SHE IS ANGRY about being an import.
She is angry about being an export.
She is angry that adoption agencies in both sending and receiving countries make money on transnational adoption.
She is angry to read in Outsiders Within — Writing on Transnational Adoption* that South Korea brings in more than 15 million dollars annually through the mediation of transnational adoption.
She is angry that adoption agencies proactively seek children who can be given up for adoption. They should, of course, help children out of unsafe environments, but to be on the actual lookout for children who could be given up for adoption is taking it too far, she thinks. In her opinion, there should be a bigger focus on directly helping the parents of vulnerable children, to avoid separating those children from their parents and their original culture.
She is angry to hear a rumour that the American adoption agency Holt International Children’s Services is looking for new markets, including North Korea, where they could find children who might be given up for adoption. Holt International Children’s Services already mediates adoptions from Bulgaria, China, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, India, South Korea, the Philippines, Romania, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, the US, and Vietnam. If the regime in North Korea were to collapse, North Korea could also be added to the list. It’s probably safe to assume that the agency would like to see the North Korean regime collapse so they could gain access to a great new market.**
She is angry that adoption these days seems to be more a matter of finding children for parents rather than finding parents for children; that’s how the phenomenon of child harvesting emerged. Adoption agencies wouldn’t need employees to convince vulnerable parents into giving their child up for adoption if the demand for children didn’t exceed the supply.
She is angry that the demand for children exceeds the supply.
***
SHE IS ANGRY with the interpreter for not communicating what her biological family is discussing. She has to pretend to be worried about one of her biological parents being sick in order to get Kyong Hee to tell her what they’re discussing.
She is angry to discover that her biological family is talking about a vacation they’re planning, a vacation that cannot include her because her older sisters haven’t told their husbands about her.
She is angry with her older sisters for not telling their husbands about her. She can’t help but take it personally, even though she knows they’re not ashamed of her but of their parents, who gave her up for adoption.
She is angry with her sisters because they’ve decidedto never tell their husbands about her.
She is angry with her biological parents for accepting her sisters’ decision.
She is angry with her biological mother for telling her to put her sisters’ needs above her own; that she’s just one against her sisters, and they are four.
She is angry with herself for not putting her biological family’s needs above her own.
She is angry with her biological family for not putting her needs above theirs.
She is angry with herself for not making it a demand. Rather than letting her sisters decide whether or not to tell their husbands, she should have demanded that her sisters tell their husbands about her. It would have been in accordance with Korean culture, she thinks, if she had phrased it as a demand.
She is angry at Korean culture.
She is angry at American culture.
She is angry that most of the world has been Americanized.
She is angry that South Korea has been Americanized. She has a hard time imagining a country that the US has affected more than South Korea.
She is angry at the United States of America.
She is angry with her biological father for praising the US. She’s aware that he belongs to a different generation, a generation that sees American soldiers who served in the Korean War as heroes; still, she cringes whenever he applauds the country. It’s the same with Korean adoptees in the US, Andrew says, when she tells him that her father says things like “USA number 1.” Those who belong to the older generation of Korean adoptees in the US are grateful to have been adopted, whereas he, part of the younger generation of adoptees, thinks of transnational adoption as American imperialism.
She is angry about American imperialism.
She is angry about imperialism.
She is angry about Eurocentrism.
She is angry about colonialism.
She is angry about transnational adoption being a modern form of colonialism.
She is angry with herself for considering transnational adoption to be a modern form of colonialism. Just because white Westerners adopt children of non-white parents in the vast majority of cases, that doesn’t automatically make transnational adoption a modern form of colonialism.
She is angry with herself for not considering transnational adoption to be a modern form of colonialism. Like it or not, transnational adoption rests on a colonial past. People’s reasons for adopting are rooted in the same beliefs that led Europeans to colonize large parts of the world in the 16th century. Back then, Europeans thought they knew what was best for the indigenous population; today, Europeans think they know what is best for children born in non-Western countries.***
She is angry with those who think they know what’s best for children born in non-Western countries.
She is angry with her adoptive mother for assuming she knew what was best for her. How could she not see her adoptive mother as a colonizer? She no longer feels comfortable following her adoptive mother around in Denmark. Walking next to her adoptive mother only emphasizes the fact that she has been colonized. When they walk together on the street, it’s apparent to everyone that she was adopted by her mother. The imbalance of power is unmistakable.
She is angry with herself for thinking of her adoptive mother as a colonizer.
She is angry with herself for thinking that she’s been colonized.
She is angry that she’s been colonized. It may be true that she grew up with better educational opportunities in Denmark than she would have had in South Korea, but at least she wouldn’t have been colonized. This is not to say that she’d rather have grown up in South Korea—it is, generally speaking, a waste of time to walk around regretting not having grown up in another country—but being a Korean adoptee does come at a high cost. In his research paper, “What Is Danish Racism?”, Kim Su Rasmussen, a scholar of philosophy and cultural studies, writes: “The psychological and existential effect is that the colonized individual will eventually consider themself as an ‘other.’ This experiencing of oneself as an ‘other’—where the colonized individual both views themself and experiences themself the same way the colonial power perceives the colonized individual—is what Fanon**** describes as ‘cultural alienation.’” Kim Su Rasmussen continues: “The colonized person is, according to Fanon, confronted with a choice between identifying completely with the colonial power and rejecting it altogether, in an attempt to complete an extensive process best conveyed by the expression to go native.” In all honesty, she wonders whether it’s even possible for her to, in Fanon’s words, go native; whether it’s possible for her to become Korean-Korean, whatever that means. Maybe it’s not meant to be taken that literally, Andrew says when she tells him about the concept of going native. Maybe just moving to South Korea is enough, he says.
She is angry at anyone who thinks she moved to South Korea because she wasn’t comfortable enough in Denmark. Her moving to South Korea is about understanding her own history and, by extension, South Korea’s history; about having any access at all to a history that is hers.
She is angry with herself for assuming that Korean adoptees moved to South Korea because they weren’t comfortable enough in their adoptive countries. Korean adoptees remigrate for many reasons, adoption scholar Lene Myong explains to her over a Skype call, and those reasons don’t necessarily have anything to do with their sense of belonging in their adoptive countries. She says that some Korean adoptees who grew up in the US, and who are fluent in English, have better job opportunities in South Korea than in the States. She finds it interesting how remigration breaks with the idea that transnational adoption is a movement from one country to another—from the sending country to the receiving country. When Korean adoptees choose to move to South Korea, it paves the way for transnational adoption to be understood as a migration that isn’t necessarily completed when someone arrives at their adoptive country.
She is angry that she doesn’t feel comfortable in her adoptive country.
She is angry that she doesn’t feel comfortable in her country of origin. Although, to be fair, in some ways she does feel more comfortable in South Korea, and in other ways she feels more comfortable in Denmark. For instance, she feels more at home in the South Korean landscape than in the Danish one; somehow, the mountains seem better suited to her temperament than the flat, Danish countryside. In South Korea, she has a feeling of disappearing into the landscape, something she hadn’t felt since that time in Greenland. Of disappearing into something greater than herself.
***
Excerpt: Pages 17, 64-67
* Kim, Jae Ran. “Scattered Seeds”.Outsiders Within — Writing on Transracial Adoption. Jane Jeong Trenka, Julia Chinyere Oparah and Sun Yung Shin (ed.) South End Press, 2006.
** Hübinette, Tobias. ”North Korea and adoption”. Korean Quarterly Winter 2002/2003.
*** Berg, Jacques. “Adoption er moderne kolonialisme”. Information, August 2., 2012.
**** Frantz Fanon (1925-61) was an author, psychiatrist, political theorist, and activist. In one of his books, The Wretched of the Earth (Les Damnés de la Terre), he levels sharp criticism against European colonialism. His writings have inspired civil national liberation movements in Africa, Asia, and the US.
Translated by Katrine Øgaard Jensen
Hun er vred over at være en importvare.
Hun er vred over at være en eksportvare.
Hun er vred over, at adoptionsbureauer i såvel afgiver- som modtagerlande
tjener penge på transnational adoption.
Hun er vred over at læse i et essay* i Outsiders Within – Writing on Trans-
racial Adoption, at formidlingen af børn afgivet til transnational adoption
indbringer Sydkorea mere end 15 millioner dollars om året.
Hun er vred over, at adoptionsbureauer proaktivt søger efter børn, der kan
afgives til adoption. Selvfølgelig skal man hjælpe børn, der befinder sig i en
udsat position, men ligefrem at være på udkig efter børn, der kan afgives til
adoption, er at gå for langt, synes hun. Hvis man
spørger hende, skulle man i højere grad fokusere på at hjælpe forældre til udsatte børn, så man undgår
at separere børn fra deres forældre og oprindelige kultur.
Hun er vred over at høre rygter om, at det amerikanske adoptionsbureau
Holt International Children’s Services er på udkig efter nye markeder, heri-
blandt Nordkorea, hvorfra de kan rekruttere børn, der kan afgives til adop-
tion. Holt International Children’s Services formidler i forvejen adoptioner
fra Bulgarien, Kina, Etiopien, Guatemala, Haiti, Indien, Sydkorea, Filip-
pinerne, Rumænien, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, USA og Vietnam. Hvis
styret i Nordkorea kollapser, vil man også kunne tilføje Nordkorea til listen.
Det er vel ikke for meget sagt, at Holt International Children’s Services
gerne ser, at styret i Nordkorea kollapser, så de kan få adgang til et nyt, stort
marked.**
Hun er vred over, at det i dag mere er et spørgsmål om ”at finde børn til
forældre” end om ”at finde forældre til børn”. Det er også derfor, at der
er opstået et fænomen som børnehøstere. Adoptionsbureauerne ville ikke
behøve at betale nogen for at overtale udsatte forældre til at afgive deres
barn til adoption, hvis det ikke var, fordi efterspørgslen på børn er større
end udbuddet.
Hun er vred over, at efterspørgslen på børn er større end udbuddet.
***
HUN ER VRED på sin tolk, fordi hun ikke vil fortælle hende, hvad hendes
biologiske familie snakker om. Hun må lade, som om hun er bange for, at
den ene af hendes biologiske forældre er alvorligt syg, for at få Kyong Hee
til at fortælle, hvad det er, de snakker om.
Hun er vred over at få at vide, at hendes biologiske familie snakker om en
ferie, de skal på, hvor hun ikke kan komme med, fordi hendes storesøstre
ikke har fortalt deres mænd om hende.
Hun er vred på sine storesøstre, fordi de ikke har fortalt deres mænd om
hende. Hun kan ikke lade være med at tage det personligt, selvom hun godt
ved, at det ikke er hende, de skammer sig over, men deres forældre, der afgav
hende til adoption.
Hun er vred på sine søstre, fordi de har besluttet sig for aldrig at fortælle
deres mænd om hende.
Hun er vred på sine biologiske forældre, fordi de accepterer hendes søstres
beslutning.
Hun er vred på sin biologiske mor, fordi hun har sagt til hende, at det er
hende, der må ofre sig, da hun kun er én mod hendes søstre, som er fire.
Hun er vred på sig selv over ikke at ofre sig for sin biologiske familie.
Hun er vred på sin biologiske familie over ikke at ofre sig for hende.
Hun er vred på sig selv over ikke at have formuleret det som et krav over
for sine søstre. I stedet for at lade det være op til dem, hvorvidt de skulle
fortælle deres mænd om hende eller ej, skulle hun have krævet af dem, at
de fortalte deres mænd om hende. Det ville være i overensstemmelse med
koreansk kultur, tænker hun, hvis hun havde formuleret det som et krav.
Hun er vred på den koreanske kultur.
Hun er vred på den amerikanske kultur.
Hun er vred over, at det meste af verden er blevet amerikaniseret.
Hun er vred over, at Sydkorea er blevet amerikaniseret. Hun har svært ved
at forestille sig, at der findes et land, som USA har påvirket mere end Syd-korea.
Hun er vred på USA.
Hun er vred på sin biologiske far over at hylde USA. Hun ved godt, at han
tilhører en anden generation end hende, en generation, der betragter de
amerikanske soldater, der tjente i Koreakrigen, som helte, men ikke desto
mindre må hun krumme tæer, når han hylder USA. Det er det samme med
koreansk adopterede i USA, siger Andrew, da hun fortæller ham, at hendes
far kan finde på at sige ”USA no. 1”. De, som tilhører den ældre genera[1]tion af koreansk adopterede i USA, er taknemmelige over at være blevet
adopteret, hvorimod han, som tilhører den yngre generation af koreansk
adopterede i USA, kæder transnational adoption fra Sydkorea sammen med
amerikansk imperialisme.
Hun er vred over amerikansk imperialisme.
Hun er vred over imperialisme.
Hun er vred over eurocentrisme.
Hun er vred over kolonialisme.
Hun er vred over, at transnational adoption er en moderne form for kolo-
nialisme.
Hun er vred på sig selv over, at hun betragter transnational adoption som
en moderne form for kolonialisme. Det kan godt være, at det i langt de
fleste tilfælde er børn af farvede forældre, som er blevet adopteret af hvide
vesterlændinge, men derfra og så til at sige, at transnational adoption er en
moderne form for kolonialisme, er der alligevel et stykke vej.
Hun er vred på sig selv over, at hun ikke betragter transnational adoption
som en moderne form for kolonialisme. Transnational adoption hviler på en
kolonial fortid, om man vil det eller ej. Det er ud fra samme overbevisning,
man adopterer, som den europæerne var styret af, da de koloniserede store
dele af verden i det 16. århundrede. Dengang mente europæerne at vide,
hvad der var bedst for den indfødte befolkning, i dag mener man at vide,
hvad der er bedst for børn født i ikke-vestlige lande.***
Hun er vred på dem, der mener at vide, hvad der er bedst for børn født i
ikke-vestlige lande.
Hun er vred på sin adoptivmor, fordi hun mente at vide, hvad der var bedst
for hende. Hvordan kan hun andet end betragte sin adoptivmor som en
kolonisator? Hun bryder sig ikke længere om at følges nogen steder hen
med sin adoptivmor, når hun er i Danmark. At gå ved siden af sin adop-
tivmor er kun med til at understrege, at hun er blevet koloniseret. Når de
går sammen på gaden, er det tydeligt for alle og enhver, at de er en adoptiv-
familie. Magtforholdet er ikke til at tage fejl af.
Hun er vred på sig selv over at betragte sin adoptivmor som en kolonisator.
Hun er vred på sig selv over at betragte sig selv som en, der er blevet kolo
-niseret.
Hun er vred over at være blevet koloniseret. Det kan godt være, at hun har
haft bedre uddannelsesmuligheder i Danmark, end hun ville have fået, hvis
hun var vokset op i Sydkorea, men til gengæld ville hun ikke være blevet
koloniseret. Ikke sådan at forstå, at hun hellere ville være vokset op i Syd-
korea, det er i det hele taget spild af tid at gå og ærgre sig over, at man ikke
voksede op i et andet land, men det er mere for at sige, at man betaler en høj
pris som koreansk adopteret. I sit oplæg ”Hvad er dansk racisme?” skriver
litterat og idéhistoriker Kim Su Rasmussen: ”Den psykologiske og eksisten-
tielle effekt er, at den koloniserede kommer til at betragte sig selv som ’an-
den’. Denne erfaring af sig selv som ’anden’, hvor den koloniserede både ser
sig selv og erfarer sig selv sådan som kolonimagten opfatter den kolonisere-
de, beskriver Fanon34 som en ’kulturel fremmedgørelse’.” Kim Su Rasmus-
sen skriver endvidere: ”Den koloniserede er ifølge Fanon konfronteret med
valget mellem en absolut identifikation med kolonimagten, eller omvendt
en fuldstændig afvisning i forsøget på at gennemføre en omfattende proces,
der bedst kan beskrives med udtrykket to go native.” Hun er ærligt talt i
tvivl, om det er muligt for hende at go native for nu at bruge Fanons udtryk.
Om det er muligt for hende at blive koreansk-koreansk, hvad det så end
indebærer. Det er ikke sikkert, at det skal tages så bogstaveligt, siger Andrew,
da hun fortæller ham om begrebet to go native. Det kan være, at det er nok,
at du er flyttet til Sydkorea, siger han.
Hun er vred på dem, der tror, at hun ikke føler sig godt tilpas i Danmark,
siden hun er flyttet til Sydkorea. At være flyttet til Sydkorea handler for
hende om at forstå sin egen historie og dermed også Sydkoreas historie. Om
overhovedet at få adgang til sin egen historie.
Hun er vred på sig selv over at have troet, at koreansk adopterede, der flyt-
tede til Sydkorea, ikke følte sig godt tilpas i deres adoptivland. Der er mange
grunde til, at koreansk adopterede remigrerer, forklarer adoptionsforsker
Lene Myong, da de taler sammen over Skype. Det har ikke nødvendigvis
noget at gøre med deres tilhørsforhold til deres adoptivland. Nogle af de
koreansk adopterede, der er vokset op i USA, og som taler flydende engelsk,
har bedre jobmuligheder i Sydkorea end i USA, siger hun. For hende er det
interessant, hvordan remigrationen gør op med forestillingen om, at trans-
national adoption er en bevægelse fra et land til et andet, det vil sige fra af-
giverlandet til modtagerlandet. Når koreansk adopterede vælger at flytte til
Sydkorea, siger hun, åbner det op for en forståelse af transnational adoption
som en bevægelse, der ikke nødvendigvis er afsluttet, når man ankommer
til sit adoptivland.
Hun er vred over, at hun ikke føler sig godt tilpas i sit adoptivland.
Hun er vred over, at hun ikke føler sig godt tilpas i sit oprindelsesland. Det
vil sige, på nogle måder føler hun sig godt tilpas i Sydkorea, og på andre
måder føler hun sig godt tilpas i Danmark. Når det gælder naturen, føler
hun sig bedre tilpas i Sydkorea end i Danmark. Det er, som om bjergene
passer bedre til hendes temperament end det flade, danske landskab. I Syd-
korea har hun den samme fornemmelse af at forsvinde i landskabet, som
dengang hun var i Grønland. At forsvinde i noget, som er større end hende
selv.
***
Excerpt: Pages 17, 64-67
