Plea for help -- please do it for Hyun-su, please do it for yourself: In the wake of Hyun-sus death, we protested like crazy and we formed a coalition of NGOs that pushed the ministry to audit Holt. Now I can predict that absolutely nothing will happen on the Korean side because of the Holt audit which shows that Holt has been acting in violation of the law. KAS is not going to grow a backbone and suddenly start supervising agencies and providing decent services to adoptees, including follow-ups that keep children safe. The ministry is not going to punish Holt; they only got a warning and requests to provide more information and follow the law. Why? Because I guess the ministry doesnt think the audit was all that bad. By Korean standards, the death of one child, which can partially be blamed on Holts faulty practices, is not all that bad. What did we expect from the Korean government? Were we dreaming? Of course it is OK in their eyes. I predict that here in Korea, it will be business as usual, just as it was business as usual in 2008 when Holt was audited and they found all kinds of abuses. The ministry promptly forgot this audit even happened. (They change civil servants all the time and there is no institutional memory. Who has the best institutional memory around here? HOLT. That is why they are the most powerful.) It will be business as usual just as in the 1980s when Holt was audited and they also found abuses. Literally they were stealing rice from orphans. I found the audit in the archives of a leprosy research center and GAVE IT BACK TO THE GOVERNMENT. They had no idea it existed. Just like when I found research at the National Archives on adoptee citizenship and notified KAS. They had no idea it existed. Just like when I went in to talk with the Civil Rights and Anti-Corruption Commission after Hyun-su died and they didnt even know we had already filed a complaint about post-adoption services and inability to find our families in 2008. THEY SIMPLY FORGOT. There is no institutional memory. Those of you familiar with Korean culture know that the Korean attention span is like a half a second long. This is a culture of forgetting. How very convenient if you are not the victim. The only way we can hold Holt, KAS, and the agencies accountable is through mass action. Dont rely on bitter angry ajumma Jane Trenka to do it for you. My influence only goes so far and I can easily be dismissed because I am just one person with a tiny organization that doesnt even have an office. I am also dealing with health issues these days and cannot do a fraction of the work I used to. I am writing this from bed. Everybody who cares needs to pitch in, PLEASE. How to help: Lets try pressuring the Koreans from the Western side. International pressure is often the only thing Korean respond to. Thats why TRACK goes to the UN all the time. Let your people know in the language you speak! As you see from my cover photo, this is the extent of my ability to do graphics. It sucks. Can you guys start making memes or attractive graphics that can be passed around and that will gain attention, and that will encourage people to read the audit report?? Your local agencies need to read it and hold their supplier accountable; your local governments in charge of procuring babies from overseas need to know; PAPs need to read it and take their business elsewhere; your adoptive parents need to read it so they know how they have been suckered; the foreign embassies in Korea need to know so they can screen properly; the newspapers need to know to warn PAPs; your friends on social media need to know. Please get the word out! Thank you!!!! Soon-Young Oh Tom Sollitt can you help?
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 05:23:19 +0000
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