Opinion
E-Mail 'Response to Barsoumian’s ‘Ending the Era of Orphanages in Armenia’' To A Friend
Email a copy of 'Response to Barsoumian’s ‘Ending the Era of Orphanages in Armenia’' to a friend
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Email a copy of 'Response to Barsoumian’s ‘Ending the Era of Orphanages in Armenia’' to a friend
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Dear Dr. Yakouian
Unfortunately, the majority of children in Armenia in orphanages have at least one living parent. Taking a child out of a home environment and into an institution is a terrible solution. Instead of expanding orphanges, we should look into options to reduce the urge (sometimes financial and sometimes based on parental mindsets not belonging to our times (giving up a child simply because the child is albino for instance)) for families to give their children up. This would be a more sustainable approach that will benefit the nation as a whole, rather than building more drab institutions run by corrupt officials (fully understand that corruption is not limited to orphanages, as it is a widespread issue in Armenia).
The family unit in Armenia is under assault, where a large number of families do not have a father figure present. We are raising boys who do not have a role model to follow. This is a significant issue that will affect the fabric of the society adversely in the years to come.
we have widespread domestic abuse in Armenia that is a national shame and a real problem affecting children growing up in such families.
We need to address these issues at the core and not simply remove a child from their home and placing them in an institution.
I understand your position, but calling voices of dissent hysterical and zealots does not leave much room for dialogue and improvement on such an important issue, as I am confident that you strive for the best for these children, their families and our nation.
Dear Dr. Yakoubian
On a follow up note, it is totally inappropriate to correlate the situation in Armenia now vis a vis the existence of orphanages with the period right after the genocide.
Orphanages then served a real purpose of housing thousands of survivor children who had no where to go and no one to turn to.
Ara you are absolutely correct in your correction of Mr. Yacoubian’s weak analsis of the current situation in Armenia’s orphanages. It is interesting to note that Mr. Yacoubian’s private law firm benefits from “counseling” for parents interested in adopting in Armenia.
The X mas presents, medical supplies, toys for Summer Camp, and other gifts for orphans is just duplications of what many of our churches have done for years. This is not addressing the root of the problem as Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), World Vision, FAR, ARS, etc., have done. Creating sustainability and jobs for the families and giving the children hope for their future.
What kind of message are we putting out to families in need of work, that parking your child at an orphanage is the only way your child will be fed, get medical attention, etc., Not to mention I am told some of the orphanages receive up to $7,000 per child per year. We have not provided or supported the groundwork for their future merely masking the current issue.
We have second generation of children being put into orphanages because that is where their parents grew up. This is unacceptable. Adoption is not the answer it is more skirting of the REAL issues that surround Armenia’s economy and education system.
It would be interesting to understand why Mr. Yacoubian felt adopting an infant from Armenia was helping the future of the children and supporting the families to lift themselves out of the cycle. Wasn’t the older orphaned children of interest to him? While Mr. Yacoubian’s heart might be in the right place, his plans have serious flaws in them.
One would think he should be working for a society that doesn’t need orphanages to raise their children. Supporting this system is like feeding an ugly monster – trying putting sustainable projects together so Armenian families can stay united.
Let’s be clear about the above 2 posts, given that both want “accuracy.”
1) My law firm and SOAR benefit in NO way from the adoption process in Armenia. I have given adoption advice to literally hundreds of people since 2006 (before I went into private practice), solely as a courtesy. I charge nothing. I consider it an obligation and a privilege to give advice on the adoption process in Armenia.
2) Have you really sunk so low as to ask me why my wife and I adopted a child?
3) Please explain how a foster care system in ANY way promotes familial reunification.
I agree that, in a perfect world, there should never be a scenario where children must be given up for adoption. Certainly, if you think an organization to address that need is warranted, create one. But SOAR was created as a way for my wife and I to give back to the country that gave us our oldest daughter. That you have trivialized that process demonstrates not only a complete misunderstanding of adoption, but also a shallow and insulting attempt to confuse the issues.
There is one very important issue that has not been made clear here. When you donate to SOAR, every single penny is directed to the care of our orphaned children; absolutely none of it is filtered through the government. No oligarch will ever get fatter on your donation. We need more organizations in Armenia like SOAR that bypass government pockets and go directly to the source of need.