I find it incredible that the media are beating up on the adoptive mother and including the kid's claim that she was "bad" and pulled his hair — while completely ignoring the kid's claim that he was beaten with a broomstick while at the Russian orphanage. Does no one care about THAT accusation? Apparently not.
We have been given virtually no information about events and/or negotiations that transpired before the boy was put on the plane. Was the Tennessee woman in touch with Russian officials or orphanage administrators about the problems she was having with the boy? I suspect she was and that she was at her wit's end because those officials, relieved to have finally pawned the boy off on an unsuspecting American, had washed their hands of the problem and refused to consider any sort of resolution.
The adoptive mom didn't "send the boy back to Russia alone"; her mother turned the boy over to a stewardess. That is not unusual; many children travel this way. And the woman went to the trouble to arrange for someone to meet the plane in Russia and escort the boy to the proper authorities.
In an effort to make the adoptive mother appear neglectful, the press reported that the boy "wasn't even going to school" but, once again, they provide no details. The kid spoke Russian, for pete's sake. Before he could attend school, before the teachers at the school would even be in a position to deal with the kid, he'd need a crash course in English.
The Tennessee woman made it perfectly clear why she no longer wanted to deal with the boy. She said she feared for her life and safety. The kid was a badass. You could see that in the photo of him being escorted from some Russian agency or other. He'd threatened bodily harm. He constantly threatened to set the house on fire. What was she supposed to do?! Yes, the kid needed counseling! And he SHOULD have been evaluated (and most probably was) while still at the orphanage!!! Yet Russian authorities tried to pass the kid off as stable and normal.
I notice that the Russians are screaming loudest of all about the boy's return, and that's understandable. The louder they scream, the more attention they direct toward the "bad mom" and away from their own shortcomings and responsibility in the matter.
We have been given virtually no information about events and/or negotiations that transpired before the boy was put on the plane. Was the Tennessee woman in touch with Russian officials or orphanage administrators about the problems she was having with the boy? I suspect she was and that she was at her wit's end because those officials, relieved to have finally pawned the boy off on an unsuspecting American, had washed their hands of the problem and refused to consider any sort of resolution.
The adoptive mom didn't "send the boy back to Russia alone"; her mother turned the boy over to a stewardess. That is not unusual; many children travel this way. And the woman went to the trouble to arrange for someone to meet the plane in Russia and escort the boy to the proper authorities.
In an effort to make the adoptive mother appear neglectful, the press reported that the boy "wasn't even going to school" but, once again, they provide no details. The kid spoke Russian, for pete's sake. Before he could attend school, before the teachers at the school would even be in a position to deal with the kid, he'd need a crash course in English.
The Tennessee woman made it perfectly clear why she no longer wanted to deal with the boy. She said she feared for her life and safety. The kid was a badass. You could see that in the photo of him being escorted from some Russian agency or other. He'd threatened bodily harm. He constantly threatened to set the house on fire. What was she supposed to do?! Yes, the kid needed counseling! And he SHOULD have been evaluated (and most probably was) while still at the orphanage!!! Yet Russian authorities tried to pass the kid off as stable and normal.
I notice that the Russians are screaming loudest of all about the boy's return, and that's understandable. The louder they scream, the more attention they direct toward the "bad mom" and away from their own shortcomings and responsibility in the matter.
© 2010 by Libbi Adams. All rights reserved.
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