Philadelphia – For years, as American parents toted their Chinese daughters to dragon fairs and New Year’s banquets, they wondered: Will these girls whom we adopted eventually try to band together on their own? And if so, when? The answers: yes, and now.
For the last few months, a 29-year-old Southern California adoptee named Jennifer Jue- Steuck has traveled the world, forging connections to create the first organization run by and for Chinese adoptees, nearly 62,000 of whom have come to the United States over the last 15 years.
Formation of Chinese Adoptee Links International (CAL) represents a new chapter in an unfolding saga and comes at a turbulent time, as the wait to adopt lengthens and China has implemented stricter rules for foreigners looking to adopt.
“We’re on a different journey than our parents are on,” said Jue-Steuck. “There are some things that would be meaningful for us to have conversations among ourselves.”
For instance, if you’re born Chinese and raised in a white family, do you see beauty in faces that look like yours or those of your parents? How do you handle racism? How do you live comfortably in a society in which some people, maybe even in your extended family, will forever see you as a foreigner?
A path to sisterhood
CAL was formed to find answers, to foster sisterhood, mentorship and, eventually, advocacy. The group sponsors a newsletter, a website and social events, for now limited to California. CAL doesn’t yet offer adoptees a way to meet online.
Lia Luciano, 17, an adoptee from Kunming who lives in Saddle Brook, N.J., has signed up for CAL’s pen-pal program, which connects girls here with counterparts in Europe.
“It’s very interesting learning about their life background and how they ended up in the orphanage or foster care,” Luciano said.
In China, strict government birth quotas, poverty, poor access to health care and a longstanding societal preference for sons – who care for their parents in their old age – result in the routine giving up of thousands of baby girls to be cared for in state-run orphanages. Some boys and many children with special needs also find their way to China’s orphanage system and are adopted abroad.
Last year, China sent 6,493 children to this country, the seventh consecutive year it led the world in adoptions in the U.S.
Of course, as these girls and young women make their way through life, not all see a Chinese sisterhood as crucial.
“I’d like to have connections with other adoptees, as it might give us something in common, but I don’t feel that it would guarantee a strong friendship,” said McKenzie Forbes, 18.
“I’m not saying that we, as Chinese adoptees, should completely throw away or forget who we are,” she said. “But it would actually be beneficial to treat us as simply Americans.”
Many mothers and fathers connect their adoptive daughters to other girls and similar families.
“Once these girls enter college, they’re going to find themselves removed from the familiar network of local adoptees,” said Phyllis Nellis, who with her husband, Amasa, is raising two daughters. “I like the idea that there could potentially be a network in place for them.”
Some things universal
The idea for CAL came in late 2006, after Jue-Steuck traveled to France, Spain and Ireland to conduct research for her doctorate at the University of California at Berkeley. She was struck by the number of Chinese adoptees she met.
“They were very curious about the Chinese girls in the U.S.,” she said. “I thought, ‘How could we get you two hooked up?”‘
A pen-pal program expanded into a Web presence and, from there, to dances and movie nights. In March, Jue-Steuck visited England, Ireland and Belgium to meet adoptees. She’ll soon tour U.S. cities.
While the kids here have a much larger peer group, and thus greater chance to interact, Jue-Steuck said, the girls’ questions haven’t varied much from country to country.
“They just like to know they’ve met someone who is older, who has been there,” she said.
CAL is run by volunteers on three continents. Membership is free.
