INTERVIEW WITH DR. JULIANNE M. WALSH KROEKER:
New Adoption Controls In The Marshall Islands
Part One of Three: Marshallese Children Least Protected in International Adoptions
In the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), enforcement of last November's Adoption Law and the formation of the Central Adoption Agency came into effect October 1, making unregulated out-adoptions illegal. It has been four years since the RMI placed a one-year moratorium prohibiting escalating foreign adoptions. In the meantime, birth mothers, with free access to the States, travelled to Hawaii and the US mainland to process adoptions, and hundreds of out-adoptions occurred.
Yokwe Online asked Dr. Julianne M. Walsh Kroeker, the author of the ground-breaking 1999 paper, "ADOPTION AND AGENCY: American Adoptions of Marshallese Children," to give her views on the efficacy of the RMI's Central Adoption Agency and to bring an update of policies and practices in the Marshalls.
YokweOnline: Do you think that the Central Adoption Agency is the answer to the adoption problem, and why did the RMI decide on this?
Dr. Walsh Kroeker: Yes, I do think the CAA is one solution to some of the problems that have occurred with American adoptions of Marshallese children. I think it's hard to say there is a single "adoption problem" but that in certain situations the adoptions are really questionable and problematic. In the Western world adoptions are seen as a way to provide caring and loving homes for children who are "needy."
What does "needy" mean to the average American who may not have lived outside of the United States, and whose experiences in less wealthy cultures, countries, or communities might be extremely limited? Some Americans would consider nearly all Marshallese people "needy" because of their limited incomes compared to US norms and expectations. One of the problems I see is that Marshallese understandings about adoption are not examined or understood by most of the Americans who adopt.
In most parts of the Pacific, and especially in Micronesia, adoption is about much more than needy children. Adoptions are used to strengthen family bonds, or to help out older childless relatives who will need a young person around to do physical labor, or adoptions create new relationships between families. In other words, adoption is not always about children's needs being met, but also about extended family needs, relationships, and obligations.
I wonder if all the children being adopted are truly "needy",according to Marshallese standards, or if they are sometimes offered to Americans because birthparents or extended families have desires or expectations of reciprocity. I wonder if the adoption option prevents some Marshallese families from taking responsibility for each other, in the old way, since relationships with American adoptive parents might be seen as more attractive than traditional family obligations since dealing with another culture has fewer obligations, and greater material benefits. I believe that only Marshallese people, knowing their own cultural, social, and economic norms can decided how needy a child is.
The Central Adoption Authority provides a way to make sure that a child’s best interest is considered, even over the family’s interests. That doesn't mean that money or material circumstances is the major reason children should be approved for an adoption, but it means that the CAA makes sure that the child has no OTHER option for a loving, nurturing home within his or her native culture, extended family, and natural home. It also makes sure that the child's mother and or father really understand what adoption means, and what may or may not happen. In the past, everyone most involved and knowledgeable (except the judges) who explained "adoption" to birthmothers/and or birthfathers were invested (earned money from) in the adoptions. The attorneys and the agency staff people promoted the benefits of adoption, some even made promises that were unclear whether they could be true or not. With the CAA, the trained staff is assigned to make sure the birth parents are informed of everything about adoptions -- the good things and the bad things. They'll learn about the great examples, but also about the less positive ones. The birth parents' decision will be examined -- why is the child being placed for adoption? And all the interactions can be written and documented for the future, so that the child's past is also documented. There always be a record in the Marshall Islands of that child's adoption, and the Marshall Islands officially recognizes that child's home, family, and inheritance.
Since kokajiriri is an ancient part of Marshallese culture and way of life, it was really hard for the government to pass laws that impacted something so traditional. People have always considered adoption as a personal and/or family choice, something that should not have any government interference. For this reason it took a long time for people in the government to agree to regulate this -- and even having the laws passed, it is challenging to try to enforce them because culturally, adoption remains a "corporate" or collective family decision. With all these challenges I think the determination of the people of the Marshalls to take care of and look after each other really emerged with the formation of the CAA. No one wanted to admit that the number of children being adoption was increasing so much, no one really wanted to take the burden of stopping those involved or interfering, since people would be angry. Yet, no matter how hard it was, the Nitijela realized that protecting their children had to be more important than worrying about offending people. I really admire those who stood behind this difficult legislation. The main reason that led to its passage was that without this option, pregnant Marshallese women were going to Honolulu, or Utah, or Oklahoma to give birth to their children, and there was no way for the RMI government make sure that the children's best interest, and safety was protected.
Marshallese children had the least protections of any other international adoptions by Americans. They were not protected by US regulations, and they were not protected by Marshallese regulations. Because of the unique immigration status offered by the Compact, RMI kids slipped through the cracks. Americans have viewed this as an ideal situation, since they can obtain a child quicker and with much less paperwork. Plus they can just fly to Hawaii rather than worry about flying to a place they've never really heard about, and don't know what to expect, with added airfare and hotel expenses, in a culture and language they don't understand. Since many Marshallese people are as excited about going to Hawaii as many Americans from the mainland are, the promise of an apartment and good health care before giving birth seems like an added luxury.
The RMI made this difficult decision to create the CAA, because there were few other options available to protect its children in ways that Marshallese people would feel adequate. The establishment of the Central Adoption Authority is the RMI's way to make sure that the adoptions are being done in a culturally appropriate manner, that Americans fully understand what adoptions mean to Marshallese people, and that Marshallese parents really appreciate the long-term impacts of their decision.
Plus, since most of the options are classified as "Open" and require on-going contact between birth and adoptive parents, adoptions in the Marshall Islands are the only option for adequate cultural education, interaction, first-hand knowledge, and respect that birthparents want for their children. They want their children to be proud of their heritage, to hear stories about how warm and generous Marshallese people are, to hear first-hand accounts of how beautiful the lagoon and islands are, and even how hard it is to live in either a monetary or subsistence economy in the 21st century. Without this kind of experience or deep appreciation for where children come from, and why parents will send their children to be raised by Americans, Marshallese adoptions are represented as rescue missions for "poverty-stricken" families or birth mothers who are unable to provide for their children, thus making the Marshall Islands intentionally or not into a place that cannot look after its own. A Marshallese child who doesn’t speak Marshallese, and grows up in America with American parents might have a hard time really appreciating the people and culture that he or she comes from, knowing that they "had to" or "chose to" give him or her up. An adopted parent’s knowledge and first-hand accounts can make all the difference in adequately explaining the complexity of the situation to a growing child.
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COMING:
Tuesday, Part Two -
The New Pressures: Why Marshallese Give up Their Children
Wednesday, Part Three -
Delay in Adoption Controls Impacts RMI's Future
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Information about the author:
In August of this year, Dr. Julianne M. Walsh Kroeker was awarded her doctorate in Anthropology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her dissertation title was: "Imagining the Marshalls: Chiefs, Tradition, and the State on the Fringes of US Empire."
Dr, Walsh Kroeker originally went to the Marshalls as a Jesuit International Volunteer and taught English at Assumption High School from 1990-1992. She returned in 1994 to do research for her Master's degree, and then went back in 1997-1998 to work at Alele, CMI, and do research for her dissertation.
She currently works with a small non-profit agency called Small Island Networks, which she founded with Hilda Heine in 2000. SINET hired Marshallese college students to tutor Marshallese children in Honolulu public elementary and middle schools. They also provide workshops about Marshallese and Micronesian culture and history for agencies, schools, and programs that work with FAS citizens. SINET helps to provide information about and for FAS citizens, particularly Marshallese.
Dr. Walsh Kroeker is also currently working with Marshallese colleagues on a Marshall Islands history textbook for RMI 9th grade students.
Contact and information about SINET, email:
info@smallislandnetworks.org
jwkroeker@smallislandnetworks.org
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Read more from YOKWE ONLINE yDownloads:
ADOPTION AND AGENCY: American Adoptions of Marshallese Children
RMI Adoption Law: To provide for comprehensive procedures for out-of-country adoptions
