Earlier today the Voices for Viet Nam Adoption Integrity blog published an account of the current state of Viet Nam adoptions from the director of Welcome House adoption agency. I read her words with care and was extremely interested to hear her perception of the current situation. One of the points that jumped clear off my laptop screen was one that concerned a provincial official that she spoke with. This official was disappointed and wondered why adoption agencies from the United States “only send families who want babies and have no concern for their country.” Wow. That certainly got the wheels in my head turning and wondering what we could do to change this man’s perception of Americans coming to Viet Nam to adopt children and why he thinks this in the first place.

My family has made it an important and welcome part of our lives to include the culture of Ella’s birth. Stemming from our early days researching Viet Nam to experiencing the culture ourselves, we have fallen in love with Vietnamese culture and hardly think twice about including it in our lives and sharing foods, traditions and holidays with family and friends. I was shocked that this official has seen so many American families who show little to no care for their child’s birth country. Not only is it disappointing that American families are now going to be stereotyped like this, but what about the kids? Will they know nothing of their Vietnamese heritage? That would be a complete shame. I have to think that most families traveling to adopt are eager to embrace the culture of Viet Nam, but it’s the handful who refuse to do so who give us all a bad name.

It’s the people who turn up their noses to the Vietnamese people instead of embracing them and their ways with open arms who are to blame; those who stay in their fancy, Westernized hotels and refuse to explore the country, eat the food, talk to the people, etc. I doubt there’s anything that would change their perspectives, but for those of us who do have concern and respect for our kids’ birth country, the responsibility partially lies on our shoulders.

We can go out of our way while in country to show that we are interested in experiencing the Vietnamese culture and learning about our child’s heritage. Talk to people on the street and in the shops; I found that many wanted to practice their English and were happy to chat. Be respectful and friendly to those you meet; whether it’s the director of the baby center or your cab driver. We can also be vigilant in sending in our post placement reports to show that we care about following Viet Nam’s rules and sharing our children’s progress with them. Hopefully with enough of us showing how much we care, the view of Americans not caring about the country that is the birth place of their children will begin to change.

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More Reading:
The Current State of Vietnamese Adoptions
More on the State of Vietnamese Adoptions
Upcoming Viet Nam Adoption Summit