The first section of the interview with Kari Grady Grossman, author of "Bones That Float, A Story of Adopting Cambodia is here. The second part is here.

SHB:
Project 20 years ahead ... what will life be like for the average Cambodian?

KGG:

Of course, I’d like to think that things will be better, but if the corruption in the government doesn’t change, I see more oppression and strife in the future. I think it is highly unlikely that the Cambodian government will change from the top down.

SHB:
What's your greatest hope?

KGG:

My greatest hope is that through education and grassroots advocacy, change will come from the bottom up. Meaning that the children will become educated enough to see the big picture of what corruption does to their country and their lives. The children need to see that change is possible.

SHB:
What's your greatest fear?

KGG:

My greatest fear is that the powerful economic forces of the world will swallow up Cambodia, and Cambodian culture will disappear from the face of the Earth in our lifetime. That would be a tremendous loss for humanity. And I think it is a very real possibility. The children need to grow up strong and smart – fast – if they are to steer their country toward a more hopeful future.

SHB:
How do you respond to people who suggest that your efforts, and your adoption, should be focused in America, not in a country half-way around theworld?

KGG:

I actually don’t get this comment. Most people are in awe that I am able to affect such profound change half way around the world with relatively little money. Most people in my circle of influence sense on a deep level that there is something very wrong with the economic imbalance of the world and feel responsible as a American to do something about it, and I give them an opportunity.

On the rare occasion when someone makes the “what about America” comment, I just say God chose Cambodia for my son and for me, and ask, what are YOU doing to take action in America, or anywhere else for that matter?

SHB:
Any response to those who equate international adoption with 'cultural genocide' or suggest that it is racist?

KGG:

These people are functioning on a lower spiritual level than I normally interact with, so I never get people like this talking to me. I only hear this perspective when I go seeking it on the Internet, and every time I do my emotional reaction is that this perspective feels very small minded.

We are living in an expansive time in human evolution, despite what the situation in the Middle East and America’s poor choice of action would have us believe.

I believe that international adoption is a manifestation of the spiritual concept “we all are one.” As a species we are evolving beyond difference, and we have no reference in conscious human history when we didn’t see ourselves as different and all the attendant war and strife that goes along with it.

That is why there is resistance such as this nonsense of “cultural genocide,” because people fear change. The children adopted transracially are teachers and their families, both birth and adoptive, are the pioneers of this oneness concept.

Case in point, look at how profound the affect of the first generation of adoptees from Korea has been, and the way adoptive parents have changed their parenting to accommodate a deeper cultural understanding and connection to their child’s birth culture.

And now, in this generation, families are living and working for change in their children’s birth countries. Did some children loose a connection to their birth culture in the past? Yes, and they taught us all why it is important to maintain the connection for the child, and the cultural understanding and respect that brings to the parents and their social circle is mighty powerful.

My sincere thanks to Kari for her time, for her work on behalf of the people of Cambodia, and for her book.