It is said that “[a]t some point, the family you create is more important than the one you were born into.” Is this true? In today’s Canadian culture, foreign adoption is a phenomenon that is becoming popular and one that we as Canadians are becoming aware of. Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s novel, Secret Daughter, shows us that Canadians do not have a problem with foreign adoption and that we as Canadians believe that it is okay to adopt a child from a foreign country this is so because living in Canada has made us all accept people from different cultures, religions, and ethnic backgrounds. By Canadians adopting children from foreign countries it shows, that we Canadians believe that it is okay for immigrants to come into Canada because we accept them for who they are and after all Canada is a multi-cultural, and diverse country. However, foreign adoption has both its positives and negatives.
Its positives are that the adopted child will get a better life, good education, brought up into a family that cares for them, a good future, or they may be going to a place that is much safer than the country they were living in before. However, foreign adoption certainly has negatives as it can cause families to tear apart. This is evident throughout the Secret Daughter where Asha says to her mother “…you don’t care what’s important to me. I love working on the paper, and I’m good at it. I want to hang out with friends, I want to go to parties and be a normal teenager. Why can’t you understand that? Why don’t you understand me?” “You don’t want what’s best for me. You don’t even know me. You’ve always tried to fit me into your little fantasy, but you don’t see me. You don’t love me. You want me to be like you, but I’m not. That’s the truth. Maybe if you were my real parents you would understand me and love me the way I am.”
Foreign adoption can cause the child to feel out of place, unwanted, not loved enough, or that the adopted parents don’t understand the child because its not their own child and that they are stuck between two different cultures and they are not sure where they belong. She also says “…why don’t you ever tell me about my real parents? You’re scared they’ll love me more that you do.” Later in life when the child grows older they may have many questions that cannot be answered because maybe “that’s just the way things worked” back in the country they were being adopted from. Foreign adoption can also make the child wonder why their parents do not take them to the country from were they were adopted. Being an adopted child can be hard on the parents and the child itself. The child may wish he/she were never born and never adopted in the first place. It can also be hard as a parent because they may want the child to be exactly like them, which is not possible, and it can be hard to accept the fact that it is not their own child. However, since Canada is a multi-cultural and diverse country that accepts people regardless of their religion, culture, and ethnic background, it can make them as immigrants feel welcomed or less afraid about them being targeted or them being the different ones in a crowd. Having different cultures, religions, and ethnic backgrounds in Canada, shows the immigrants that we Canadians like diversity, and that we are multi-cultural, and that we like to learn about other cultures and that we accept everyone in Canada.
In conclusion, this novel shows us that as Canadians we do not have a problem with adoption, and that we believe that if we don’t have kids than the best thing to do it adopt a child and make someone else’s life better, and that we Canadians like diversity, and that we are very multi-cultural. In reality, however, several problems can arise from adopting a child from a foreign country.
Its positives are that the adopted child will get a better life, good education, brought up into a family that cares for them, a good future, or they may be going to a place that is much safer than the country they were living in before. However, foreign adoption certainly has negatives as it can cause families to tear apart. This is evident throughout the Secret Daughter where Asha says to her mother “…you don’t care what’s important to me. I love working on the paper, and I’m good at it. I want to hang out with friends, I want to go to parties and be a normal teenager. Why can’t you understand that? Why don’t you understand me?” “You don’t want what’s best for me. You don’t even know me. You’ve always tried to fit me into your little fantasy, but you don’t see me. You don’t love me. You want me to be like you, but I’m not. That’s the truth. Maybe if you were my real parents you would understand me and love me the way I am.”
Foreign adoption can cause the child to feel out of place, unwanted, not loved enough, or that the adopted parents don’t understand the child because its not their own child and that they are stuck between two different cultures and they are not sure where they belong. She also says “…why don’t you ever tell me about my real parents? You’re scared they’ll love me more that you do.” Later in life when the child grows older they may have many questions that cannot be answered because maybe “that’s just the way things worked” back in the country they were being adopted from. Foreign adoption can also make the child wonder why their parents do not take them to the country from were they were adopted. Being an adopted child can be hard on the parents and the child itself. The child may wish he/she were never born and never adopted in the first place. It can also be hard as a parent because they may want the child to be exactly like them, which is not possible, and it can be hard to accept the fact that it is not their own child. However, since Canada is a multi-cultural and diverse country that accepts people regardless of their religion, culture, and ethnic background, it can make them as immigrants feel welcomed or less afraid about them being targeted or them being the different ones in a crowd. Having different cultures, religions, and ethnic backgrounds in Canada, shows the immigrants that we Canadians like diversity, and that we are multi-cultural, and that we like to learn about other cultures and that we accept everyone in Canada.
In conclusion, this novel shows us that as Canadians we do not have a problem with adoption, and that we believe that if we don’t have kids than the best thing to do it adopt a child and make someone else’s life better, and that we Canadians like diversity, and that we are very multi-cultural. In reality, however, several problems can arise from adopting a child from a foreign country.