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Every second
Every second
----by Lian Killoran
Every second, there are 4.41 births in the world. Every second, 9 abortions are carried on. Every second, a woman learns that she will not be able to conceive. Every second, I thank you.
In September 1980, China adopts a new law limiting births due to population growth. This law recommends that only one child per couple is allowed. Abuse of this law could bring upon the couple financial penalties and administrative problems. Although the law differs from one province to another, this law is spread in the majority of the country. The possibility of a second child is allowed if the first is a girl or handicapped since boys have always been privileged. As a consequence, this law will decrease the female population and increase the number of non declared children, delayed abortions and even ending baby girls’ lives. A woman who decides against abortion but is unable to take care of her child must turn to the easiest option: abandonment. Although illegal, this custom is very common in this Asian country and this is what you did.
We estimate that it took only a few hours before I was found wrapped up asleep in a brown blanket. You laid me on this park bench and left me. After nine months together, how did you feel? Empty, sad, maybe even relieved? I will never know. I was only three days old when I was taken to the orphanage where I would spend the next thirteen months of my life.
Around that same time, in a country at the other end of the world lived a young couple. This couple lives in New Brunswick, where a strange white substance covers the soil for more than half of the year. They have three dogs. For reasons beyond their control, this couple will never conceive their own child. They are devastated but grateful that there are other existing means. In February 1997, three months before my birth, they start adoption procedures. The following months seem long but they know the end results will be worth it.
On this warm sunny day, my life will change forever. The nannies of the orphanage change my diaper, dress me up in my best clothing, and tell me that I will soon be meeting my parents. I don’t understand the message they are trying to express but I love the attention and I am in a good mood. Even though I am still a baby, today feels very different. Why I left my bed at the orphanage, all the other babies and the nannies? That’s it, the time has come…
They bring me in a strange building. We take the elevator and go up a few levels and we finally stop facing a door. I am wondering what kind of mystery stands behind. The wonderful lady carrying me in her arms knocks the door. Almost instantly, the door opens and I see the face of two strangers. The lady is wearing a pretty black dress just like her hair. She is wearing make up that makes her blue eyes stand out or maybe they just seem big. The man is standing just behind her. He is tall, slim and has light hair. I have never seen hair that color but I like it. It is hard to tell which of the two has the bigger smile because both seem to want to jump with joy. We slowly enter the room and the couple keeps staring at me, looking shocked. They are talking to me but I don’t understand those strange words. A few moments after entering the room, the nanny who is still holding me in her arms gently puts me in the lady’s arms with the dark hair. Taken by surprise, I start crying and I continue for more than a half hour. They put me in a stranger’s arms. Surprisingly, I feel good. After a short while, the nanny walks out of the room, leaving me with these new acquaintances. I’m still ignoring the fact that I am there but this couple seems very nice. The next hours are spent taking turns contemplating with each other. We have only known each other a few hours but we have already developed inseparable bonds.
Today, I am 18 years old. I am starting my first year of university in a few months and it will be very difficult to leave my mommy and daddy. That lady with the blue eyes and that man with light hair are my parents as much as I am their daughter. I am grateful for their love and everything they have done for me in the past 17 years. However, they are grateful to have been given the chance to love and raise such a desired child.
Sometimes, I wonder where you are, what you are doing and if you think about me. Know that I hold nothing against you. On the contrary, I thank you for giving me the chance to have lived such a wonderful life. Know that I am happy and that I understand why you had to leave me. Someday, if I get the chance, I would love to meet you. I would like you to see who I have become so that you can be proud. I would also like you to able to see the miracle you have created: a family…
Why Lead to China
Every second
Every second
----by Lian Killoran
Every second, there are 4.41 births in the world. Every second, 9 abortions are carried on. Every second, a woman learns that she will not be able to conceive. Every second, I thank you.
In September 1980, China adopts a new law limiting births due to population growth. This law recommends that only one child per couple is allowed. Abuse of this law could bring upon the couple financial penalties and administrative problems. Although the law differs from one province to another, this law is spread in the majority of the country. The possibility of a second child is allowed if the first is a girl or handicapped since boys have always been privileged. As a consequence, this law will decrease the female population and increase the number of non declared children, delayed abortions and even ending baby girls’ lives. A woman who decides against abortion but is unable to take care of her child must turn to the easiest option: abandonment. Although illegal, this custom is very common in this Asian country and this is what you did.
We estimate that it took only a few hours before I was found wrapped up asleep in a brown blanket. You laid me on this park bench and left me. After nine months together, how did you feel? Empty, sad, maybe even relieved? I will never know. I was only three days old when I was taken to the orphanage where I would spend the next thirteen months of my life.
Around that same time, in a country at the other end of the world lived a young couple. This couple lives in New Brunswick, where a strange white substance covers the soil for more than half of the year. They have three dogs. For reasons beyond their control, this couple will never conceive their own child. They are devastated but grateful that there are other existing means. In February 1997, three months before my birth, they start adoption procedures. The following months seem long but they know the end results will be worth it.
On this warm sunny day, my life will change forever. The nannies of the orphanage change my diaper, dress me up in my best clothing, and tell me that I will soon be meeting my parents. I don’t understand the message they are trying to express but I love the attention and I am in a good mood. Even though I am still a baby, today feels very different. Why I left my bed at the orphanage, all the other babies and the nannies? That’s it, the time has come…
They bring me in a strange building. We take the elevator and go up a few levels and we finally stop facing a door. I am wondering what kind of mystery stands behind. The wonderful lady carrying me in her arms knocks the door. Almost instantly, the door opens and I see the face of two strangers. The lady is wearing a pretty black dress just like her hair. She is wearing make up that makes her blue eyes stand out or maybe they just seem big. The man is standing just behind her. He is tall, slim and has light hair. I have never seen hair that color but I like it. It is hard to tell which of the two has the bigger smile because both seem to want to jump with joy. We slowly enter the room and the couple keeps staring at me, looking shocked. They are talking to me but I don’t understand those strange words. A few moments after entering the room, the nanny who is still holding me in her arms gently puts me in the lady’s arms with the dark hair. Taken by surprise, I start crying and I continue for more than a half hour. They put me in a stranger’s arms. Surprisingly, I feel good. After a short while, the nanny walks out of the room, leaving me with these new acquaintances. I’m still ignoring the fact that I am there but this couple seems very nice. The next hours are spent taking turns contemplating with each other. We have only known each other a few hours but we have already developed inseparable bonds.
Today, I am 18 years old. I am starting my first year of university in a few months and it will be very difficult to leave my mommy and daddy. That lady with the blue eyes and that man with light hair are my parents as much as I am their daughter. I am grateful for their love and everything they have done for me in the past 17 years. However, they are grateful to have been given the chance to love and raise such a desired child.
Sometimes, I wonder where you are, what you are doing and if you think about me. Know that I hold nothing against you. On the contrary, I thank you for giving me the chance to have lived such a wonderful life. Know that I am happy and that I understand why you had to leave me. Someday, if I get the chance, I would love to meet you. I would like you to see who I have become so that you can be proud. I would also like you to able to see the miracle you have created: a family…
