This article is enlightening for those of us raising transracial children. Among other things she mentions navigating among Christians, when she was not.
She recommends a book by Dr. Khyati Joshi, professor of education and scholar of religious studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University. New Roots in America’s Sacred Ground: Religion, Race, And Ethnicity in Indian America
After reading the book, she now knows what to call herself:
a member of the first wave of second generation Indians.
I think it’s important to gather this information as useful for raising our children, even if we did not adopt from India. As Caucasians, we need a glimpse of how the other half is living. And if you have adopted from India, make this magazine one of your priorities. After all, it is written for Indian-Americans. So if you want to know what is current, right now, with adults who are of Indian descent, this will give you a pretty good picture. Their articles are online. They have a bit of everything from humor to Bollywood…
Our children, if TR IA, will also be a minority amidst their own. If Chinese, they will be a member of the first wave of Chinese international adoptees (actually second wave as there are a few that are now grown) (maybe third if you have yet to receive your child), not even a first or second wave of first or second generation Chinese. Have I lost you yet?
And I expect strongly that our kids will find each other and blog or join list servs of Chinese adoptees and we will hear much the same as we hear listening to Korean adoptees, and our lives as parents will be picked apart under a microscope. It will be normal to their experience. We need to learn to walk the path with them. And if we don’t want to be picked apart, if we would prefer to be held up as an example of doing at least some things right, then we need to be aware of what’s out there and make the needed corrections to our lives and the way we raise our kids.
Karin
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3 comments ↓
Karin, thanks so much for posting this! This is SO appropos to an ongoing discussion we’ve been having over the last week or so in our family about ethnic identity - how it differs for my husband (who was
among the earliest of the wave of Indian immigrants in 1967 at age 10, and was old enough to REALLY remember life and culture of India) and his brother, who immigrated at age 3, and for our adopted Indian sons,
who face a very different experience as Indian Americans than either of their fathers did.
Those who enjoy Khabar might also enjoy Little India, which is online at http://www.littleindia.com and also offers free snail mail subscriptions.
Thanks for writing! I’ll check out the other magazine too.
Khabar also has a free snail mail sub to those who are in the southeast US. I’m not sure how far is their reach. They are in Atlanta, I believe.
It’s nice to hold the magazine in your hands. I pass it on to the library when I’m finished. I’m also glad they put their articles online so it is easy to share with others.
I thought the article about learning to drive was very funny this month. It rings true, too.
This article from littleindia http://www.littleindia.com/news/157/ARTICLE/1685/2007-03-02.html) follows along with this subject, what happens as the new generation ages in and the majority are now born in the US vs. being immigrants.
Cool magazine! Thanks again.
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