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Apologies for what's basically a re-posting, but I wanted to make sure that anyone who can benefit from this has a chance to join :-)
Greetings,
This is a notice that the yahoo group for parents of adopted Romany (ethnically Gypsy, as opposed to Romanian, Bulgarian, etc.) children is now up and running. Most of the children adopted from certain East European countries (Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania...) are fully or partly Romany/i -- sometimes their new parents may not even realize it. While a lot of focus is placed in international adoption circles on the "culture of the home country," this makes only limited sense for Roma, because of the very real cultural and social divisions that exist between "Gypsies" and majority societies. (Trust me, I'm Romani :-) For parents who realize that it's important for their kids to explore their Romani identity, accurate information about this ethnic group is VERY difficult to come by.
The new group, which includes interesting photos and will have a wealth of cultural information, is open to parents and prospective parents of Roma or part-Roma. It was set up by two adoptive moms. A separate group for the kids will be formed soon.
To join, go to [url=http://groups.yahoo.com/group/karfin]KARFIN : KARFIN:Parents of Adopted Roma (Gypsies)[/url]
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Hmm, I'm not sure why. The link worked for me when I clicked on it just now. If it still doesn't work, drop me an email to holomkova@yahoo.com and I'll subscribe you or send an invitation.
Other than the countries you listed here, do other Eastern European countries have Romany children available for adoption as well? I'm thinking specifically Poland bc I'm from there, and I know there is a visible Romany population there (as I'm sure throughout Europe), but I don't know if that's represented in adoption. Thanks for any info!
From my experience there are plenty of Romani children in need of families all across Central and Eastern Europe from Poland and the Czech Republic to the Balkans and east to Russia. The issue is with the policies of the various countries. I have heard for instance that it is impossible to adopt from the Czech Republic, where I live, if you live in the US. The Czechs apparently have a deal worked out with Denmark and the Netherlands, so that's where most of the children are going. I just met a boy in a children's home who was goin to Sweden though, so I don't think it's impossible necessarily. There is an international adoption office in the city of Brno. I just adopted a 9-month-old healthy Romani baby boy, who would have been headed for international adoption, if we had not appeared, because he had been waiting many months at the local level and we were the only applicants for a Romani baby at the national level.
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We have an adopted Roma son that was born in Decin, CZ. His birth mom, being born in Czechoslovakia days, was born in what is now Slovakia. So, our son had been moved to an orphanage in SK, before being adopted into our American family (2000). A couple of years later (2002), we adopted another Roma child from SK. We have attachment issues and our daughter, now 12 years old, is dealing with constant depression. I am new to this site and forum, please direct me to anything here that you think might be helpful. Thank you.
This thread is very inactive. Try applying to join the KARFIN yahoo group. That is a reasonably active (though not prolific) group for families with adopted Romani children. Otherwise, I suggest posting on the attachment boards here on this forum. They are reasonably helpful. There are a lot of books out there on attachment issues and different ages and stages. Do you think that getting your daughter so info about her heritage might help some of the depression issues? I have some links on the right-hand sidebar of my blog that would make a good starting point, particularly the last one on Romani music and culture which my kids love. Blog: [url=http://www.ariefarnam.wordpress.com]Outside the Lines[/url]