Intercountry adoption has just become too difficult now because initially
well-intentioned child protection efforts have stifled it and made it
excessively time-consuming and costly. Just getting an adoption agency
certified to approve international adoptions under the so-called Hague
Convention has provided adoption certifiers with a new lucrative business. A
local adoption agency, Holy Child Support Services, on whose board I served for
many years, has now closed its doors as a result. We gave up. This is one
instance where I would agree that red tape and regulations have gone overboard
to the detriment of those intended to be protected. The former head of that
agency and I have been trying for more than 2 years to help a now-adult adoptee
and her husband adopt an overseas child themselves, even one somewhat older and
with possible medical problems. The wife herself was adopted from Vietnam years
ago with medical problems due to an unknown attack during the war, so she is
open to such an adoption. But she and her husband have not had success so far. She
works in preschool education, so has lots of experience with children. There is
no lack of kids in other countries needing parents; it's just that the costs
and protections have put that option out of reach for many prospective parents.
This is one area where well-meant measures have definitely gummed up the works.
While
the attack against alleged chemical
weapons facilities in Syria may have been justified, it has also allowed
Trump to turn public attention away from his usual misdeeds. By sticking to his
prepared script in announcing the strike, he managed to seem almost presidential.
However, he is hardly exonerated.
Without
going into details, as they are far too many and well-known, not
only
is Donald
Trump an ignoramus, trickster, atrocious speller, and a bully, he’s also mean
and vindictive. He has shown no ability to learn or to reform, so the only
solution is to remove him from office, the sooner, the better. No one can trust
him and trust is the essential glue in all human relations. Pence seems to have
mostly faded into the woodwork, not that he is someone to particularly admire,
but he is more steady and predictable.
The handlers who might have held Trump somewhat in check seem to have been
swept aside. He’s no longer listening to them or sticking to the script—very
scary. He’s feeling invulnerable, not listening to anyone, no brakes. Too bad
about his equally misinformed and mean-spirited core supporters. When will they
realize that Trump is no longer the bold outsider attacking the establishment—that
he is the establishment? They’ve had their day in
the sun, so now let the majority of Americans re-assert ourselves for the
greater good of our country and the world. I do hope, despite big money and
gerrymandering, that enough sane voters will come out in the mid-terms to
overcome those formidable obstacles. We gave Trump his chance and he blew it. But
we still have to work tirelessly against him and his Republican allies. We
cannot assume that just because he is so stupid and misguided that he will
automatically lose, as we did so complacently in 2016.
Certainly, having
Trump in the US presidency has been
interesting, a new surprise every single day. What will that crazy guy do or
tweet about next? But it’s more than wishful thinking to predict that his days
are numbered and that his reputation as our nation’s worst president will go
down forever in history. Melania will soon be liberated. Just as his own support
was a backlash against Obama, a giant backlash is now building up against
Trump. James Comey’s book should help speed up the process, though, of course,
diehard supporters will always stick by Trump.
The oscillation
of the political pendulum brings correction from the extremes. Who could have
predicted gay and even transgender rights? Even traditionist Costa Rica has
elected a president favoring gay marriage. And what about the “me-too” movement
that is upending gender norms? Socialized myself as a compliant female back in
the day, I find me-too invigorating
in my old age. And so, even the mighty NRA will eventually have to pull back. And
Trump’s antics have been losing their shine, especially now as he ignores his
handlers and creates economic and political chaos like a naughty child
disobeying his parents. Nothing lasts forever. Trump has shaken things up, so now
it’s time for rebuilding in a brand new way. Of course, any forward movement
(progress?) will see its own fits and starts and experience a backlash against
the backlash, but society and our political system will evolve clumsily and
haltingly beyond the Trump era. It will be a relief to have left Trump behind.
Would-be
candidates and websites trying to collect money and signatures to oppose Trump
have metastasized. Early on, I signed onto and even reposted some appeals on
Facebook. But now there are just too many and some of their aims are suspect,
often seeming to be trying to drum up support and money in the name of opposing
Trump when the connection to that aim is not so obvious. I do open and read
some of these unsolicited messages, including even regular messages from a
rightwing website, which, fortunately, is the only one I’m getting—must have
clicked on something to give it my e-mail address. I could always send most of
these appeals and commentaries to “spam,” but I like to skim the headlines.
Former Mexican
President Vicente Fox has created a
clever t-shirt beating the inscription “Can’t Build a Wall if Your Hands Are
Too Small,” showing a diapered baby Trump playing with blocks.
Viktor Orban of Hungary was a big election winner, to the
despair of my Hungarian student housemate, who voted at her embassy. He ran on an
anti-immigrant platform, even though few immigrants are actually trying to live
in Hungary.
As for Facebook, like everything else (the
internet in general, and virtually every imaginable item, idea, or activity),
it carries both benefits and risks, but often we are so enamored of the
benefits, we fail to guard against or even notice the risks. Now the day of
reckoning has come for Facebook.
A private Saudi
women-only fashion show has been held, a first in that hermetic kingdom.
However, private events for women are a regular part of life even among strict
Muslims. I remember attending an Islamic wedding shower for women only on
Kenya’s Lamu Island. Hundreds of women gathered under a tent, all flashing
jewelry, body-hugging fashions, and elaborate hairdos. Nail polish, perfume, and
lipstick were prominently in evidence. The women greeted each other warmly with
hugs and kisses on the cheek. The bride, who sat up on a throne-like podium, opened
each gift brought by the guests with much fanfare. Then each gift was passed
around among the guests who oohed and awed over each item, especially the frilly
underwear and sexy negligees. So much for the secret life of austere Muslim
women.
Focusing on a less savory aspect of the Muslim
world, at meeting of my local Amnesty
International Group 211, we were joined by a visiting Amnesty member from
Seattle, drawing our attention to the anniversary of the second imprisonment in
the UAE of her personal friend, Ahmed
Mansoor. Below is a photo of them together.
This is from the AI USA website: One year ago, on 20 March 2017, prominent
Emirati human rights defender and blogger Ahmed Mansoor, was arrested at his home. His
whereabouts remain unverified despite a February mission by Irish lawyers to
Abu Dhabi to find him. He remains without access to a lawyer. He is a prisoner
of conscience.
While I have mostly focused on the Caribbean through my 14-year volunteer position with Amnesty International USA, as well as on Honduras, my former Peace Corps country, I have not forgotten about Colombia, where I lived for two years with my family until age 16, when I went away to college. Thanks to my time there and attending a local private girls’ school (where I felt unduly restricted), I was able to master Spanish, which has served me well, both in the Peace Corps and my continuing work in Honduras and also as an on-call Spanish interpreter. My most important connection to Colombia is through my son Jonathan, who was born there and adopted at age one. The last time both Jon and I were back in Colombia was when he was 11 years old. At my urging, recently. when he was still living in Hawaii, he took a college course in Spanish, but only got a “B” because he really didn’t have much opportunity to speak Spanish there, though his accent is quite good when he does talk. That is a roundabout way to introduce two human rights activists from Colombia whom I met at a session held at the DC Amnesty International office. While Colombia may have celebrated the signing of peace accords between the government and FARC and para military factions, peace does not yet reign. Two defenders of the post-war rights of civilians caught in the crossfire and still suffering the effect of the war are making a US tour: Ofelia Castillo of Tierra Patria in Cartagena and Sandra Bermudez of Bogota. Many rural Colombians and ethnic minorities have not been afforded justice or allowed to return to their ancestral lands.
Amnesty International has denounced the lack of
comprehensive protection of rights defenders and their families and urged the Colombian
authorities to introduce measures to guarantee the protection of civilians and
to dismantle paramilitary groups. Our campaign Unprotected Peace advocates for
improved protection measures for communities at risk but it will highlight the
alarming situation of Human Rights Defenders attacks in Colombia and the lack
of effective protection mechanisms. In the context of Colombian
presidential election, the campaign will promote dialogue about this issue in
the electoral debate in Colombia and will help showcase the dire situation HRDs
in Colombia now face. For more information on Amnesty International research
and campaigns: ttps://www.amnesty.org/en/search/?country=38284nsL https://www.amnesty.org/en/search/?country=38284
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