Gaining insight
Before coming to Malaysia, I didn't know anything about statelessness. My husband and I learned about it gradually as we met people who had become stateless or were born here stateless.
And then we got a call asking us if we'd adopt twin girls ... no one else was willing to step up because the girls were stateless and that left them in a precarious situation.
A year later and I can't imagine what my life would be like if anyone else had stepped up. I'm beyond thankful that we were given the privilege of raising these beautiful girls ... and I'm sad for those people who missed out because they couldn't see past a piece of paper that gave the girls nationality.
I'm even more sad when I think how we'll share this story with our girls someday. By then, I hope they'll have been granted citizenship but it will still be difficult to explain why other couples said no and we were finally called at the last minute. I think their understanding of the story will come slowly over time, but in the end, I hope it will give them a heart for other stateless children.
How our past shapes our future
I didn't understand everything about my own adoption at first - only that my birth mother didn't want me. It took years and maturity to understand all the heartache that must have been there leading up to that. Her own rejection by her lover and the shame she felt as the truth was revealed to her family. Yet even without that understanding, my young heart ached for other "unwanted" children.
When I was little, I looked after other kids who needed help. I volunteered to read with kids who came from tough homes, befriended the kids who didn't have a cliche, and mentored students who were having trouble transitioning to high school. It was my concern for orphans that eventually led me to teach in the Middle East and that sealed my desire to adopt once I was married.
Cultivating a heart for others
Of course, it isn't enough to hope our children will care about others. We need to cultivate their hearts and lead by example. As we learn more about statelessness, @ironmanmatt and I want to do more to help. We're still in the learning phases of what we can do. But to start, we're trying to raise awareness of what statelessness is and what it means to be stateless.
I recently wrote an article on statelessness. The link will take you to the post on Steemit, where it posted under our joint account: @reformedexp.
(Articles from our website automatically post to that account through the SteemPress plugin).