bright eyes + blue eyes

Oliver Twist

The place where we live in England is chock full of landmarks of the Industrial Revolution era. Everywhere you look, there are hulks of former factories and mills looming. Especially on grey and blustery days (which is most of the days, by the way), it’s easy to imagine life back in that time. Ever since we’ve lived here, I’ve wanted to read a Dickens book in this setting. I’ve had Oliver Twist sitting around for months, but the fanfare surrounding Dickens’ bicentennial finally got me into gear with reading it.

Two main points struck me as I read Oliver Twist.

First of all, the church used to be at the center of official poverty alleviation in England. The state really didn’t get involved until much later. Oliver Twist really illustrates how un-Christian so many of the church’s policies on poverty were. The church sanctioned the abominable conditions in the workhouses and showed so little respect for poor people’s humanity.

Secondly, there really is nothing like reading a story to make an issue like poverty come alive. All the facts and figures and context swim around abstractly until you can see life through a character’s eyes. This makes me really glad that people write about topics like poverty. Because people write novels that are full of social meaning, I can relate to those issues so much better because I’ve connected with convincing characters and followed a compelling storyline.

AdoptUsKids & Save the Children ads

I saw recently that AdoptUsKids has some new PSAs. I really love the AdoptUsKids ads. It takes some kind of genius to combine laughter and foster care.

 

I’ve been thinking recently about how kids are used in charitable fundraising and recruiting. There are so many ways that materials can be disrespectful or patronizing to children. I think this ad that I saw on TV last night does a good job of showing children in poverty, but also showing how their eyes can sparkle. It reinforces for me that everyone deserves a childhood.

 

International Adoption & Poverty

I recently read a thought provoking article from the New Yorker magazine online about international adoption. In The Last Baby Lift, John Seabrook writes about his experience of bringing his daughter home after the earthquake in Haiti. The article is really worth reading. Adoption stories are always have a magnetic effect on me; I am just drawn to reading and thinking about adoption. All of the nuances and details about various types of adoption are fascinating to me.

Seabrook tells a compelling story about his family’s decision to adopt and the dramatic events that finally brought their child, Rose, to them. In addition to recounting his personal experience, Seabrook also gives a good overview of the history of international adoption in America. I think I found the background and analysis to be the most interesting parts of the article. Seabrook writes eloquently about the moral complexities of adoption.

Regarding the children who are placed in international adoption nowadays: “The children are, in most cases, no longer casualties of war but “social orphans,” whose parents have abandoned or relinquished them, usually because of poverty…”

…

“The dividing line between an ethical adoption and a baby-buying scam generally falls on the issue of whether the birth mother has been coerced into giving up her child.”

…

“The difficult issue is what constitutes “forced relinquishment.” Is a mother who cannot afford to feed her child forced into relinquishment by poverty? If so, aren’t all international adoptions of social orphans morally indefensible?”

…

“We had decided to adopt internationally just as the boom was ending. The gross inequities at the heart of the enterprise had become harder to justify. (The average annual income of the sending nations, if you exclude Korea, is less than four thousand dollars, and the average income in the receiving nations is about thirty thousand.)”

This article (and other things I have been reading lately) prompted a lot of questions in my mind. Where are trends in adoption and family poverty reduction headed? Is there some alternative to adoption that can capitalize on Westerners’ heartfelt desire to help poor children, up-close, intimately and long-term? In the last few years, Christians have become very involved in adoption, but how do church-based adoption movements square with the proportion of Scriptures about alleviating poverty vs. rescuing orphans? What is the best way to fairly assess the diverse efforts underway to serve poor and/or orphaned children – every one of which is genuinely convinced that they’re honoring children’s best interests?

etc. etc. etc.

There’s a lot to consider. I’m pretty sure that there are no cut-and-dry answers. I just know that I want to spend a lot more time thinking about the intersection of poverty and international child welfare issues.

Adoption and Crises

I would like to speak for a moment about adoption and crises.  I have noticed a range of adoption stories during the Haiti earthquake news coverage, such as: Haitian adoptions should be fast-tracked; planeloads of children being flown to Europe; and the story about the Midwestern Baptists.  During this horrible event in Haiti, a light bulb has come on for me.  Crises make people think they need to adopt!  I thought back to previous crises and remembered adoption responses that stemmed from the tsunami of 2004, from Katrina flooding of 2005, from the Chinese earthquake in 2008, etc..  I think the pattern goes something like this. 

Catastrophe happens. >> Media shows heart-wrenching pictures of children suffering. >> People watching feel immense sympathy for the children. >> They think, ‘I have resources to take care of that hurting child that I see on the news. I have got to help!’ >> Adoption is suggested as a way to address the hardships facing children affected by the crisis. 

I totally understand the logic that makes people call for large-scale adoptions of crisis-affected children, but I disagree with the conclusion.  How sad would it be if, for example, a girl loses her mother.  Awful.  Then if she is swept up in a hasty adoption, she loses her only chance to reconnect with the father who lives across town, the aunts, the grandmothers, and the close family friends who know her and love her.  As a rule, those relatives and friends would do anything in their power to take care of the children they love.  Granted, if the child were adopted, she would have all the opportunities and resources of Western parents, but that can’t be good enough reason to permanently separate her from a loving family and community, especially in the midst of a trauma.  That would be a tragedy upon tragedy . 

I recall something that a family court judge in Birmingham used to say.  In line with child welfare as a whole, most of his cases were neglect trials. The judge was adamant that a child should not be taken away from his family simply because the family was poor.  If the family was too poor to provide adequate housing, food, or clothing for the child, then they should be given ample resources and support to get back on their feet.  Loving relationships are a trump card when establishing what is in a child’s best interest.

So, I am generally against adopting children out of crisis situations simply because their future could be brighter if they grew up elsewhere.  Add on concerns about selling children, kidnapping children, and the dangers of inadequate adoptive parent screening, and the whole thing can turn rotten quickly. 

I am a huge fan of adoption. It can bring incredible gifts and benefits to children, families and society at large.  I am all for adoption, but only when it is done ethically.

The Better Care Network and the Adoption Institute have some interesting papers on the subject if you’re interested in further reading.  The best child welfare practitioners turn crisis-inspired adoption inquiries into opportunities to get people interested in other ways of adopting.  Your average Sue and Tom aren’t asking to adopt from Haiti because they want to exploit someone.  They just saw pictures that melted their hearts; and that’s exactly what vulnerable children (from near and far) need: parents with soft hearts.

Ellie + Abbie + TED

Given my enthusiasm about TED lectures, I’m thinking that a name change to the blog might be appropriate.  I am sure I could come up with commentary about a TED lecture to post for any given day.  Abbie introduced me to TED when she came to visit me in Berlin.  I remember us sitting on the futon and watching Ken Robinson together. [There’s a very funny, completely unrelated story about that futon, involving 3.25 human arms and an attempt to move the piece of furniture across Berlin using the tram system.  Maybe that story is better left to be told in person, though.]

My most recent TED favorite is a talk by Louise Fresco.  This is what I love about TED lectures.  I don’t think I would have otherwise encountered a talk from an agronomist, but the things that Louise Fresco has to say are so interesting.  

Fresco begins her talk by polling the audience.  She asks who would prefer a loaf of wholegrain artisanal bread from a small bakery over a loaf of Wonderbread from the supermarket. I know which I would pick, even after listening to her lecture.  Nonetheless, Fresco goes on to make compelling points about how the Wonderbread represents the enormous progress of Western society in the 21st century.

She talks about how modern intelligencia has created a mythical past of small scale farming. Yes, rural farmers did enjoy pure, fresh food.  They also had astoundingly less variety than we enjoy today, and each simple meal represented hours (if not days or months) of preparation.  Can't you just imagine a farmer’s wife baking a rustic loaf of 7-grain bread back in the good old days, surrounded by pastoral European countryside? I can envision her hearty loaf in my romantic mind’s eye, but the reality was probably far different. Seven types of grain in one loaf – just to grow or obtain such a variety would have been extraordinary effort!  Fresco’s points about the historical fantasy of small-scale farming are grounding and realistic.

Fresco also mentions how modern agriculture has freed most of the population up from thinking about food to a very large degree.  Your food consumption today likely involves breakfast cereal, a sandwich for lunch, and maybe you’ll make a 30 minute meal for dinner tonight.  All total, even considering shopping, that's no more than a cumulative total of two hours dealing with food - max.  Meanwhile, I am sure that there’s a woman in Masasi who is in the fields all morning today hoping to grow enough corn for next month’s meals.  When she comes home, she’ll have to organize having enough water and charcoal to prepare her daily ugali, which is the same thing that she ate yesterday, and she’ll eat ugali again tomorrow.  My Masasi sister will spend most of her energy on procuring and preparing food for herself and her family.  That won’t leave a lot of time for crafting, reading, thinking about parenting strategies, or anything else, for that matter. It is very sobering to me to think about how much I have taken for granted in my life when it comes to food.

This TED talk gave me an enlightening perspective on food politics.  I still want to join a CSA when we’re back in Europe/USA, but I have a better sense of my place in the worldwide food market.  I can make the choice to be a luxury food consumer because I have the time and money to afford preparing my food with local, hand-tended ingredients.  However, I should also promote others’ access to modern, mechanized farming methods that lift people out of poverty and hunger.  The same changes will allow people to divert energy to new enterprises, instead of devoting most of their time to growing and cooking the same meals day after day.  If that were to happen, who knows… maybe the next Einstein really will come from Africa.

The Help

I read The Help last week. (Thanks once again, Kindle, that you make it possible for me to read newly published books!)  I’d heard y’all talking about this book.  I read through it in no time flat and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

The funny thing is that it’s got me thinking about feminism as much as racism.  I thought it would be interesting to read this book especially now because I myself have “help”.  In this day and age, it’s probably a bit of a rarity for a Southern woman to have a housekeeper/cook five days a week, even more so when you consider how young I am.  I chuckled at Minny having to tell Miss Celia how to hire her.  I had no idea how to hire a housekeeper when we moved to Tanzania and I was a little offended at the idea that we'd need one.

We did hire a housekeeper, though, and she’s been a godsend.  Neema is wonderful.  She is cheerful and full of life (literally! – her baby is due in January and her belly is really popping out these days!).  Most days, she and I spend a fair amount of time chatting.  We laugh, tell stories about our childhoods and our husbands, and spend a lot of time describing different aspects of our respective cultures.  I really enjoy having Neema around.

As much as I love Neema’s personality, I have to be honest and admit that I also love having someone to do many of the household chores.  Life in rural Tanzania takes a lot more work than in America or Europe.  I've fully come to terms with the fact that I need someone to help me get the tiny stones and chaff out of the rice, launder by hand, and butcher the chickens.  But I can’t deny that it’s nice to have someone do the jobs I am perfectly capable of doing myself.  I still mop my floors and wash my dishes, but only on weekends or when I want to.  What a luxury.

There’s something that makes the relationship between a maid and her boss very tricky.  It is a very intimate relationship and it can seem like you’re friends, but there’s always a moment when you realize it’s not as simple as that.  I don’t pay my friends or tell them what to cook for me or walk through the room while they're ironing my sheets. 

I found a Harpers article by Barbara Ehrenreich on the subject, and it’s really worth reading if you’re interested. No matter whether you “treat the help like family” (Miss Joline), there’s something unavoidably degrading about cleaning up behind other people.  I know that Neema is very grateful for her job with us, but I still somehow wish this kind of job magically didn’t have to exist.

circumcision

I’ve been learning about an important rite of passage in southern Tanzania.  Boys between the ages of five to eight are circumcised, and that marks their first steps towards adulthood.  The actual circumcision is followed by a trek into the forest with elders, and a big family celebration takes place upon the boys’ return.

Circumcision is viewed as a cultural practice, so it’s not offered as a procedure in the hospital.  Nonetheless, it’s done by a medical officer under local anesthesia.  Twice a year, medical personnel post announcements about when they will offer circumcision.  On the appointed days, a makeshift surgery is set up at the school, and fathers bring their sons to be circumcised.  It costs 10,000 Shillings per child.

The child has a few days to recover.  Then he goes into the woods with a group of about 20 boys and elders.  They stay in the forest for two or three days, and they learn about all sorts of things.  I know I haven’t understood everything about this rite of passage, but here’s what I’ve gathered the boys learn from the elders:

• Sometimes adults need to be left alone, and you cannot enter a room without knocking. From what I've understood, the sex education stays pretty vague at this stage.

• You always need to show respect to your parents and other older people. Apparently, the accompanying elders become authority figures, and parents will later threaten the children by saying that they'll tell the elders about their misbehavior.

• How to slaughter a chicken.

I’m sure there’s much more that they learn, but I’ve had a hard time understanding conversations about this topic.  Maybe people are using words from Kiyao or Kimakonde, local dialects, that I don’t speak. 

We had a funny experience that clued us into this whole rite of passage.  Two of our guards, Chado and George, came to H. to ask him about paying for the circumcision for their sons.  H. didn’t understand what they were talking about, so he asked me if I would come and help.  I didn’t understand either.  We got a dictionary.  The words they were saying were not in the dictionary.  So we said, “Describe whatever you’re talking about.”  We understood that they were talking about boys and cutting.  Hmmm.  It took us a few seconds, and then we got it…  Oh!  They must be talking about circumcision!  We all had a good laugh about the whole charade.

economist articles

I started reading The Economist magazine on a regular basis beginning in 2004.  H introduced it to me, and that was also when I moved to Washington DC, where it’s cool (and rather useful) to read such dense news.  I have come to value The Economist as a thorough and intelligent news source. 

We have continued our Economist magazine subscription here in TZ.  The issues arrive pretty sporadically, so I’m not quite up-to-date on the news, but I’m glad I can remain in the loop with analysis.  The lag isn’t so important here.  There are significantly fewer dinner party conversations to keep up with than I experienced in DC or Berlin.  So it’s not as necessary to be up to the minute with current events.

How I relate to articles in the magazine has changed since moving to Tanzania.  I never even used to read the Africa & Middle East section, but a lot of news has struck me differently now that I have a deeper connection to this part of the world.  The Economist now provides me with a tremendous amount of news and analysis that is relevant to what I experience in Africa.  Much of what I’ve read has helped me to better understand the larger forces at work in my current environment.  Here are some articles that have interested me recently: 

Talking Rubbish: A Special Report on Waste

Neuroscience & Social Deprivation: I Am Just a Poor Boy though My Story's Seldom Told

Water: Sin Aqua Non

Two articles related to ants: 

Lessons from Ants: Wisdom from Crowds

Animal Behavior: Decisions, Decisions

...and three health-related articles:

Zap! Using Laser Defense Systems to Prevent the Spread of Malaria

A Doctor in your Pocket: Developing Countries Are Using Mobile Phones to Leapfrog to Personalized Medicine

Taken Your Medicine? Mobile Phones Provide a Cheap and Simple Way to Ensure That Patients Have Popped Their Pills

strong collective identity, or tanzanian above all else

Tanzania’s first president was Julius Nyerere.  One of his legacies is that he embedded Tanzania with a strong collective identity.  By comparison, other East African countries are much more fragmented by ethnic and religious differences. 

Within Tanzania there are dozens of tribes, each with its own language, but everyone speaks Swahili in addition to their ethnic language.  Tanzanians’ religion is pretty evenly divided between Christianity and Islam, and the two faith groups live peacefully side-by-side.  I respect Nyerere’s leadership in establishing a sense of national pride in Tanzania. 

Considering the history of conflicts in many of the neighboring countries (Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Mozambique, and mounting ethnic tension in Kenya), Tanzanians collective identity has certainly been important for the political stability of Tanzania.

foreign concepts

The education system in Tanzania deserves a post of its own.  I’ll describe the education system sometime soon, but not now.  For now, I’ll just say that most people here only go to school for seven years, and the instruction leaves a lot to be desired.  That means that there are a lot of gaps in people’s basic education.

H. and I have been struck by some of the concepts that are completely foreign to people around here.  I’ll give you some examples. 

I was talking to a guy about Native Americans praying for rain by doing a rain dance.  He wasn’t familiar with the concept of American Indians, so I tried to explain that they were the Americans before the Wazungus [white people] arrived.  He looked at me like he was thinking, ‘What are you talking about, lady?  Americans are white people.’

H. mentioned the news of the earthquake in Italy to someone.  But the concept of an earthquake was met with confusion.  H. started trying to describe an earthquake by shaking things and pointing to the ground.  We’re still never sure if the idea came across.

We usually give our guards coffee, but we were out of coffee one day, so we put out hot chocolate powder instead.  The guards came to us to ask how to use the powder.  After they had tried it, they came back to ask if it was an alcoholic beverage.

I truly do not want to seem like I am making fun of these folks’ ignorance.  They can’t help it if no one ever taught them about these things.  Each person I mentioned is a bright and curious person.  When we encounter new things here, I’m sure we come across as laughably ignorant to our Tanzanian friends.

We do, however, all get a good laugh out of these situations.  Probably the funniest thing is how hilarious our definitions and descriptions in Swahili turn out.

I did have a nice exchange about basic knowledge recently.  Neema is attending secondary school in the evenings, and she really takes joy in learning so many new things. We were going to the market, and the stalls were slower opening up because of the later sunrise.  I made a comment that it's like the sun is sluggish.  Her eyes sparkled, and she said they had just studied that at school and had learned that the sun always stays in the same place, but the earth moves, which makes the sunrise and sunset times change though the year.  My heart was warmed.  I think of the saying: Educate a mother, and you educate a whole family.