones repeated over and over again. Plus, the cases they refer to were fixed during the process (ie. the babies were returned to their birthmother). I'm not saying some unethical things were not done during this time. Any time money is involved, there will be someone who wants to take advantage of the poor and weak. However, none of these articles tell the other side of the story. There ALWAYS is another side to every story.
I would like to talk about the other side of the story. Statistics show there are between 500,000- 2 million orphans in Vietnam. Most of these orphans are not available for adoption. There recently has been a large number of abandoned babies (vs relinquishments- where the birthmother is known). Why is this? Well, if you look into the Vietnamese culture, the country is becoming more modern, but the people still hold a lot of the old value systems. It is still considered shameful to be an unwed mother (equal to the 1950's here in the US) and many of the people are still very poor (with annual salaries of $300-500 per year). This has led to an epidemic of abortions (Vietnam has one of the highest abortion rates in the world) and abandoned babies. There are estimates of tens of thousands of babies who die after being abandoned at birth. You can see the article... http://daily.vietnamtravelnews.net/features/10/37468.
Many of the orphanages have places near them which are considered "safe havens" to drop off babies where the nannies can easily find them. We have similar places in the US where babies can be dropped off at hospitals with no questions asked and no persecution of the birthmother. These places are known in the small towns and villages. Since it is shameful to have an unwed baby, the birthmothers will drop off their child- but dont' want their identity known to the community.
As for the baby selling topic, I think this topic is a lot more grey than black & white. For example, one case states a Vietnamese birthmother getting paid $300 for her child. This is considered "baby selling" by the US. This birthmom used that money to pay her doctor bills and for food. Moreover, she said she was agreeable to giving up her child for adoption. I think this policy is somewhat hypocritical by the US government. In the US, birthmothers are frequently given money by the adoptive parents- as well as having their doctor's bills and rent paid - sometimes up to $10,000. We don't consider giving the birthmother money baby selling here... so why do we consider it baby selling there?
Moreover, who do you think financially supports these orphanages? Most of the orphanages are financially supported by donations from international adoptive parents. Without the money coming in, these orphanages and the children will suffer from lack of funds.
I truly hope the US & Vietnamese governments can come to an agreement to allow international adoptions to continue for the sake of these children. These allegations of baby selling, corruption and fraud are not as black and white as the US government makes it seem. There are many more factors involved- and it is a much more complex issue than it seems on the surface.
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