Tag Archives: Ethiopian adoption

What Has Happened to the Ethiopian Son Adopted by Former Kentucky Governor Bevin?

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A headline from yesterday’s Kentucky Lantern:

“Former KY Gov. Matt Bevin’s adopted son reportedly removed from abusive facility in Jamaica.”

The article names “Matt Bevin, a conservative Christian and Republican who served as governor (of Kentucky) from 2015 through 2019” as the adoptive parent of “Noah” (a pseudonym). Noah was adopted from Ethiopia in 2012 by the former governor and his wife; they adopted 3 other Ethiopian children at that time. They also have five biological children.

News reports have said that Noah, now 17 years old, was placed in a Florida facility in 2019. In 2023, Noah was placed at the Atlantis Leadership Academy, a Jamaican treatment facility for teenage boys, several of whom were adoptees.

The Lantern article refers to Noah: “…now, one of those adopted children, a 17-year-old boy, is at the center of international attention after he and seven other boys were removed from the Atlantis Leadership Academy in Jamaica in February, where authorities found horrific conditions,” according to a lengthy article published July 13 in the Sunday Times of London.

The Sunday Times story, ” ‘I’d Rather Die Than Go Back:’ Jamaica’s school for troubled US boys,” says that Noah was among “three teens who were made wards of the Jamaican state…It’s not clear where the Bevins’ son is now.”

A Kentucky news station posted this article today: Report claims former Gov. Matt Bevin abandoned adopted son.

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Noah’s story is one example of the complexity of the so-called “Troubled Teen Industry” (TTI), which has garnered a tremendous amount of publicity in recent years.

Paris Hilton was in the news in April regarding the Atlantis facility and her concern for the boys in Jamaica. In June, Hilton testified about her own experiences at similar facilities. Netflix is featuring a documentary called The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping.

Adoptees are disproportionately represented at some of these facilities, and that could be for a variety of reasons. I do not want to pathologize adoptees, nor do I want to minimize the need for specialized services by counselors and therapists with appropriate training in adoption.

Here is an excerpt from an article by the American Counseling Association, Adoption Complexities:

“Counselors who treat transracial and transnational adoptees and study the practice of adoption say it warrants scrutiny. People who are unfamiliar with these types of adoption may view them as an act of altruism to “rescue” a child from unfortunate circumstances, says Amanda Baden, PhD, a professor of counselor education at Montclair State University in New Jersey.  

“But if you ask the adoptee community, they would say there are a lot of abuses in transracial and transnational adoption and there needs to be much more careful and ethical oversight of the practice,” says Baden, a transracial and transnational adoptee from Hong Kong who works with transracial and transnational adoptees in her private practice in New York City.”

I hope that Noah is found to be safe, and that all adoptees and teens in therapeutic centers find the help that they deserve.

Additional Articles about the TTI in the U.S., including Adoptee Treatment

The Troubled Teen Industry and Its Effects: An Oral History

Five Facts About the Troubled Teen Industry (American Bar Association)

Troubled Teen Industry Statistics Revealed: Alarming Facts and Figures

Differences Between Adopted and Nonadopted Adolescents in Wilderness and Residential Treatment From the Abstract: “Adopted children are disproportionately represented in residential treatment programs in the United States. Adopted children in the United States constitute only 2% to 3% of the U.S population. Nevertheless, they comprise approximately 16.5% of the population in residential care. This descriptive study evaluated a sample of 473 psychological evaluations of adolescents in wilderness and residential treatment centers. Results indicated that, compared with nonadopted youth, adopted youth had greater histories of recent trauma, higher rates of suicidal tendency and biological parents’ mental illness, and poorer academic achievement. However, there were no significant differences between adopted and nonadopted youths in terms of defiant behaviors, IQ, substance use/abuse, reasons for referral, impulsivity, anxiety, or depression. Study results suggest that wilderness and residential programs may need to target programmatic elements specifically to meet the special needs of adopted adolescents who comprise a significant percentage of their client population.”

Adopted Youth in Residential Care: Prevalence Rate and Professional Training Needs





Unapologetic Ethiopian Adoptees

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“Ethiopian Adoptees Unapologetically Unfiltered” is a podcast facilitated by Lidet O’Connor, an Ethiopian adoptee seeking to share the stories of a wide range of fellow adoptees.

Recently she interviewed two adoptees who are very special to me: Aselefech Evans and Kassaye Berhanu-MacDonald, my co-editors of the first anthology by Ethiopian adoptees, Lions Roaring Far From Home.

Kassaye is a dear friend, and Aselefech is one of my beloved daughters. One is in Canada, one in the U.S. Both are strong, smart, talented, wonderful people.

Both also are powerful writers and speakers on the subject of adoption. Their two-part interview discusses the anthology, as well as their perspectives on adoption, past, present, and future. They don’t hold back, and that is among the reasons I love them so. In keeping with the ethos of the podcast, they are unapologetically unfiltered..

There are some 15,000 Ethiopian adoptees in the U.S., and many thousands more in Canada, Australia, and Western Europe. I am proud of the Lions Roaring anthology for sharing some 32 voices of Ethiopian adoptees, in all the depth and breadth of their experiences. Lidet’s podcast shares adoptee voices in another genre, and the rest of us are better for it. May we continue to listen and learn.

Three Poet-Writers of the Ethiopian Global Diaspora—Lemn, Heran, and Kassaye

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There has recently been a convergence of words and wonders, of poets and power.

Our Lions Roaring Far from Home: An Anthology by Ethiopian Adoptees co-editor Kassaye Berhanu-MacDonald has an essay in the newly published book The Global Ethiopian Diaspora. Kassaye, raised in Canada, also has an essay in Lions Roaring.

Heran Tadesse, another Lions Roaring writer, is also a poet. Heran was raised in The Netherlands, and returned from that diasporic life decades ago to Ethiopia, where she is teaching yoga and raising a family.

Recently, Heran attended events at the British Council in Addis with the luminary writer-poet-playwright Lemn Sissay, OBE, another adoptee in the Ethiopian global diaspora, raised in England, who frequently returns to Ethiopia.

Lemn Sissay and Heran Tadesse, Addis Ababa,
May 2024.

Lemn did not write in Lions Roaring. He did write a lovely comment about it: “This book is all about connection, connection to story, connections to homes, to the many homes that one person can have, and connection between writers. Bravo for getting this book together and for getting these authors together. It’s important testimony.”

How compelling that these three have “converged” in Lions Roaring as well as in the diaspora.

Here is an excerpt from Lions Roaring by Kassaye. Her essay is titled “Hunger.”

“…For me, finding my family is more about my right to truth than about fulfilling my desire to be biologically connected to someone. I’m well aware that blood relations don’t guarantee harmonious, trusting, safe, or loving relationships. However, I believe we all have an inalienable right to know who we came from, whether or not we decide to pursue a relationship…I am part of a lost generation returning to Ethiopia with only bits of information about our families. Our Ethiopian parents, on the other hand, do not have the resources or information to track down or locate their lost children in the diaspora.”

Here is an excerpt from Lions Roaring by Heran. Her essay is titled “The Search for Home Within.”

“Layers of conditioning still to unravel have taught me to love my hair naturally, my dark chocolate skin, and embrace my past unconditionally. As Meshell Ndegeocello so aptly wrote, ‘My beauty cannot be measured by the standards of a colonized mind.’

…Living in Ethiopia and re-learning the language and culture were the next steps toward making me feel that I belong. Being in Ethiopia gives me the biggest challenge and the biggest gain. Neo-colonialism is also prevalent in Ethiopia, but the history, tradition, culture, spirituality, and pride are deeply rooted in the society, and heal me on a daily basis…”

Lemn Sissay haș written many books and poems on an astonishing range of subjects. In his powerful, poignant memoir, “My Name is Why,” he wrote

“Look what was sown by the stars/ At night across the fields /

I am not defined by scars / But by the incredible ability to heal.”

“I am not defined by darkness/ Confided the night.

Each dawn I am reminded/ I am defined by light.”

Cover art of Lions Roaring;
Original art by Nahosenay Negussie

The Global Ethiopian Diaspora: Important New Research, Including an Adoptee Voice

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Congratulations to the editors of and contributors to the valuable new book, “The Global Ethiopian Diaspora: Migrations, Connections, and Belongings.”

I am especially proud to share that Kassaye Berhanu-MacDonald, an Ethiopian-Canadian adoptee, has an essay included in the book. Too often, adoptees’ voices are not part of diasporic research and literature. Kassaye is also a co-editor of “Lions Roaring Far From Home: An Anthology by Ethiopian Adoptees.”

Gratitude to the wonderful Hewan Girma, Ph.D., and the other co-editors of The Global Ethiopian Diaspora, Shimelis B. Gulema, Ph.D., and Mulugeta Dinbabo, Ph.D.

Remembering Hana Williams, 13 Years After Her Death

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Hana Williams died outside her adoptive family home May 12, 2011, from malnutrition and hypothermia. So many people keep her in their hearts, and always will.

This year the anniversary of her death falls with a special poignancy on Mother’s Day in the U.S.

In 2013, Hana’a adoptive mother was sentenced to 37 years in prison for manslaughter; Hana’s adoptive father was sentenced to 28 years.

A photo of Ethiopian adoptee Hanna Williams at the orphanage. Hanna is wearing a blue and white striped shirt and has a slight, shy smile.
Hana in Ethiopia, prior to adoption. May she Rest in Peace.

I often think of Hana. I am the adoptive parent of Ethiopian twin daughters, each of whom is now a mother herself. Hana’s brief time in the United States was full of sadness, horror, and cruelty. There was no oversight of her adoptive parents, who essentially isolated themselves and their 7 biological children here in Washington state, along with another Ethiopian adoptee (Immanuel, who is still alive). All of the children suffered, whether at the hands of their parents or as a result of the trauma they all went through. I hope they have found peace and solace in the world.

I often think of what we in the adoption community have learned as a result of Hana’s death. I don’t have any quick or comforting answer.

Today, I hold Hana in my heart. As a mother and a grandmother, I think of Hana’s Ethiopian mother as well, on this Mother’ Day, and on the anniversary of Hana’s death at 13 years old.

Important New Academic Research About Ethiopian Adoptees

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Hewan Girma, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the African American and African Disaporic Studies Department at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. She is also a brilliant, thoughtful, kind person, whom I have had the pleasure of knowing for several years.

I am delighted to share two recent articles by Dr. Girma.

One is Respecting Names: Ethiopian transnational adoptee name changes, retention, and reclamation.

From the Abstract: “…this paper examines how the personal names of transnational adoptees can be used to displace from and alternatively reconnect with home cultures. More specifically, transnational adoptees discuss the loss, retention, and reclamation of original ethnic names through the lens of ethno-racial respect and culture keeping. Moreover, studying Ethiopian adoptees, who typically differ from their adoptive parents in ethnicity, birth nationality and/or racialized identity, will elucidate how an immigrant background and a Black racial identity plays a factor in adoptee naming experiences.”

There are so many intersections here for Ethiopian adoptees, and names play so many roles. This is an important article for Ethiopian adoptees, adoptive parents, researchers, other adoptee communities, the Ethiopian community, and more.

An Ethiopian little girl in a white dress walks along a road near green trees.

The other article is Outsiders within: examining Ethiopian adoptee experiences through a diasporic lens. Dr. Girma co-authored this article with Alpha Abebe, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Communication Studies & Media Arts, McMaster University.

From the Abstract: “Based on 20 in-depth interviews with adult Ethiopian adoptees residing in the US, this paper discusses the points of dis/connection between Ethiopian adoptees and the larger Ethiopian diaspora. We focus on how Ethiopian adoptees navigate their inclusion/exclusion as peripheral actors across social groups, as well as the active work they engage in to negotiate their diasporic identities, belongings and personal politic.”

You may recognize the allusion in the article’s title to Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption, the seminal, valuable book edited by Jane Jeong Trenka, Julia Chinyere Oparah, and Sun Yung Shin. The book is discussed in the article, as is Marcus Samuelsson, the global history of Ethiopian adoptions, and the lived experiences of adoptees.

One phrase from the article was particularly powerful to me, that the narratives of the adoptees reflect “a journey of sensemaking.”

For information on how to obtain a PDF of the articles, please leave a comment here or email me, Maureen@LightOfDayStories.com. 

Thank you, Drs. Girma and Abebe, for this significant and much-needed research.

Why You Should Read and Share “Lions Roaring Far From Home”

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Yesterday was Adoptee Remembrance Day, and tomorrow is the start of National Adoption Awareness Month in the US. It is a fitting time to learn more about adoption, or better understand the experience of being adopted, or hear a variety of perspectives on what “being adopted” means.

Here is an amazing collection of essays by adoptees, stories told in their own voices: Lions Roaring Far From Home: An Anthology by Ethiopian Adoptees.

The book includes essays and poems by 32 writers, ranging in age from 8 to over 50, and raised in six different countries (Canada, France, Sweden, Australia, the Netherlands, and the U.S.). The perspectives on adoption vary, and that is one of the strengths of the book.

It is the first (and currently only) anthology by Ethiopian adoptees.

It received advance praise from Lemn Sissay, Nicole Chung, and Shannon Gibney, all acclaimed writers who are also adoptees.

The cover of the book "Lions Roaring" is a painting of an Ethiopian woman with one hand on her hip and the other on the back of a roaring lion.

The stunning cover art is by the incredibly talented Ethiopian artist Nahosenay Negussie.

We are grateful to the folks who have read the book, and those who have shared a review and stars on the Amazon site.

We hope more folks will read it, talk about it, and share it with others.

It is a groundbreaking book, reflecting the hearts of our writers and the realities of adoption.

Please help us get the book into the hands of Ethiopian adoptees, other adoptees, Ethiopians, adoptive parents, adoption agencies, adoption therapists, and others.

Thank you.

Some Words from our Ethiopian Poets, on National Poetry Day

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Lions Roaring Far From Home Anthology

· 

Today is National Poetry Day in the UK. While poetry can (and should) be celebrated all year round, we thought today might be a good day to celebrate our “Lions Roaring” poets.

Here are some excerpts.

Andi Tarikua Cass from the US wrote about being a “Warrior of the Lion:”

“i come from a place of fighters, warriors, brave people who never backed down from what they believed in…”

Hana from Canada wrote a “Brave Family Song:”

“We have one family that is in Ethiopia, Ethiopia.

And one family that is in Canada, Canada.

I love this FAMILY so much.”

Helen Rose Samuel from the US shared a poem she had written in memory of her beloved brother Fisseha: “The Art of Goodbye.”

“Who taught you, of knots and ties, to sever?

Who taught you the art of goodbye?

Who failed to teach you the art of goodbye?

Perhaps, then, your goodbye wouldn’t have been forever.”

Australian Tamieka Small‘s poem is “Waiting For When the Sky Won’t Fall:”

“You don’t know what it’s like

To look at the people who love you,

Expecting to see a reflection.

But you see nothing at all,

a blank canvas, a ghost, a wall.”

Heran Tadesse, raised in the Netherlands and now repatriated to Ethiopia, wrote about “Home:”

“Home is where my soul finds healing

And my being becomes whole

Living my dream

And witnessing the unseen

Dance through life

Synchronise to rhythm

Seek and find

Home within.”

Deep gratitude to each of these poets for sharing themselves in the powerful words of their poems.

The cover of the book "Lions Roaring" is a painting of an Ethiopian woman with one hand on her hip and the other on the back of a roaring lion.

Adoptees Holding the Mic, Literally and Otherwise: Adoption Mosaic at Heritage Camp

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It may be overdue, but there is no doubt that the views and voices of adult adoptees are increasingly being heard—including the challenging ones.

I recently presented at the COFFEE Ethiopian Heritage Camp that takes place near Mount Hood in Oregon. The weather was beautiful, and the energy from the kids—biking, skateboarding, swimming, playing basketball, walking around in chatty groups—was wonderful and palpable.

For some of the kids, it’s one of few times where they are surrounded by other adoptees and by other Ethiopians.

For the parents, mostly white couples, it’s a chance to visit with friends and also to learn from the workshops presented by Adoption Mosaic.

In fact, the parents got to hear from an Adoption Mosaic panel of adult adoptees from Ethiopia, Colombia, and the U.S. All had been transracially adopted by white parents.

All the adoptees had different experiences growing up, of course. For some, their adoptive parents had been unaware of racial identity and adoption trauma issues, though they were loving. Some parents did a lot of work on racial equity, and still fell short sometimes. Some parents were unaware, uncaring, unreachable.

Adoption Mosaic founder Astrid Castro, adopted with her sister from Colombia, brought other staff with her as well, adoptees from Korea, India, and China: incredible mentors and sources of wisdom for all the camp attendees.

And that said, it is not the responsibility nor burden of any adoptee to educate adoptive parents. The emotional labor can be intense.

At a general session with the adoptive parents, the adoptees literally held the microphone, and the adoptive parents, while they could ask questions, could not hold the mic.

I found that a powerful metaphor, a reflection of the past when only adoptive parents held the mic, and adoptees and first/birth parents were an afterthought at best. We still, in the adoption community, need to work on centering the voices and lived experiences of adopted people and of first/birth parents.

That said, I am also a believer of inclusion, and really everyone should have the physical mic at in-person meetings so that everyone can hear equitably. Questions from adoptive parents were repeated by adopted people with the mic, so that was helpful. The symbolism, though, of who holds the microphone (at a conference, at a policy meeting, at a hearing, etc.) was valuable.

At the same session, Astrid noted the wealth of information available from the Adoption Mosaic staff, and also asked if the adoptive parents looked at #adopteetwitter or adoptees on TikTok. There are some wonderful, challenging, wise adoptees posting videos and sharing their truths.

Here’s a link to an article about Adoptee TikTok titled “Adoptees Are Using an Unexpected Platform to Shed Light on the Downsides of Adoption.”

We adoptive parents need to do the work of learning about adoption whether our kids are 8 or 46.

In fact, that phrase “do the work” permeated the time at camp with the adoptive parents.

I’d say that “do the work” for us adoptive parents is to be willing to listen and take in a variety of views about adoption; to dig deeply into anti-racism work; to learn about the role of money in adoption; to educate ourselves about grief, loss, depression, and confusion in adoption; to recognize that even if our kids aren’t talking about adoption they may be thinking about it (and absorbing all kinds of messages about it from friends, the community, the Internet); and to recognize the both/and of adoption (adoptees can love their adoptive parents and also want to see adoption abolished, for example).

Adoption Mosaic offers classes for adoptive parents, including one I co-facilitate, called “Seasoned Parents.” The 6-week online class is for adoptive parents whose kids are now in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, or even older. Back when we “seasoned” adoptive parents adopted our children, the preparation process was limited at best. From the Adoption Mosaic website: “When people adopt, they are oftentimes told that love would be enough. Your kids are now adults with their own thoughts and feelings about adoption; unfortunately, love alone is not enough for you to engage in tough conversations about adoption with your adult adoptees. In the class, we reflect on why we chose adoption, and what we have learned over decades of raising children. We dig into the challenges of talking about adoption as an industry, as well as about gratitude, anger, adoption fog, search, reunion, and race. And we practice talking about these adoption issues with our adult children and with others, in ways that are clear, respectful, and helpful. 

Often adult adoptees ask their parents to take this class, including adoptees who are estranged from their parents.

Kudos to the folks who organized the camp (it’s a lot of work), and who attended the camp. Gratitude to the Adoption Mosaic crew for sharing their years of lived experience and professional work in adoption.

May we all keep learning not in isolation but in community.

KAAN, NAKASEC, Adoptee Citizenship, and a GoFund Me

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The time is long overdue for the passage of adoptee citizenship legislation, and, as understandably tired as some folks are, we need to gear up more than ever.

Action steps:

(1) See how you can help via Adoptees for Justice. You can click on the QR code in the photo below, which shows Jimmy Byrne, a Korean adoptee who spoke about citizenship at the 2023 KAAN conference.

Photo Description : The photo shows Jimmy Byrne, a Korean adoptee wearing glasses, on a panel at the KAAN conference. There is a QR code on the screen behind him, which has information about the work of Adoptees For Justice.

(2) Support deported adoptees, like Mike Davis. Any and all help is deeply appreciated. Please donate; please share the link.

Photo Description: This is a photo of Mike Davis, an Ethiopian adoptee, on the GoFundMe page that hopes to raise money for Mike’s legal costs so he can return to the United States.
He was deported to Ethiopia in 2005.

Some background info for this post: About a week ago I attended the national conference of KAAN, the Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network. This was the second time I had attended this conference, and, as before, I was presenting a workshop with the wonderful Astrid Castro and Shelise Gieseke of Adoption Mosaic. I also attended several great workshops presented by others.

One was on Adoptee Citizenship, presented by folks from Adoptees for Justice and NAKASEC, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium. Both groups have been working on the issue of citizenship for many years, including citizenship for international adoptees.

Adoptees from South Korea make up the largest and now oldest group of international adoptees. As such, they have been active in advocacy work for decades, in South Korea and in their adoptive countries. Around 200,000 South Korean children have been brought to the Unites States for adoption; some 18-20,000 of that group are estimated to be without U.S. citizenship. Some have been deported; some do not know they are not citizens. Some are working on getting through the naturalization process.

The NAKASEC and KAAN efforts are not only for Korean adoptees. Adoptees for Justice (A4J), which has connections with NAKASEC and KAAN, is working for all international adoptees, advocating for full and retroactive citizenship.

At the KAAN workshop, the presenters talked about the legislative history of trying to get citizenship enacted. It seemed possible at the end of the last Congress, but failed again, probably for many reasons. I speculate on some of them here. Certainly there was a lot of time, energy, advocacy, prayers, and hope that went into the effort.

Advocates are working on citizenship legislation in the current session of Congress. It won’t be easy, with so much anti-immigrant sentiment and the upcoming elections. Groups like A4J (and I’m sure other groups) are looking at a variety of strategies, such as state and local government resolutions.

Please contact your legislators. Ask them to support citizenship for all international adoptees. Please help deported adoptees. Please spread the word that deported adoptees deserve to come home, and that all international adoptees deserve citizenship. Many thanks.