информационно-исследовательская работа "Russian orphans"

Student Scientific Society

English Language Section

Russian orphans

Vashchilina Anastasiya, form 11, Municipal Educational Establishment

“Lyceum №6 named after I.Z. Shuklin”

Guided by:

English teacher

Krechetova Marina Nikolaevna

Gorno-Altaysk

2011

Contents

1. Introduction……………………………………………………..…3
2. Orphans and social orphans…………………………………….…4
3. Forms of orphans’ living………………………………………….4
4. Foreign adoption…………………………………………………..5
5. Russian adoption…………………………………………………..6
6. Adoption in the Republic of Altay………………………………..7
7. Conclusion………………………………………………………...8
8. Supplement

Introduction.

A family unit is the unit which builds up a person’s personality. How you behave and what you become in life is very much dependent on your family life. Psychologists believe that a child learns the most from his or her family life. The children who have a sound family background and who belong to a family with strong family ties are almost always happier. The family life adds a sense of responsibility in your personality which lacks in those people who have not had a very nice family life. Thus one cannot deny the importance of family life.

Although people understand the importance of family life today, the major issue is that the number of family units which are happy with each other is decreasing all around the globe. This problem is not related to any particular nation or people from any one culture. The whole world is going through this problem these days. People are suffering from different psychological disorders of high intensity because they do not get the much required love, attention and affection which come so easily with the stable family unit.

Children who are dispossessed from their family, for whatever reason tend to face further disadvantage when they leave state care and attempt to forge an independent life for themselves in the wider community. The very fact they grew up without a family is further held against them as they fight for independence and employment. There is a strong associated stigmatization naturally accepted towards orphans or post-orphans. These disadvantaged young adults are further disadvantaged by experiencing great difficulty in finding gainful employment and establishing themselves as worthy participants in the world that exists beyond their institutional confines.

All aforesaid shows the greatest importance of that theme and emphasizes its topicality. That is why we’d like to catch public’s attention to Russian orphans and their problems.

The main goal of our research work was to give a general view on the importance of family for children, to reveal the problems of orphans and find out why their number is growing. To reach the goal we were:

1. to find out what orphan or social orphan is
2. to study forms of orphans’ living;
3. to reveal the reasons Russian children are better adopted by foreigners;
4. to reveal the reasons Russian children are worse adopted by the Russians;

The author used such methods of researching as literature analysis, the analysis of data, comparison and generalization.

Orphans and social orphans

Federal law of Russian Federation “About the additional social guarantees on social support of orphans” (From December, 21st, 1996 №159-FL, in edition from August, 7th, 2000 №122-FL) shows that children are considered to be orphans if their parents are dead or they have only one single parent (single mother).

However, the majority of orphans are so-called social orphans. They make nearly 90 % of all the amount of orphans. Social orphans are children whose parents are deprived of their parental care, disabled or went missing, have a hard illness which bothers them to do their parental responsibilities; are imprisoned or arrested on the time of investigation.

Nowadays about 600 thousand of children in Russia live without parents. It takes 1500 orphanages, 300 special boarding schools, 700 social centers for rehabilitation of orphans. As for Gorno-Altaysk, at the end of 2010 there were 231 children left without parental care, or, to make it shorter, social orphans, while at the end of 2009 there were 195 children. Besides, 292 children under 18 live in the orphanage and the boarding school nowadays.

Forms of orphans’ living

Family legislation of Russian Federation allows several forms of living of orphans and children who live without parental care – adoption, guardianship, foster family and living in a state establishment. They are not all the forms of possible organization of orphans as every region can develop their own forms of living and ways of preventing the growth of orphans’ number.

Cosmopolitan social practice classified these forms (and some others) in the following way:

1. Family forms of children’s living:

1. Adoption
2. Guardianship

2. State-social forms of children’s living:

1. Family orphanage
2. Village SOS for children
3. Temporary foster family
4. Foster family
5. Patronage family

3. State forms of children’s living:

1. House of child
2. Orphanage
3. Boarding school
4. Centers of temporary upkeep of children

Despite having such a developed system of orphans’ living, statistics show that about 80 % of orphanages graduates do not have any place to live in or any relatives. As a result, many of them start tramping and asking for money, using drugs and alcohol. Some graduates become hardened criminals. Also it is proved that nowadays it is nearly impossible for orphans to enter a university or find a good job due to the lack of place of residence.

While nearly all these forms are available for children in our country, adoption is the best form of living for orphans as it provides them an opportunity to feel themselves as a part of friendly and strong family, feel parents’ love and care. Moreover, adopted children have the same rights and responsibilities as own ones and only they are considered to be proper members of our society.

Foreign adoption

Nowadays Russian children are better adopted by foreigners. Statistics says that Russian children are adopted by parents from Canada, Spain, Israel and Island. A bit fewer amounts of children go to the United Kingdom and Italy. But the United States of America beat all the record on adoption of Russian children. For comparison, American parents adopt about 6 thousand of Russian children every year while parents from other countries - only 3,5.

Fortunately, foreign parents do not mind adopting ill children, even if the illness is considered to be incurable in Russia. The matter is that American doctors and money of foreign parents make miracles – 40 % of children recover, 60 % - are able to live wealthy life.

Of course, there is no rule without an exception, so foreign adoption does not always have a happy end. I guess all of you remember the story of little Chase Harrison (born Dmitry Yakovlev) who was forgotten in the back of the family car where he spent 9 hours. The boy died of heat-stroke. The court did not find the adoptive father guilty, stating that the father had already suffered enough. The history of American adoption of Russian children knows 15 cases when parents abused their adoptees to death. It really makes people think if it is a good idea to send our children abroad, but nevertheless we just do not have another way out.

Russian adoption

Unfortunately, nowadays the amount of children adopted by Russian parents is catastrophically reducing. Statistics show that only 1% of Russian people have already adopted a child, 4% want to adopt one and 6% consider they might adopt a child. But 72% of Russian people forbid themselves even thinking of adoption.

Many Russian families refuse to adopt a child because of low pay or bad living conditions. Some potential Russian foster parents are sure that local authorities of custody and adoption just do everything to give our children to foreign mothers and fathers. For instance, Russian people adopt only about 7 thousand of children every year that is nearly 3 per cent of all orphans and unfortunately this number is reducing.

To tell you the truth, many people do not want to adopt orphans because they are afraid of some bad habits or bad behavior which a child could acquire in his previous unsuccessful family or orphanage. Despite the system of orphanages, some children live in the streets, so they have nearly vanished into the streets’ way of behaving. Many orphans have serious incurable illnesses and most potential parents do not have so much money or desire to cure a poor child.

Adoption in the Republic of Altay

In our Republic guardianship predominates over adoption. Last year 216 children were taken under guardianship and only 9 children were adopted. Also 6 children found a foster family. On the other hand, state forms of orphans’ living predominates over family ones – nowadays 292 children live in the orphanage in Gorno-Altaysk.

The authorities of the Republic of Altay have brought in the new law № 23 “About the dimension and the rule of payment of donation to the adopted children and children taken under the guardianship” which set that such donation constitutes 5600 rubles on food, clothes, boots and toys during 1 month for 1 child. The salary of foster parents is 3500 rubles a month. Those measures lead to positive consequences - as a result, the amount of orphans determined to families for living has increased. In 2009 there were 206 children under the guardianship and in foster families, in 2010 – 216 children.

Conclusion

Over the last century, we have seen a breakdown of the family unit in Russia. It is difficult to say exactly how and when this problem began; we simply see the results of this absence of family values. The problem was caused in part by the great number of Russian men that died during 20th century wars leaving many families fatherless. Following this, the fall of communism brought freedom to the Russian people; however, it also brought a freedom from all the old moral restraints, resulting in a rejection of any standard of moral value. Since that time alcoholism and drug addiction have become the hallmark of many Russian people. Today, in the typical Russian family, one or both parents are severely alcoholic, and the father is often absent altogether. As a result, more and more children are growing up in orphanages or on the streets making Russian children an extremely at-risk group.

I have come to realize that any plan to help Russian orphans must include the whole family.

When it comes to the number of orphans that exist in the world you hear a lot of different estimates. The more I think about it the bottom line is that there are way too many! When you get into the hundred millions it can be overwhelming.

Remember, these numbers represent children. Sons and daughters. Children that need care and children that need parents. Each of us can do something to make a difference in their lives. For some it will be visiting them with aid, for others it will be reducing the number of double orphans through adoption, one, two, three at a time!

Literature

1. english.pravda.ru – English Pravda – official site
2. DIVORCE SALOON INTERNATIONAL site
3. Golovan’ – Report about the maintaining and the defencing of childs interests and rights, 2010
4. M.R. Zezina – Social protection of orphans in the USSR
5. Convention about children’s rights
6. Federal law of Russian Federation “About the additional social guarantees on social support of orphans” (From December, 21st, 1996 №159-FL, in edition from August, 7th, 2000 №122-FL)
7. Letter of Russian Ministry of social protection from January, 25, 1995
8. www.sirotstvo.ru – official site National fund of protecting children from abusing.
9. anastasia.mybb2.ru – orphans in Russia
10. Statistic about  the amount of orphans in Gorno-Altaysk
11. www.childpsy.ru – Children’s psychology