Adopted From Cambodia is an interactive page created for and with Cambodian adoptees and those who love them. We’ll be continually adding information, so check back often. We hope you’ll use the comment box below to add your thoughts and suggestions. Among the topics we’ll be covering so far, you’ll find information on:
- Cambodia gatherings & events
- Cambodia adoption support groups
- Dating
- Cambodia films
- Identity
- Cambodia books
- Adoptee loyalty
- Fitting in & standing out
- Cambodian/Khmer language
- Cambodia blogs
- Birth parent search and reunion in Cambodia
- International adoption resources
- Race
- Reflections from Cambodian adoptees
RETURN TO (OR VISIT) CAMBODIAN TIES ADOPTIVE FAMILY HOMELAND JOURNEYS PAGE
We are open and available for covering topics you’d like to hear about as they relate to being adopted from Cambodia. Drop us a line below about something we’re talking about, or something you would like us to talk about. We look forward to hearing from you.
Adoptee loyalty tends to play a strong role in an adoptive family, and can strongly influence an adopted person’s response to birth country travel. Yet, quite often at workshops, when we ask for a show of hands as to who understands the concept, only a few hands go up.
Many adoptees feel a loyalty to their adoptive families that effects what they are comfortable sharing. They may feel uneasy acknowledging their true interests about visiting their birth country (or perhaps the interest is not there yet, or maybe it never will be).
For kids who have an interest in their birth country but are conflicted by adoptee loyalty, their inner thoughts may sound like this: “I was always afraid to mention my interest in my birth culture or birth family. If it hurt my Mom and Dad’s feelings, and they didn’t love me anymore, who would love me?” Don’t be fooled—even kids who are “pushing your buttons” frequently acknowledge this inner conflict.
5 Comments on “Adopted from Cambodia”
I would like to talk and hear more about birth parent search and reunion in Cambodia. We may have located our daughter’s birth mother and we would like to know how to verify this and how to introduce this to our daughter. Many thanks!
Hi Orna, Looking for birth parents in Cambodia is challenging and very emotional for all parties. A place to start with your daughter is with a autosomal DNA test for her. I run the Khmer Cousins DNA Project and we have over 100 members most are adoptees. There are 2 things that come from testing, first she will find out if she is related to any of the other members. Most of our members do get at least one match usually at the 4th -5th cousin range. Though we have recently received a match between 2 members at 1st cousin, they had the same foster parent. The second thing she will receive is her ancestral heritage breakdown. So far this component of the testing is what interests teens the most, because they can finally answer the question they probably get asked daily, “so what are you”. My older son can say with certainty and does all the time, “I was born in Cambodia, but I am 96% Malaysian and 4% Indian. If you are interested in ordering a test email me directly at kari@khmercousinsdna.org
Hi Orna, that’s a big topic. How to introduce the idea to your daughter is complicated at many levels. Suggest you call to talk about that. Verification is easier now in Cambodia. Thanks to the Khmer Cousins program, we now have DNA kits on the ground in Cambodia. We can talk about how to access the kits as well.
My daughter was adopted from Cambodia and is 16 now. We would like to try to locate birth parents but do not know how to approach this daunting task. Any advice is welcome.
Elizabeth,give a call to the office and ask for either me or Sarah.