The above photo is of a mother in China. A mother who refused to give up. When her child was abducted and sold by her grandfather to child traffickers, the police refused to help her. She eventually found her child on her own but the couple who had bought it refused to give it back until she paid a sum of 350,000 rmb. (A Chinese fortune) Luckily, the public was outraged and the county officials have now gotten involved to get this mother and child reunited.

Thank you to All Girls Allowed for the story. Read more here.

[Chinese source here]

It’s is stories like that above that prompted me to write A Thread Unbroken. Researching other stories, I was soon even more captivated to know where the trafficked children end up. What sort of lives do they lead? Do they try to find their way home or come to terms with a new life? Those questions sparked my story of Chai and Josi. I hope it will also answer some of your questions.

]]> http://kaybratt.com/2012/11/if-your-child-is-abducted-and-trafficked-in-china-youd-better-pray-for-a-miracle/feed/ 0 http://kaybratt.com/2012/05/a-thread-unbroken-is-available-for-pre-order/ http://kaybratt.com/2012/05/a-thread-unbroken-is-available-for-pre-order/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 18:57:56 +0000 Kay http://kaybratt.com/?p=1036

A Thread Unbroken

Available for Pre-Order on Amazon

“Lady and gentle man, Xiao xin! Be careful! Watch your step and duck your head! Do not let swaying red lanterns poke your eye! Bu yao chou yan. No smoking, please. Hurry up and find seat so we can start our tour of the Suzhou canal, China’s Venice.  Xie xie, thank you.”  The tour guide waved her patrons on to the boat and pointed out places to sit, her hands moving gracefully through the air. She paused and straightened her jacket, and then smiled at everyone around her, obviously pleased with the sudden business.

Moving through the crowds of pedestrians and onlookers, the last couple from the tourist group ducked under the elaborate carved archway and squeezed onto the deck of the creaking vessel. They quickly found an empty bench to settle on.  As the boat backed away from the concrete stairs at the bank, the wife reached into her deep bag and pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer.

“Danny, use this. You’ve managed to touch every surface on this side of Suzhou. I swear, don’t you ever learn? We’re only here for a week, and I don’t want you picking up some bug.”

“Mary, pay attention. We’re here to learn about our daughter’s heritage. I didn’t travel all the way from Seattle to worry about a few germs. Look at those carved dragon heads on the edges of the rooftops over there—the artistic detail is fascinating!” He pointed across the way at the busy walking street lined with shops. Like a child, he couldn’t look fast enough. He turned again. “Or look at that bridge we’re coming up on—notice how the bridge is equipped with shooting holes and lookout towers? You’d better believe they were ready to do battle here!”

The tour guide turned on the microphone and gestured behind her at the elaborate bridge they were floating to. ”Good afternoon.  Today we begin our tour of the Suzhou canal here at the Panmen Gate.   With a history of 2,500 years, this city gate is the most completely preserved part of the ruins of the ancient city of Suzhou. The murky water surrounding it was the watery grave of many Japanese who tried to infiltrate the city and failed. If you stand atop this bridge you can also see the Wumen Gate Bridge….”

For Mary, it was hard to concentrate on the history of the structures and bridges—for her mind was on the people. This was her second trip to China, but this time she was determined to learn about their culture and customs. Her own daughter, now a beautiful young woman, was born here and then sent through the notorious orphanage system before they found their way to each other. It amazed Mary to see so many faces with the familiar structure and contours of Mia’s, and to know that with just a few twists or turns of fate, they could have missed being a part of each other’s lives.

Beside them an elderly Chinese couple worked to peel pieces of unfamiliar fruit. They had boarded the boat in front of Mary and she had been moved at the gentle way the old man helped his wife onto the vessel and guided her to the bench, as if he were handling a delicate piece of art. Though it was early spring and the weather was warm, they were bundled in the dark clothes. Mary studied their ancient faces and wondered what secrets the deep crevices and wrinkles held. She knew the elderly of China had seen many major changes in history and survived resulting tragedies. Their infamous tenacity to survive was nothing short of remarkable and Mary wished she could hear their stories.

Suddenly the old woman pointed to the street that ran alongside the canal. Whatever was happening, it was attracting a lot of attention.  Mary struggled to understand the outburst, but her basic knowledge of Mandarin proved inefficient. As they moved closer to the activity, the crowd parted a bit and Mary glimpsed a policeman holding the collar of a little girl. He appeared to be giving her quite the lecture and the child of no more than six or seven years old looked terrified. It was evident from her scraggly hair, disheveled clothing and dirty face that she didn’t belong to anyone. Still, she frantically searched the crowd around her as if she were looking for anyone to step up and help her.

The flustered guide explained. “Aiyo, that girl is street child. She is taught to beg and steal from people and was caught with hand in pocket. Let’s get back to tour, please.”

Mary pursed her lips and looked at Danny. After their daughter’s journey to find the truth of her birth family details last year had resulted in some shocking revelations, their sympathy for the plight of children like the girl had increased even more. Most likely it wasn’t the child’s fault she was forced to be a little criminal. Most of the children like her were either kidnapped from their families, or sold into the industry by destitute parents. Some found their way to orphanages and futures decided by the Chinese government.

“Stop the boat!” Mary called out to the tour guide. She gathered her things and stood up, struggling to maintain her balance unsettled from the sudden sway of a passing gondola.

The tour guide shook her head side to side. “Bu keyi. Cannot. Tour not over, Miss.”

“Mary, what’re you doing? Sit down,” Danny tugged on her arm from his place on the bench.

“No, I will not sit down. I’m getting off and we’re going to find out what’s going to happen to that child. Look at her, Danny, she’s scared to death. That could’ve been our little Mia. Let’s see what we can do for her.” Mary began moving to the front of the boat.

Danny sighed and waved at the tour guide to let them off. “I might as well help you get your way. When your face takes on that expression, I know you won’t back down. It looks like our day of sight-seeing has taken a turn towards a more dramatic ending.”

~

Read Kay Bratt’s latest novel,Chasing China; A Daughter’s Quest for Truth. Join Mary’s daughter, Mia, on her journey to uncover the truth about her early years in China. After spending years working through the hurt and anger of being abandoned in a busy Chinese train station, Mia will travel to her homeland to uncover facts that will change her life forever. Along the way she will learn the true plight of abandoned children and their indomitable resolve to succeed, despite unfavorable circumstances. [Available at Amazon in Kindle and Print]

*Photo of Panmen Gate by Laura Griffin

First, let me thank you for taking the time to read my novel, Chasing China. You are one of over 30,000 readers who have downloaded my novel in the last few months and I appreciate your interest. While every reader has the right to review books and publish their own opinion, your review is full of statements that as the author, I would like to address. It is evident that you read the book, but perhaps because you state you are Chinese, English is not your first language? I can think of no other reason that you would have gathered the opinions of details in Chasing China that you did.  Therefore here on my own website I will address your misconceptions about the book.

You gave:

By jjk – See all my reviews  (As this is the only book review as of today that you have ever done on Amazon under that screen name. Out of the millions of books you would choose mine means I’m flattered.)

This review is from: Chasing China: A Daughter’s Quest for Truth (Paperback)

The book is more like an American journey report on Suzhou/Shanghai/Xi’an China, and with some details about the orphanages. The idea of the story is okay, but the story itself is being carried on by a series of unrealistic events which are not quite logical, and in a bad rhythm. Not to mention that it is also intervened with a couple of “Hollywood” like scenes. So the general impression that I got is that the author is trying to use a story as a tool to link up each piece of the observations she had got in China. And once the observations are used up, the author could not wait one more chapter to end up the story.

(Here, Mr. JJK, I must answer this by telling you that I could have added many more chapters but unfortunately the book had to end somewhere. It is already considered lengthy at over 90,000 words and 344 pages. I’m sorry if you feel it ended too abruptly, but there will be a sequel.)

Also, as a Chinese I admit that China has a long way to go in terms of human rights. And I do appreciate the author could provide accurate descriptions on some of the facts in China. However some of the key events to complete the story are simply too unrealistic. And I do not think making up stories would help to improve the situation in any way.

(Here I must remind you that though the definition of fiction is in a nutshell, “Making up stories” as you so called it, the premise from Chasing China was created from the true Hunan story in which there were children who were ‘snatched’ from their parents and sold to orphanages, then later adopted by foreign families. You can find that here, here, and here. If you question the experiences the man had in prison, it was also taken from bits and pieces of true accounts from Chinese prisoners and the ordeals they suffered.)

Just to name a few unrealistic things:
===Spoiler Alert===
1. Tingting, a 15yrs old girl, learned English from her brother, who is an English teacher. Do you know that over 95% of the Chinese students have to learn English from 10yrs old? And even that, most of them could not speak fluent English when they are over 20. There is no way a self-taught 15yrs Chinese girl can talk with Mia like in her native language.

(As you say in the first part of your statement, Tingting was taught English by her brother, who was sent to school and became a professor in Hong Kong. This is very plausible. She was not, as you say, self-taught.)

2. Mia’s father had 2 children when he lost Mia to the officials. And you can tell that both him and his wife were shocked by the lost. How is it possible for them to recover from such a tragedy to give birth a couple of more children including Tingting?

(I never wrote that they had ‘a couple more children’, they only had Tingting after Mia was taken. In the villages of China it is not uncommon for women to have several children, even after tragic events. They are amazing women who have suffered much in life and keep on going.)

3. Think about the story from the perspective of those birth control officials. Asking money for the 2nd child of a northwestern Chinese family under the name of “birth control” is understandable – I don’t mean it is moral. But if they were after the money, why they moved the children to southeastern China instead of waiting the parents to pay the money locally?

(You misunderstand this, Mr. JJK. They used the guise of controlling birth numbers for the one child policy to take Mia, but in most cases they never expect the family to be able to pay that kind of money to get the children back. And to the orphanage, 6000 rmb is a pittance to what they can get for international adoption and future donations from adoptive parents who support the institute their children come from. In the Hunan cases, the orphanage had no incentive to accept a measly 6000 rmb when they could get more through the adoption process.)

4. 6000 yuan is a big amount of money back to 90s in China. If Mia’s parents had the money and were determined to give the money to the gov in exchange for their daughter, I don’t see any reason the orphanage still want to keep Mia and reject the offer.

(Again, see statement number 3. I’m sorry this is so hard for you to fathom, I truly am. I am not surprised, however. During my five years in China, I met many Chinese friends who didn’t even know about the orphanage I worked at and were shocked about the situation there. Once educated about it, they wanted to help. I fault the communist ways for this, as many negative issues are kept under wraps.)

5. Everyone knows that China has birth control. So why the director of the orphanage does not want to tell Mia the truth? Sending some officials to get her passport in the hotel illegally is definitely an overkill for such a case.

(Mr. JJK, your statement here confusing. Of course they would not want Mia to know that she was not truly abandoned by her family. That would put them into jeopardy of prosecution. They wanted to keep her finding details secret and they hoped taking her passport would stop her search and finally send her packing)

6. With the assumption that the guys who broken into Mia’s hotel room were policemen, why Jax went to a police station asking for details of Mia’s case the next day? Is he just too brave?

(Jax was falling in love, so yes—he was brave. I’m glad you got that one right! They made a lovely couple, wouldn’t you agree?)

7. Jax’s parents landed on SF in 1952, and from his story, his parents were adults at that time. So let’s say they were about 20. Jax is having an internship in China and is in about the same age with Mia, so let’s assume he is 25, which means his Mom gave birth of him when she was around 55?

(Again, This is a great find by you and huge error by me. I plan to correct this in the next version of Chasing China. Many thanks.) 

Again, Mr. JJK, I appreciate you taking the time to read and review Chasing China, and our exchanges have been very educational for me. Thank you for taking so much time with my book.

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/10/133644822/Chinas-Social-Media-Help-To-Rescue-Abducted-Boy [Article by NPR, Louisa Lim]

Imagine your 3-year-old is right outside your home playing as he does every day and suddenly, in the blink of an eye he is gone. The story linked above will tell you about one man’s refusal to give up the search to find his abducted son. When police officials couldn’t help, he used the power of the internet to send out tweets with photo’s and blog posts relentlessly for three years, until someone finally recognized the boy and contacted the father and they were recently reunited. 

In his quest to find his son, Peng also helped to free other abducted children. (Peng, if you are reading this, you are an amazing example to many heartbroken parents.) 

From Article: Peng had had numerous false alarms in the past, including one time where he even posed as a buyer to free two other children, one boy and one girl. He had negotiated with the human traffickers to pay 30,000 yuan ($4,554) for the boy, and half that for the girl, then he turned the case over to the police. This time, after seeing a photo of the child, he was confident it was his own boy, but he was terrified.”

Many of us are always curious when a child is stolen at such a young age and then reunited, does he remember his parents? The quote below will bring tears to your eyes: 

From Article: “The pair waited anxiously outside the police station, Peng shivering with nerves. Then a car arrived, a small confused boy was bundled out and someone shouted the boy’s name. Peng burst into tears, and the child told a policeman, “That man crying is my dad.” 

Moments later, Peng was weeping uncontrollably on the phone to his wife. “I’ve seen him,” he cried. “It’s our son.”

Speaking to NPR, Peng describes the moment he first held his son in his arms again: “I had no words. I just held him and cried. Three years of pain and pressure just exploded. I couldn’t speak, I just held him.” 

Adding to what we can already surmise is impeccable character of the father, he has said that if his son wishes, he will allow the woman who posed as his mother to visit. He is not pressing charges because the man who abducted little Peng Xinle has died of cancer, and his wife is the sole caretaker of several in the family. I don’t know that I could be so noble had someone stolen my child—but then, I’d hope to be. This man is a beacon to others in China who are still searching and hoping for the return of their children.

*It is reported that over 20,000 women and children are abducted each year in China. Many women are taken as wives to men in remote villages and children are either placed with families who want a boy to carry on their names, or the children are many times made to be a part of a group of street chidlren who beg and steal money for their captors. This is a travesty and I take my hat off to China for beginning to take this issue seriously—I really hope more children will be brought home.   

A video of their reunion is at the link below. Get out your kleenex, you are going to need it. –Kay

http://shanghaiist.com/2011/02/10/watch_the_tearful_reunion_of_peng_g.php#

Greed is nothing new to our society. We invented it and then spend our lives either pursuing it or trying to avoid it, depending on who we are. Some of would like to proclaim we are innocent of greed but think about it, do you really need that car you are driving or could you share one with your spouse? Do you really need that cabinet of comfort food or could you survive on bread? How much money do you need to finally feel that it is enough? Do we have to own big screen televisions, IPods and computers or can we all agree that we have fallen into the trap of greed? I can attest my home is full of items that are only serves to appease my appetite for comfort.

However, when we combine greed with low ethics and a desire to rise above your impoverished neighbors, greed takes on a whole new meaning. The latest case of greed to catch and hold my attention is the child-trafficking scandal in China that has been blown wide open. Scum-of-the-earth criminals either steal or buy infants from impoverished or desperate parents iand sometimes supply the children to the orphanages in China, who in turn process them into the international adoption program. (See LA Times article here)
The ripples of this scandal are far and wide, damaging the reputation of international adoption as well as causing worry to the parents of adopted children all over the world. Later when the children are older and want answers about their origin circumstances, many parents will only be able to relay the fraudulent details made up by devious directors and/or criminals. How will this look to the children?

My strongest frustrations are targeted towards the Chinese government’s inability to follow through on investigations and strict punishment to all those involved in child trafficking. Some proven criminals are executed while others go free and are even rewarded in some circumstances! (see Brian Stuy’s post here)

Readers of my book, Silent Tears, have written me numerous times in the past few months to ask what I feel they should do about the dilemma of not knowing whether their children were trafficked or not. I don’t have all the answers but here are some of my thoughts:

1. Search out any websites with pictures of children who were trafficked to see if the photos match your children’s finding photo. Baby Come Home is one based in China. (You can hit the “Translate” button in top right corner of their website for English)
2. Keep an open mind and read all you can find on the issue of child trafficking in your child’s birth country in the pursuit of awareness.
3. Never pass along unproven details of your child’s origin to your child as truth. If you don’t know, tell them you don’t know. Do not make up fairy tale stories that they will remember into their adulthood.
4. Do not tell your child they ‘may have been stolen’ before they are old enough to process a statement like that. Talk to a counselor or other professional for advice on how to proceed at what age.
5. Carefully investigate any adoption agency that you are considering signing on with. Get references! Google! Research!
6. We can all support any attempts at setting up a DNA data base in China for parents of stolen children to come forward and have a chance at one day solving the mystery of their child’s whereabouts.

Also remember that many abducted children were stolen for other purposes and were not involved in the IA program. Some children are used as props for beggars or taken to work as laborers—there were even children rescued in one case who were still wearing their school uniforms while performing hard labor in a brick kiln. People will erroneously surmise that all of China’s stolen children can be found in homes around the world, living new lives with adoptive parents but the reality is that I believe it will come to light that only a very small percentage of the children actually were adopted. Many more are probably still in China, forced into unfortunate circumstances by the greed of their own people.

If you have any ideas or comments to share with others on this subject, please do! Perhaps there are other ways to deal with this issue that I am not aware of, and we’d like your input.

Most of all please do not let the cases of child trafficking steal your joy of raising your child! If you entered into the adoption program before all of this came to light, you are innocent of any wrong-doing. You should maintain a balance of being educated for awareness purposes while avoiding having your life turned upside down for something you cannot control or resolve.

BBC NEWS ARTICLE HERE

Back to School for the Adopted Child