“(H)erkenning van de eigen imperiale wonden en mogelijke processen van genezing, heling en herstel bij transnationale adoptie vanuit China”
Vandaag worden transnationale (ook bekend als interlandelijke) adoptiepraktijken steeds vaker in vraag gesteld. Mijn eigen adoptieverhaal inspireerde me om mogelijke processen van genezing, heling en herstel bij transnationale adoptie vanuit China te onderzoeken.
In dit kwalitatief onderzoek vertrek ik vanuit een feministisch en dekoloniaal kader en analyseer ik mijn eigen imperiale wonde, als gevolg van mijn verplaatsing naar België, aan de hand van een kritische discoursanalyse van het audiovisueel materiaal in combinatie met een literatuurstudie om de theorie en de praktijk vanuit een (auto-)etnografische benadering met elkaar te verbinden.
Steeds meer academische teksten binnen discours van o.a. de kritische adoptiestudies worden geschreven door geadopteerde auteurs, wat in een veranderend perspectief op transnationale adoptie resulteerde. In mijn onderzoek ga ik verder in op het belang van het genezen, helen en herstellen van imperiale wonden, een synoniem voor het opstapelen van traumatische ervaringen, bij geadopteerden als gevolg van hun onvrijwillige verplaatsing. Momenteel is er nog beperkt onderzoek uitgevoerd naar genezing, heling of herstel binnen de kritische adoptiestudies, daarom poog ik met mijn masterproef bij te dragen tot discours van herstel.
Adopties vanuit China
Uit onderzoek van Selman (2020) zouden er de afgelopen 25 jaar, van 1992 tot 2018, naar schatting meer dan 150 000 kinderen in functie van transnationale adoptie vanuit China naar het Europa, Noord-Amerika en Oceanië verplaatst zijn, waarvan 1617 kinderen naar België. Dit maakt China het tweede grootste herkomstland ter wereld binnen adoptiepraktijken. Dit op Zuid-Korea na, waar naar schatting 200 000 kinderen door transnationale adoptie werden verplaatst. Desondanks de populariteit van de Volksrepubliek China bij adoptieve families in Europa, Noord-Amerika en Oceanië, zijn er sinds de start van transnationale adoptieprogramma’s ook veelvoudig mistoestanden opgetekend in verschillende Chinese provincies. Eén van de grootste gedocumenteerde adoptieschandelen vond plaats in de provincie van Hunan. Daar werden kinderen uit arme families ontvoerd, aangeboden aan Chinese weeshuizen om ze vervolgens voor te stellen aan landen in Europa, Noord-Amerika en Oceanië voor transnationale adoptie (Meier & Zhang, 2008).
Invloed van (h)erkennen van imperiale wonden
Door de (h)erkenning van de eigen imperiale wonden op basis van het ontmantelen (of dekoloniseren) van het eigen lichaam en het eigen denken kan een (her)connectie met het herkomstland, de etniciteit(en) en de geboortecultuur plaatsvinden. Dit enerzijds door identiteitsvorming en zelfdefiniëring te analyseren, anderzijds door terugreizen, zoektochten, taal, groepen en/of gemeenschappen te analyseren. Uit beide empirische hoofdstukken blijken deze mogelijke strategieën iets te kunnen betekenen voor geadopteerden op individueel niveau, maar tegelijkertijd deze zijn ook verbonden aan transnationale adoptiepraktijken op structureel niveau (cfr. Trenka et al., 2006; Saïd, 1978; Wekker, 2016).
Ondersteuning (Chinees) geadopteerden
Met de onderzochte mogelijke strategieën tot genezing, heling en herstel van imperiale wonden bij transnationale adoptie vanuit China hoop ik dat deze masterproef niet alleen kan bijdragen tot bepaalde discours binnen de kritische adoptiestudies of de sociale wetenschappen, maar dit ook in de praktijk als een soort van ondersteuning voor Chinees geadopteerden kan betekenen en daarbij processen over het sociaal weldoen, weldenken en welzijn kan optimaliseren.
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