Wednesday 7 December 2011

Adoptees and their status as second class citizen

Recent events have come to light that show adoptees are treated by some businesses and the bureaucracy as second class citizens.  it reminds me of my time in Malaysia where the average Malaysian citizen mixed well in a multicultural way but the system issued different coloured Identity cards for different races and treated Bumiputra's different from Chinese, Indian and Anglo citizens.  Bumiputra's could purchase houses cheaper, entire tertiary institutions based on a quota system not ability system and had preference over non Bumiputra's when applying for government contracts.

This positive discrimination is the opposite to what we as adoptees currently have in our great country.   Adoptees are sometimes unable to obtain all their birth details, unlike other citizens.  adoptees are in some cases unable to know their true family heritage, unlike non adoptees, adoptees whose identity was changed by a government regulation are now sometimes hindered by government in their normal daily life , like obtaining a passport, proving identity for some businesses , their ability to show they have no criminal record when required.  This situation is ludicrous and if not so debilitating to the psyche of my fellow adoptees would look like something from Hey Minister.

One common thread amongst many adoptees is the subliminal feeling that we were not good enough, that life is a continual struggle to prove that you are as good as every other citizen./  And for late discovery adoptees like myself that " We can't handle the truth" .

Now to have our governments confirm this status is so very debilitating.  Government changed who we were and now they demand we prove who we are and to rub salt into the wound they want payment to enable this identification process to go ahead.  What about illegal adoptions, what about false original birth certificates, what birth records that have been made up in a less than professional  manner.

Isn't it time for all the governments of this country to start treating the 300,000 plus adoptees  as valued members of our community and stop the shenanigans in relation to our identity. You gave us our identity now start dealing with it without damaging adoptees any more than they have already been damaged.

7 comments:

  1. Great post -- what can I do as an adoptee? The recent Superannuation case is very interesting ... I cannot fathom why a superannuation fund (and its trustees) do not recognise an amended birth certificate as proof of identity. How did they even find out that the person was adopted? Why is it their business, anyway? Are they being denied access to a superannuation account due to their status as an adoptee? Sounds like a pandoras box of issues as it will have far reaching implications if it becomes precedent?? Would love more information and will watch with interest :) Susan

    ReplyDelete
  2. To clarify - what can I do as an adoptee to ensure that are not treated as second class citizens? In any of my dealings with the government or business, they have no knowledge of my status as an adoptee, with the exception of sourcing information pertaining to my adoption (ie BDM, DoCs, PARC etc..). So I'm wondering how my status as an adoptee is relevant and how it could be used to discriminate against me; I think I need to be forewarned if this is going to be an issue. Of course, no one wants to be singled out for special treatment, particularly through no fault of our own! SN

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you Susan. The discrimination seems ad hoc and appears to apply to passport applications and an isolated incident of a superannuation fund. neil last year had trouble getting his working with children renewal for the same reason. as we have entered a world of greater controls we seem to be collateral damage in the war against crime and terror. this should not be so. we should not have to go through bureaucratic hoops when it was the bureaucrats who changed our identities in the fist place. our identities were imposed upon us by the state when they approved our adoption and took away our first identity. Why now should we be made to pay the price again and further exacerbate those feelings of insecurity that most adoptees have deep down in their psyche

    ReplyDelete
  4. I refused to pay for my birth records and asked for the fee to be waived.This is a shocking situation and how has it escaped our notice for so long?

    ReplyDelete
  5. It appears as to how professional state governments were with their record keeping. And the majority of states were lackadaisical in this matter , my state for instance could not get the initials of my a/oarents right when recording who adopted me and my new state sanctioned name. Then I find the legal document i used to join the RAAF (The extract of birth which was issued in lieu of a new birth certificate )was not even signed by the Registrar general. And finally when a birth record was issued in 1984 it showed me being born in the Launceston in the district of Hobart and my birth was registered ion 22 october 1984. A fine example of the peter principle where all involved had reached their level of incompetency .

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think some people see the folk who do these things, just AS "bumbling silly officials...or dozy clerks" It's easier to forgive n forget, when people are bumbling. I've done some dumb things and forgive myself.
    (Peter Principle reference recognised.) It's when it looks like malice and meant, I do find it tougher.

    ReplyDelete
  7. the non adoptees do notghing to support adoptees it disgusting

    ReplyDelete