Asia

I will start with Asia, more specifically East Asia. It would have to have the most pagans on the planet now, since it also has most of the worlds population. When I mention adoption below, I mean adoption to foreigners and do this from an American perspective, as I am American and know the American laws and rules.

Native religions found in Asia include Toaism, Shintoism, Shamanism, local Folk Religions(like in China), Caodaoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhs and myriad lesser know religions. Islam, being imported and later forced upon them by the Arabs, is not native. Christian missionaries abound as well, in their fervent bid to take over the world, sorry, to save the world.

China is where a large group of children are adopted from, mostly girls, but not all. The people of China are predominantly Taoist, Buddhist and Folk religion followers. For the most part they mix it all together, a spiritual path which I have adopted and feel most comfortable with. Though China is communist, they still allow a little faith these days. China has been changing the rules a lot lately, trying to limit the number of children adopted out of the country. They have long waiting lists now, so it may be best to look elsewhere.

Do I need to even mention this is the Great Wall?

Buddha, Confucius and Lao Tzu


Studious son

Tibet is a part of China, though I personally believe that it should be free, that won't change the fact that China has an iron grip on it and won't let it go anytime soon. Many people feel the plight of the Tibetans and the most famous buddhist in the world (no, not Richard Gere) the Dalai Lama. China usually does not allow you to choose which state you can adopt from, but it never hurts to ask. There are many Tibetan orphans and lost children living in India, where you can request a state, so I would try there, it's less costly than China anyways, so save your money and spoil your kid when you get him home. Tibet has a rich culture with art and religion, and it should be maintained.

Tibetan village girl

Buddha boy

Boy and mother

Tibetan Mandala

Hong Kong does allow adoption, but I was told they really only do special needs adoption to foreigners. I tried to adopt from them while I was living in Korea, but they told me I needed to live in my home country to do it. As they were being nice and honest, I can't say anything bad. I will keep them in mind when I am ready to adopt again at the end of the year or beginning of next year. Hong Kong is the same as China in regards to religion, though there are more Christians there thanks to being owned and run by Britian for 100 years.

Taiwan has become a new option for adoption, as China slows down and adds more rules, and as such, it is hard to adopt from simply because they are overwhelmed with applications. When I lived in Taiwan, I saw that many private adoptions have been taken over by the Evangelicals and Catholics. I applied to adopt once and the worker told me that she would not work with me because I was not a "True Believer." This infuriated me, as the children they are offering for adoption are not even Christians, the mothers just use them in the hopes of getting their children a better life in America and Canada.

A temple that was near my apartment in Taiwan, I think it was to Matsu, the goddess of the ocean and sailors

Korea is another place that has had many children adopted. I will note that many people who live in the cities are Christian, while many of the people that live out in the rural areas have remained buddhist, shamanistic and have a religion similar to Shintoism. When Japan took over and forced their society and religion onto Korea, many Koreans turned away from the old religion when they were freed, to distance themselves from the Japanese. They embraced the religion of the people that helped them gain their freedom, the Americans, who were predominantly Christian. The three adoption agencies that work in Korea are Christian, but that does not mean the children are. Korea was one of the first countries that America began adopting from. This started from all the half Korean children left by soldiers after the Korean war (the bastards, I wish I could go back in time and force them to make child support payments to their mothers so that they could have kept them.) It has been one of the major countries for international adoption to America since the war. They have finally wised up and are trying to get more people to adopt domestically and are slowing down their adoption program with the intention to stop in a couple of years. If this was working I would agree with them, but I lived there and saw that many of those kids WERE NOT getting adopted. Of all the kids that were adopted at the orphanage I volunteered at for 4 years, only one was a domestic adoption by a Korean family. All the others were by Americans. Also, there are those Boystowns and Girlstowns, where the Catholic church will not allow adoption and keep the kids there. From what I saw, they were pretty much buying the children, as another way to convert people to Christianity. You don't believe me? I was there! I volunteered there for over a year.

My son is Korean. I lived in Korea for a number of years and volunteered at an orphanage there, where I met him. Groups of Christians would visit the orphanage to volunteer, trying to convert the kids to Christianity. The owner of the orphanage said she was Christian, but as she showed no interest or knowledge of it, I think she just said that so those people would leave her alone. I was very disgusted by those volunteers as they kept telling the children that Buddha was the devil and so all Buddhists were devil worshippers. My son was very angry when he learned that Buddha is in fact NOT the devil, and so distrusts Christians now. It doesn't matter what country they are in, Christians are mean, nasty, rude and cruel.

Giant Golden Buddhas from the Jogyesi temple, Seoul, I took my son here several times, but because of what those Christians told him, he resisted going, then he finally did go and saw that Buddha is not the devil! I also took my foster son, but as his family was buddhist, he enjoyed it and bowed before the Buddha

Japan is Buddhist and Shinto. The Ainu people(the original inhabitants of Japan, the others are from Korean and Chinese blood, or mixed with the Ainu) also still have their shamanic bear cult. You can adopt from Japan, but it takes time and patience as most of the kids in the childrens homes(i.e. orhanages) there can't be adopted as their families would rather them stay there than find a home with strangers. I have only heard of people that already live in Japan, and have done so for several years, getting to adopt, as the laws can be diffucult to navigate through. I did find one place that would let me adopt as a single man living in America, but as I am not ready to adopt again, I haven't tried it yet. I have to say, that out of all the countries I have visited, I liked Japan the best, once I got over the fantasies I had about it. Sadly it is not like it is in the Animes, but I still really enjoyed it and the people and the temples. The people were very nice and not once did anyone question me about whether or not that Asian boy was my son (which they did in Mongolia and Bali and Taiwan, though most people in Taiwan also assumed he was my son, so it wasn't as bad as the others.)



Vietnam is currently closed to adoption, but this seems to happen every other year and is expected to open again within a year. Vietnam is mostly Buddhist and has Caodaism, a synchronist religion. When the french took over they brought Catholic missionaries with them, and so Catholicism is the 2nd largest religion in Vietnam. They also have their own native folk beliefs. This is a country I hope to adopt from next, as I feel really connected to them somehow. Vietnam is also one of the few countries that allows single men to adopt (like me.) Vietnam has more orphans and street kids than it knows what to do with, they really need help. Also there are still many half American, half French, mixed all together kids there, that are having kids and can't make it because they are considered inferior to a full blooded Vietnamese. If anything, it inspires a patiotic duty to get our kids and their kids back. Too bad the government fudged that up so bad, waiting to long to get the kids here, then not letting a lot of kids in because of lack of documentation, just look at their damn faces, even if they are half French, who the hell cares, don't leave them there to suffer!!!

Caodao church

Caodao bishop

Laos does not really do adoptions. They don't have any programs for it. You can adopt from there, but it will be difficult and I think you will have the most problems with the embassy, proving that they child is legally adopted and that the forms you have are legit, as documents are frequently forged or fudged there. They are buddhist and have a folk religion.

Pha That Luang stupa

Cambodia is cut off from adoptions right now and has been for years, though this is Americas doing, not Cambodias. I helped a friend do a private adoption there of twin boys, but he is still waiting to get their immigrant visas. Luckily he has been living abroad in China for several years, and had no plans to move back home for several more years, so he has time to wait. They are buddhist. NEW: Cambodia will allow international adoptions by March 2011!!! Here is the news article:http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010033034500/National-news/foreign-adoptions-by-2011.html

Could you resist saying no to him? You can't can you.

The Khmer had a great civilization in Cambodia

Thailand is buddhist and native folk religion. I was told 2 years ago that you had to be married for 3 years before you could adopt from there, but looking at the US adoption government website, it says you can be single. That pisses me off if they changed that rule now, as I was totally ready to adopt again when I was in Korea and had a good job with a good wage, not know that I am in economically depressed central Florida. If it has changed for real and Vietnam is not open yet when I am ready to adopt again, then I will try Thailand. I think that the kids and Thailand need help, there are far too many sexual predators there and the kids need to get off the street and away from the pornographers and pedophiles.

Kid Kickboxers

Kid Monks

Singapore does not do adoption, as they don't have enough kids available even for themselves.

Mongolia does do adoption, but they don't do that much. I am rather pissed off at them, as I lived there for almost half a year trying to adopt, was told by almost everyone there that I could adopt and then got screwed as they told me that single men can't adopt. There are few orphans available for adoption, which is all that America, in all it's idiocy, will give visa approval for. There are many street children in desperate need of homes, but to adopt them you need to live in Mongolia for 6 months to fulfill Mongolias' rules, then wait 6 months to a year to do the adoption, then wait for another 2 years with your new child to fulfill Americas visa requirments. I was willing to go through all that pain, but they screwed me over. This is why you need to be careful when adopting from countries that don't have established agencies or good records. They are Tibetan Buddhist by the way, though the Christian missionaries are having a field day there, too many mormons trying to convert eveyone!

"Manhole kids" kids that live in the sewers under the streets to stay warm. They are all too common in Ulaanbaatar.

Myanmar(Burma) does not do adoption.

Bangladesh, you have to be Bangladeshi to adopt from there. They are Buddhist, Hindu and have a strong Muslim majority which also seem to make the laws of the country, hence, not really allowing adoption, but guardianship (also see India below.)

India has many children in need of homes. People who are ethnically Indian get first pick of the kids, but this makes sense to keeps kids with their own people if they can. But, since India has a quarter of the worlds population, there are just too many kids to find homes for, so there will be no problems finding a child that needs your love. India is home to Hinduism and Sikhism. It is also claiming to be the home of Buddhism, but so does Bangladesh. There are also a large number of Muslims in India, but many were forcibly relocated to Pakistan. Also, there are far too many Christian missionaries there. The Hindus are fighting back, and while I share no love for missionaries, the Hindus are fighting back with extreme violence which horrible, and shameful. They do not do full adoptions there, they give you guardianship to take the child back to your home country and complete the adoption there. But if I understand the laws correctly, if you are Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh, then you should be able to complete an adoption there. Also there is the law that says to adopt you, or your spouse, must be 30 years old or older.

Sikh boy

Hindu holy men

Sri Lanka is a mostly Buddhist country. It can take up to a year to be matched to a child, and then you still have to wait after that to complete the adoption.

Pakistan is one of the few Muslim countries that allows adoption. Though, you have to be Muslim and you or your spouse has to be of Pakistani nationality. There are some Christians in Pakistan, and so if you are Christian (what are you doing reading this blog then) you can adopt a Christian child. Sorry, no other people can. That is sad, as there is a group of people in Pakistan that are a 2000 years old, or more, pagan civilization, called the Kalasha. I will try to find out if they are allowed to be adopted by other pagans, or at least non Muslims, but with muslim views on pagans being usually extremely violent, I doubt it.

A Kalasha family, a people thought to be left from Alexander the Greats army. Notive the light skin tone, some are even blond haired and blue eyed.

Nepal does adoptions, though I have heard it goes slowly. They have laws that say you have to be married for at least 4 years, though a single woman over 35 can adopt, the married couple must be 30 years or older. No single men can adopt. They are buddhist and have their own folk traditions, with a mixing of some hinduism, too.

Bhutan is a small country in the Himalayas next to Tibet. They allow adoption, but I know of few adoptions done there. As I said, it is a small country. The only restriction I see is that you need to be married. I have also read in reports that most domestic adoption does not take place legally. Many of the people there are from the Tibetan ethnic branch and so they share a similar culture and religion (Buddhist.) Since I love Tibetan culture, I have a love for Bhutanese culture. Sadly there are issues with travel to Bhutan by foriegners, such as a possible limit to tourist visas and a high cost of $200 a day to stay in the country. This is done to protect their culture from outside influences.

Malaysia is in the souther part of Asia, consisting of several large and small islands, with beaches and tropical forests, making it a paradise. It has an interesting mix of Asian peoples. Islam is the majority religion there, though there are also Buddhists, Hindus, Animists, Taoists, Folk Religionists and Christians there. Malaysia would be a nice country to adopt from, but, they require you to live there for 2 years before the adoption and up to 2 years after the adoption. Leading to very few children getting adopted. Also, you can only adopt a non-muslim child, which is fine, though I do hope that all these kids are finding homes, especially the muslim ones, since they can't be adopted.

Indonesia has the most muslims in the world. As such, while it is not an Islamic state, they control much of the political power and have caused problems, such as the Bali Night Club bombings a few years ago, and currently there is a fuss because some Christians are using the word Allah as the name of God, so there have been church attacks, because god forbid anyone to use the Arab word for God but the Muslims. Arab traders "influenced" the people to become Muslim over several hundred years. But there are a large number of Buddhists (mostly enthnic Chinese) and Hindus(the Balinese, though they have their own take on Hinduism.) There are also some Christians and a few followers of the old ways. To adopt in Indonesia, like Malaysia, you need to live there for 2 years, and also, you can only adopt a child that is the same religion as you. I was also told that you have to tell the court you believe in God/Allah. If you are Buddhist, Hindu or Animist, then this is a rather nasty thing to do, but as I said, this is a majority Muslim nation.

Of all the places here, I liked Bali the best. The people are very devoted and open and spiritual, leaving offerings daily. I have to say that if I was able to adopt from Indonesia, I would try to do it from Bali.

Philippines has a very interesting history, and a very interesting people, many are mixed ethnically between native Tagolog(native), Chinese, Spanish and American. They were part of America before being granted independence and so share in part of the culture. Many children are adopted from the Philippines by Americans. The Spanish owned the Philippines prior to the Spanish-American war, and the missionaries went crazy, forcibly converting most of the people, so today 90-95% of the people are Christian. There are a few Muslims there (which have caused terror, even with their smaller population) and a few pockets of the old animistic religion who worship the diwatas, which comes from the same Sanskrit root word as the english deity. With pagans there, it would be just fine to adopt. Most of the kids are from poor families that have not officially become Christian, even though the adoption agencies ask that you be a Christian with strong morals, I would feel just fine lieing through my teeth. I have strong morals, and my family is Christian, so good enough. There are too many kids in the world in need of good homes and looking at the kids living on the filthy streets here makes me worry that they care more about converting everyone than the childrens health and futures.

Philippine street, and this is considered clean!

I will cover the rest of Asia next time.