#3648: the ethics of adoption : A reply

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From:LOUIS5@aol.com

Dear Alex:
In response to your search, I am sending to you the following:

"GIVE HIM TO THIS STRANGER"

                                                          (REFLECTION) 



By Haitian Storyteller Liliane Nerette Louis, 

CO Founder of Women Writers of Haitian Descent (WWOHD)

Author of When Night Falls, Kric! Krac!


As a mother, everything in my life has been in relation to what I considered 
to be the best for my children.  I have gotten higher education for myself in 
order to serve them better.  They have grown to be educated responsible 
adults themselves but I still see them as my babies.  I am very happy for 
their simple acts of affection toward me although more then once I have had 
to give them to a stranger.

"Give him to this stranger."  This stranger comes in different forms and 
contexts; it may be a country far away, it may be the significant other in 
their lives or an idea, or the pursuit of their dreams. 
Have you ever thought how unselfish is the love of a mother for her child? 
Are not mothers constantly representing the women in the sacred book of the 
Bible?  How often do we hear mothers expressing great enthusiasm about the 
adult child they have not seen for long period of time?  To understand 
mothers, one can only rely on the most poignant and comprehensible instinct 
of mothers revealed in these simple words: "Give him to this stranger." The 
real mother is incontestable. 

Now that mother's day is here, and with the memory of my own mother who was 
my "bobori," my "doukounou," my "akasan ak siwo, I know for a fact that many 
mothers are reflecting on what they have done for their children and wish 
they could have done more.  From a mother's perspective, it is never "what 
can my child do for me?"  Instead, it is a mother's hope that she has 
contributed to a better world by raising children who can become responsible 
adults to society, tasting the fruit of happiness.  

The message I want to give to young people is that the unselfish love of a 
mother is forever.  As long as my child can survive and flourish:  "Give him 
to this stranger." 

Therefore, cherish that mother everyday, for long after she is gone she will 
forever be the most precious gift of your life.