Abstract
The recent surge of Western interest in international adoption has arrived in the South Pacific. Yet the Christian faith, despite disparate views about adoption, has required both expatriate and Melanesian families to consider, or sometimes reconsider, their own parameters for the adoption or placement of children. Orphan care has become a top social issue especially for Christians in recent decades. However, international adoptions are costly in terms of time and money, and are often at the nexus of these diverging values and conceptualizations. All parties involved can find the process frustrating and disillusioning, even if the end goal is noble and satisfying. In fact, adoption “as a norm” in Vanuatu can positively shape western understandings of adoption. In some ways, ni-Vanuatu conventions regarding jural inclusivity and exchange are closer to biblical ideas of family, kinning, and adoption. This article should familiarize people from “receiving countries” with customary adoption in the Pacific, and should help Melanesians understand the hurdles involved in international adoption. Hopefully, a path can be forged for international adoptions to be arranged such that the best interest of all parties is served.
Highlights
The recent surge of Western interest in international adoption has arrived in the South Pacific
The purpose of this research is to understand the ways in which Westerners differ from Melanesians on the topic of adoption so that future transactions in kinship can be positive, enduring and biblically sound
Adoption in Melanesia is not as much about reproduction of the family as it is about asserting agency (Brady 1976; Carroll 1970; 2008, 155; Goody 1969)
Summary
The recent surge of Western interest in international adoption has arrived in the South Pacific. All of the westerners I (Kenneth) interviewed in this study, including Chesterton, consider the process of adoption to be sufficiently disruptive that it should be reserved only for those who “really need it.” They all saw adoption as a way of living out their Christian faith. Having worked in Vanuatu from 2002 to 2012, I (Kenneth) observed several ni-Vanuatu approach expatriates to propose transactions in international kinship These stories of expatriate involvement in adoption reveal a vast disconnect between Western and kastom (traditional) conceptualizations of adoption and fosterage. They call into question theological questions about the role biological parents should play in raising their children. The purpose of this research is to understand the ways in which Westerners differ from Melanesians on the topic of adoption so that future transactions in kinship can be positive, enduring and biblically sound
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