When you think of Africans, the first image to pop into your mind would be of a black skinned tribal man or woman wearing beads and feathers. Well, while there are some people like this in Africa, like the Zulu (they really only dress that way for ceremonies now,) I have some news for you, Africa is not all black, and never has been. North Africans are actually quite fair skinned and are related to Arabs, Greeks, Romans and other European and Asian peoples. The Egyptians, that I already did in another blog entry, are not black, though many black Americans try to say they are. They weren't white either. They were...Egyptian, somewhere in the middle of black and white, and closer to the Arab and Persian groups than "Black" Africans. In fact, they mention Black Africans in their histories as being Nubians or Ethiopians, not Egyptians. There are also white people in Africa, more recent additions from Europe colonies, but still African nontheless. Any American that says otherwise, shouldn't throw stones living in that glass house, since you are living in lands that traditionally belong to American Indians. South Africa is about half White African now, and there are still white Africans living in other old European colonies, though war, strife and violence have forced most of them out and soon they will be gone.
Africa as a whole is usually thought of as a 3rd world continent. It has had moments of glory, including Great Zimbabwe, but has for the most part remained tribal and, though I hate to use the word, primitive. Then the Europeans came in and carved out territories for colonies, making a whole mess of everything by imposong their world order on a people that had their own world order and should not have been forcibly removed from that. Many of those same Europeans later left their colonies, but did not help fix any of the problems. Some left in such a hurry as to cause a vaccuum that has yet to be filled, like in Western Sahara. For a long time, most of the world looked down on Africans, and this has only recently began to change. Why did they look down on them so? Was it because they were black, as many postulate? Or was it because most are muslims? Probably both, as we know Europeans are notoriously racist, but considering that most homogynous societies usually are racist all over the world, this is not unusual. Africans are very racist against many people as well, whites, Asians, other tribes, other coutries, etc... but not all of them are that way.
So, why adopt from there? There are so many black kids in America that are available for adoption and need a home. I personally feel that if you are going to adopt a black child, adopt from your own country first. I think the reason why more people are turning to Africa for adoption though is because they like the idea of helping a poor 3rd world kid, or feeling pity on the starving Ethipian child, or war torn Darfur refugee orphan. That is not a good reason to adopt. If you want to help, donate money or time, or even things, like clothes to these people. Otherwise, you will end up laying guilt upon the child when he or she doesn't live up to your expectations, which you should never, EVER do to an adopted child. There are also people that like the idea of bringing something new and tribal into their family, a breath of fresh air in a stagnant family tree. This last one appeals to me. This is what makes America a great nation, not our money or our domocracy, but the mix of people and the multi-ethnic families that result from this. I have met many families that are a mix of different nations, ethnicities and religions and it works for us.
Many people think of the religion of Africa as being very pagan and involving witch doctors and others, but sadly, the Christian and Muslim horde spread there very well and most countries are predominantly one or the other. This is a sad state for the birthplace of the America's religions of Santeria, Voodoo and Candomble'. There are some tribal pagans left, but they are not as numerous as they should be.
Libya-rarly allows adoptions to foreigners, in fact I could find very little on adoption at all, only that within the past few years only 5 children were adopted. My only advice if you desire to adopt from there is to contact the US embassy and a local lawyer from there. This country is not on the best terms with the west, so don't expect a lot. Also, it is a Muslim country, so...good luck.
Old Roman statue of Emperor Septimus Severus in Libya
This country has an interesting history, so I will post what I know about it. Libya was unified and therefore began with the Roman Empire. Though the Greeks had already taken control of half of Libya before the Romans came and the Phoenicians had some colonies on the other half, the best known was Carthage. The Roman emperor Septimus Severus was born here, so this was his homeland. Then the Muslims came and took over around 650 B.C. It was strongly influenced by the Berbers, Moroccans and Islamic Egytians after that. It was then conquered by the Turks, then made into an Italian colony before becoming independant in the middle of the last century. Then in 1969, a soldier named Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, staged a coup and took over the nation, turning it into the Libyan Arab Republic(i.e. Socialist.) This man has been villified by the west, with good reason, which you can read about on your own as it is too much for this post. The people in Libya are ethnically Arab, Berber, Bedouin, Taureg, Egyptian, Sub-saharan, and Italian, and as such they range in skin tone from light to dark. They are mostly Muslim, at 97% of the population. Though there are some Christians there, made up of the Egyptian Coptic Christians(one of the brands of Christianity that I like the most), Italian Roman Catholics and some Anglicans that are African immigrants from former British colonies. Libya used to have a large population of Jews 500,000 strong, until fascism from WWII Italy put them in "camps" and when Libya gained its indepence muslim violence decimated them to only about 38,000. The few that remained emigrated as fast as they could in 1951.
Taureg of Libya
Algeria-is a Muslim country, as as such they only allow Muslims to adopt. Also, they want only Algerians to adopt, so you must be Algerian. Though there seem to be a number of street kids there, so I hope the country takes care of its own.
Morocco-is a Muslim country, so only allows Muslims to adopt. Also, if you are Muslim, they will not accept proof from an American mosque or Imam. You will have to prove it to a Moroccan Imam. But, they accept converts, so if you really want to adopt from Morocco, then go and convert while there. I don't suggest this in seriousness though, as this would a bad idea and would not only be dishonest, but would be offensive to your gods and their Allah (even if you think they are the same thing, it would still be rude.) Sadly there are a lot of street children in Morocco and I would really love to help them find homes, but Morocco doesn't seem to care much about them. It is like this in Egypt too. Many of these kids turn to prostitution, begging or drugs for money. The government does not protect them. Many Moroccan street children are now trying to run away to Spain, where they hope to have a better life. I will have to check on whether Spain allows adoption of any of these kids, since they are illegal immigrants.
Western Sahara-this is a contested territory, with Morocco's king claiming it as belonging to him, and Mauritania claiming it as well. It used to belong to Spain, but after WWII they hastily left it(within a 3 month period,) leaving it open to other countries to claim it. This idiocy by the Spaniards has left several countries in trouble. Most Americans still call it Western Sahara, while I have heard many Europeans call it Southern Morocco, showing how we feel about it. America thinks it should be independent, while Europe thinks Morocco should have it. Seeing as how Morocco can't even care for its own people properly, I don't see how they would care for all these others. As it is a contested territory, you would not be allowed to adopt, as there is no real law for it there, and it would be a Muslim country or territory anyways. The child needs a passport and legal documentation that the child was adopted. Since the 2 countries that are trying to claim Western Sahara as there own territory are both Muslim, I don't think they would approve of the adoption if you went to them. Some kids run away to Spain, and they might be available for adoption there, I will have to check on that.
This young man is just too cute
Mauritania-only allows Muslims to adopt and must be a family member if you want to be able to take the child out of the country.
Senegal-allows adoptions, but only to people that are unable to have kids. This can be waived if the president grants an exemption. You also have to live in Senegal for 1 year and while this can also be waived, most courts would not allow it. Maybe if the child had severe need for medical treatment not found in Senegal they would speed up the process.
The Gambia-you must be resident in Gambia for at least 6 months before applying to adopt, thought the court can waive this. Then you have to do a 36 month fostering period, which can be done in your home country, before the adoption can be completed. This is what makes it hard to adopt from Gambia, a 3 year fostering is way too long.
Mali-allows some children to be adopted by foriegners. You must be over 30 years old, and does not allow single men. There are 2 kinds of adoptions in Mali, Adoption Protection and Adoption Filiation. Adoption Protection gives you custody of the child, but not full parental rights. The embassy said this could be enough to get a visa to go back to America and get a full adoption there, but ask the embassy first(the embassy you will use is actually in Senegal, not in Mali.) Adoption Filiation is a full adoption, but they will only allow this if you have no children already, and the child adopted is 5 years old or younger. Because of this, you can see why people would prefer the Adoption Protection.
Chad-I can find no information about adoption in Chad, only that many officials are against it and the French aide adoption scandal that happened there. There is nothing even close to mentioning adoption on the Embassy website. I would guess that it is not allowed in this country.
Sudan-is a Muslim country and does not allow adoptions of any Muslim child, but does allow adoptions of non-Muslim children. Any abandoned or orphaned child whose parents religion is unknown is automatically made into a muslim child, whether they should be or not. First you must apply and be granted a "caretaker" status for the child. This is similar to fostering or guardianship. This caretaker status lasts for a year(if the child is non-muslim, otherwise that is all you can get,) after which, if the social worker agrees, you may proceeed with adoption. The year may be shortened by the governer of the child's province if you can get him to do it. Single men are not allowed to adopt. Sudan has many kids in need of homes, especially with the conflict in Darfur, well more like the Genocide in Darfur, where the Arabs of Sudan are trying to wipe out the Blacks of Sudan (which is completely absurd, as many of the Arabs of Sudan are mostly black.) But, since it is so hard to adopt there, and any children in Darfur may have family trying to find them, I would donate money, time or items of some such to help the children instead. If you really feel you need to adopt, talk to the American Embassy there and then get a local lawyer. Good luck! Sudan was the old kingdom of Kush and Nubia, and was culturally tied to ancient Egypt. Many think of it as the Black Egypt (since Egyptians are not black, but rather somewhere between white and black, and closer to Arabs in ethnicity, or I should say the other way around since Egyptians are older than Arabs.) This is interesting to me, and to a child, it is something to be proud of, as being an heir to Egypt. The religions of Sudan are, of course Islam at over 70%, suprisingly the pagan groups are the second largest at 25% with various Christian denominations as third and last at 5%, though half of the pagan peoples are thought to be practicing a synchratic form of Christianity and animist pagananism.
Sudanese Arab girl
Black Sudanese kids
Sudanese Child Soldier,
something that should never be allowed to happen in any country
Eritrea-must be resident for 6 continuous months, but otherwise there are few restrictions. The embassy reports that they have had difficulty identifying whether or not some children are orphans (as defined by the US) and their real ages. So, if you adopt from there, make sure you have all your documents in order and work with the embassy. They are not party to the Hague convention, so those rules do not apply. This is a small country on the Red Sea, between Sudan and Ethiopia. It was created at the end of the 19th century, when Italy carved it out of some tribal territories as a colony. Though people have been living and colonizing the area for centuries, leading to an interesting demographic of people, including Egyptians, Portuguese, Tribal "Black" Africans, Arabs, Turks and Italians. They are pretty much split down the middle of Muslim and Orthodox Christians. They are not tolerant of other religions though, and are especially harsh on Jehovah's Witnesses (good for them) and the Baha'i people, both of which actively recruit people and are labeled as cults or cult like. I had a friend that converted to Baha'i and she was constantly trying to convert everyone around her, eventually she left to go study at their main temple in Israel, so I am guessing they actively try to convert people and this is why they are having problems. Anyway, Eritrea was later taken from Italy by Britain, who controlled it until America and the UN forced them to give them independance, but was annexed by Ethiopia, who forced their language and culture on them, leading to a 30 year war for independence. They won, with UN help and have been independent since then, though they continually have border disputes with Ethiopia. They use English as their official language and have democratic elections. Because they allowed a Somali terrorist to live in their country, several US officials want to brand them a rogue country, but for the most part, most countries, and most US officials still trust Eritrea.
Rashaida of Eritrea
(the people are originally from Saudi Arabia)
Ethiopia-is one of the easiest places to adopt in Africa, though they only work with married couples and prefer you to be married for at least 5 years. Ethiopia, like much of Africa, is in the middle of an AIDS epidemic, but much worse. So many children have been left orphaned and are in great need of homes, or at least humanitarian aide. Sadly, this has been the case for so many years, I grew up hearing about the starving Ethiopian kids, and now my son is growing up with it. Ethiopia is one of the oldest human places on Earth, and may be where humanity came from, making them the oldest people on Earth. "Lucy" the Australopithecus is one of the oldest human ancestral skeletons ever found, and she is from Ethiopia. Ethiopia has been an independent kingdom for millenia, and was one of the few African countries that was not carved out by the Europeans, and was able to maintain its independence, even defeating an attempted takeover by Italy. The majority of people in Ethiopia are Christians(mostly Ethiopian Orthodox,) with the second largest group Muslim, but the third largest group are the followers of the old ways, labeled "Traditional Religions" which makes it sound nicer than pagans. Ethiopians are black Africans, with a little Arab here and there.
Djibouti-can't find any adoption information anywhere, but it is an Islamic nation, so probably doesn't allow adoption.
Somalia-it is very hard to adopt from Somalia, but can be done. Don't ask me how. The country is still involved in a civil war and most people hate it right now because of all the pirates, so adoption would be very hard. But, if you really want to adopt a Somalian child, many are in Ethiopia.
Kenya-allows adoption, but can be frustrating because the court does not like placing Black African children with White(and other non Black) foreigners. They are mellowing out a bit, but it still might be an issue. You have to be in Kenya for a while, get the child placed with you and wait for 3 months before they will proceed with the adoption. You must be married, though some single women are allowed to adopt. The people are mostly Christian, with Muslims next and the third largest religious group is labeled as Indigenous (pagan,) there are also a large number of Hindus, around 500,000. Kenya is home of the Masai people, known for their love of red and their warriors. It is also home of one of the largest African preserves, the place where lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, etc... live. When most people think of Africa, it is Kenya that they imagine.
Not all Kenyans are tribal, these kids wear American style clothes
(though it looks like at least of the shirts is from Australia "Melbourne")
Masai warrior, they were once fierce hunters,
but have of late become the guardians of the nature parks and preserves,
which they still see as an honorable profession (and it is)
Uganda-they want you to have lived in the country and fostered the child for 3 years before being allowed to adopt, though a judge can wave this (good luck!) You have to be at least 21 years older than the child you want to adopt and be married or single, though you cannot adopt a child of the opposite sex if you are single. The people are mostly Christian, with Islam second and some Tradtional religions practiced in the country. There are also a number of Hindu's there.
Congo; Democratic Republic of-I can find little information about adoption from here. All I found was that you really need a local lawyer to help you to adopt and that you need to do the adoption at the local court in the place where the child lives. Here is the only group I know of that does adoptions in the Congo, though they are a Christian organization.
http://www.ourfamilyadoptions.org/?page_id=16
The Congo is the home of the pygmy people, it also still has cannibals there (some of them hunt and eat the poor pygmy peoples.) This is a place that is still the wild Africa that people imagine, it is also a place filled with strife and has seen its once flourishing economy crumble and wither. There is a lot of fighting here, over politics and over mineral wealth. Many militias conscript boys into service making child soldiers, and rape girls and women. They also have an AIDS crisis and the average life expectancy is short, with 50 being old age, most of the population is very young and still in their teens. Most people are Christian, with the next largest group being Muslim. There is also a large group of Indigenous religion followers. Also, the national language is French, so brush up on your Parlez-vous anglais?
Gabon-allows adoption, but it looks like they just changed the laws, making it actually easier to adopt from there. But, since the laws were just changed, I can find no information about it. Gabon is also very blatantly anti-gay in regards to adoption. There seem to be a number of children in need of homes there, so I hope that adoption picks up there. Many kids are left orphanted there because of their parents death through AIDS, malaria or the Ebola virus. Gabon was once a French colony, and their colonial ways still dominate the country. Most of the people are Christian, with a small minority being Muslim and the next group are Ingigenous religions, there are also a small group of Atheists or people with no religion there.
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