Tell Me Your Thoughts About

As talks about the adoption trade become more mainstream, what are your thoughts?

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:19

Hi, this is Meg.

Speaker 2: 0:20

And this is Billy.

Speaker 1: 0:21

And we are.

Speaker 2: 0:22

The Adopt Twins. And this is Billy, and we are the Adopt Twins.

Speaker 1: 0:24

Welcome to a podcast from two adoptees who are navigating life loss, moving on and growing up.

Speaker 2: 0:31

For our adopted friends we hope to bring you a familiar point of view and for our friends who aren't welcome to the complicated jungle of how we get on.

Speaker 1: 0:43

Hey everybody.

Speaker 3: 0:44

It is Meg from the Adopt Twins. I don't know if you all have heard, but last week PBS and Frontline, with the AP, released a investigation into the adoption practices in South Korea. The documentary is called South Korea's Adoption Reckoning. This one is personal to me, as I am one of those 200,000 Korean adoptees. I urge you all to watch it. I know it is available on Frontline PBS's YouTube channel. I know it is available on Amazon Prime with PBS. There is a seven-day free trial to PBS on Amazon Prime Video. I'm unsure if outside of the States, it is available, unless you have a VPN, but if you do, I really urge everyone to watch it and I'd really like to hear what you all think of it.

Speaker 3: 1:40

For me personally, there was nothing new that I learned. I knew about the falsification of documents. I knew about the children being stolen off the street, telling families their child has died in childbirth. I knew all of these things. What I appreciated with this documentary, however, is that it was done by Frontline PBS and it wasn't a one-off thing done by Adaptees and really doesn't reach far outside of the adoptee community. This is something that was on a program and is watched by way more people than just the adoptees. So I appreciate that it helped get our story out there to a wider audience and that the story that was painted wasn't one that is the traditional narrative that many want to believe adoption is, which is where everything is happy and rosy. For some adoptees that is the case, and I am so jealous of those adoptees that they have that type of story. But for many of us that is not our story, and this helped to show the flip side to so many people who normally wouldn't hear this side of things. I apologize if I sound like a frog right now. I have been battling a cold for quite some time, but I thought it was important to use the podcast platform as a chance to perhaps help get this documentary out to an even wider audience. So please watch Frontline PBS South Korea's Adoption Reckoning. Another thing I recommend would be Justin Chan's Blue Bayou.

Speaker 3: 3:17

I am not happy with the controversy around it. I am not happy with the fact that he basically stole stories from real adoptees. None of that is okay by any means whatsoever. However, I feel it is the best depiction that I've seen so far of what many adoptees do actually go through with the deportation, with not having citizenship.

Speaker 3: 3:41

So to get that message out to a broader audience so that we can hopefully get the Adoption Citizenship Act of 2024 passed, I urge you to watch that film and then I urge you to write your senators and have them co-sign the bill so that we can finally get it passed and bring peace and safety to so many adoptees who've already lived through so much in their lives and hopefully be able to bring back those that were deported because it's not their fault that they were not US citizens, and they should certainly pay for their crimes. If they've done things wrong is not what I'm saying. They should not get off scot-free, but if it was a US citizen that did the things, they would still be in this country, and these adoptees also still have the right to be in this country as well. And we need better mental health resources, because if we had them, perhaps a lot of these adoptees wouldn't have gotten themselves into the trouble they've gotten themselves into to then land themselves in deportation. But please watch both and let me know your thoughts.

Speaker 1: 4:45

That's all we've got for this week.

Speaker 2: 4:47

Thanks for listening.

Speaker 1: 4:48

To our fellow adoptees. We hope you know you have a safe space with us and for our friends who aren't, we hope you've learned a bit more about life as an adoptee.

Speaker 2: 4:58

We'd love to get to know you. Give us a follow on our socials. All links can be found on our website, adoptwinscom. That's A-D-O-P-T-W-I-N-S dot com. We'll catch you next time.