Continued from here ...

My point in all this?

To vent frustration mainly, I suppose. Frustration over five years coming and going since the imposition of a sentence on innocent children that imprisons thousands and removes so much chance of ever having a family has me about to pop today ... that and the realization that it's no closer to ending now than it was ages ago ... so thank heavens I can blog, heh?

Not that adoption by Americans is the answer to problems of all that is tragic in Cambodia ... not by such a long shot that it begs the question, "Why all the hoopla over so few children?" (In 2001, the year the suspension was imposed, all of 407 Cambodian children were adopted by Americans ... a drop in the fifty-gallon bucket of children struggling to survive without families.) But adoption, when an option, can and does change the lives of those who get to grab that brass ring, parents and children alike.

I'm not saying the Cambodian adoption system was without fault ... I have yet to hear of any circumstance in poverty-stricken countries that is without some tinge of corruption, nepotism, bribery, cronyism, graft, embezzlement, money laundering, kickbacks, extortion, or even kleptocracy, and lest the First World feel left out, most of this happens there, too ... but this ongoing punishment of children is not the way to deal with the situation.

At the same time the US is forbidding Cambodian children from joining American families, it is sending money by the millions of dollars for various projects, and I'll bet my left arm that a whole bunch of that money is going straight into the pockets of people who are less than above-board and function officially with all the transparency of a brick.

This is not to say that misdeeds in one area excuse those in others, but it seems that grasping the reality that there's corruption in Cambodia ... duh! ... should allow those in positions of authority to deal with that in advance.

It also strikes me that it's inherently unfair to accept corruption on one level, but not on others when one country is dealing with another. Perhaps that's all about appearances, however, not what is really happening, as it's clear that many countries are very good at dotting 'i's and crossing 't's at the same time they're syphoning off aid or infrastructure or resource management money like a milkshake up a straw.

The arrogance of attitude that insists that everywhere should function the same as anywhere else ... that right is right, no matter what, and we get to say just what that flavor of right looks like ... usually works out when everyone learns to give the impression of compliance, and that's really all anyone actually wants.

If Cambodia could learn to play the game, that would end up being all that's required. Yes, there are rules to follow, but don't make the mistake of thinking the game is about fair play. Not at all. It's about power and setting up losers so winners keep winning.

There is much, much more, but the more I write, the more annoyed I get, so I'm stopping now. I'm sure I'll revisit this topic. Unfortunately, I'm sure I'll be revisiting for years to come.