한국의 홀트아동복지센터, 지금도 기억에 뚜렷히 남아있는, 당시의 한국의 미혼모들이 이복지센터에 축복받지 못하고 태어난 핏덩이를 맡기고 살길을 찾아, 아이를 뒤로한채 어두운 발길을 돌려야 했었던 어두웠던 시절이 있었다.
아래의 소녀들은 2007년도에 중국본토의 남쪽 지방, Chenzhou, Hunan성의 한 고아원에 버려졌었던 귀여운 아가씨들이었었다. 지금은 11세의 제법 처녀티가 나는 발랄한, 밝은 모습으로 성장하고 있다.
이들이 유난히 더 돋보이는것은, 미국의 넓은 땅덩이의 이곳 저곳에 흩어져 살고 있지만, 매년 이들은 그들을 입양 시켜준 부모님들의 보살핌 속에서 재회를 하고,살아온 세월의 얘기들을 나누면서, 지금은 피를 나눈 자매이상으로 우의를 돈독히 하면서 장래를 꿈꾸고 있는 가족아닌 가족으로 살아가고 있어 화제다.
"양념같은 자매들"이라는 별명까지 부쳐져 있는 이들 양녀들은 양부모님들의 노력으로 매년 재회하여 우의를 다지고 있다. 이것이 바로 우리 인간들이 살아가는 삶의 목적중 하나가 아닐까.
지금 미국과 중국은 무역전쟁으로 정치적으로는 세계강대국간의 총성없는 전쟁을 앉아서 보고 있어야만 하는 민감한 시대에 살면서, 괜히 죄없는 일반 국민들은 그전쟁의 값을 치르고 있는 형국이다. 이들이 다 자라서 사회생활을 할때는, 이러한 이념전쟁이 지구상에서 사라졌으면 하는 마음이다.
실로 내일은 또 어떤날이 계속될지 안개속같은 나날의 생활에서, 이들의 천진난만한 웃음꽃 피우는 얼굴을 보면서, 불과 몇년전만 해도 조국 대한민국에서도 가난함 때문에, 사회의 따가운 눈초리 때문에, 이러한 가슴아픈 피붙이들의 헤여짐이 흔했었는데, 삶의 여건이 비교가 안될정도로 좋아진 지금은 향락을 즐기기에 바빠, 후손들을 생산하지 않는 오명을 쓴 나라로 전락하여 전체적으로 인구가 줄어들고 있다는 망국적 슬픈 고국소식에 급변하는 세상살이에, 황혼을 살아가는 많은 노령인구들의 삶의 질은 어떻게 변할것이며, 의미있는 삶을 마칠수 있을 것인가를 생각해 본다. "풍요속의 빈곤"이라는 말뜻을 조금 이해할것 같다.
9자매의 앞날에도 그녀들을 지구의 반대편에 있는 나라까지 찾아가 양녀로 삼은 부모님들과 함께 지금처럼 환하게 웃으면서 오손도손 삶의 밝은 빛만 볼수 있었으면 하는 마음이다.
Nine 11-year-old girls pose for a photo, grinning from ear-to-ear. In other photos, they are embracing one another; sometimes, they're wearing matching outfits.
“They’re like my sisters, and we can really relate to each other,” Charlotte Emanoff, one of the girls, said. “I love them so much."
All nine girls were adopted by different American families in 2007 from the same orphanage in Chenzhou, Hunan, a southern province in China. But despite living in different cities across the U.S., their friendship has endured. They even call themselves the “Spicy Sisters” because of their birthplace — the nickname pays tribute to the spicy cuisine serviced in Chenzhou.
Since they were infants, the girls and their families have reunited annually. Missouri resident Debora Bell, one of the parents of one of the Spicy Sisters, explained that she and her husband viewed adopting from China as an opportunity.
“We knew that because of the cultural values in China, there were so many girls in need of homes,” Bell said. According to recent data from the U.S. State Department, the number of male versus female adoptees from China has evened out, compared to a decade ago when the vast majority of adoptees from China were female (84.8 percent in 2007).
The Bells and eight other families adopted through the Great Wall Adoption Agency in Austin, Texas. They all turned in their paperwork and received their referrals — photographs and biographical information of their daughters — at the same time. The agency organized a mandatory two-week trip to China for the families to pick up their daughters, and the parents were introduced via email.
As they traveled through China together, Bell said the group of nine families began to feel like one. “We talked a lot about the fact that these girls had spent their first year together. Even though they were babies, they were family,” she said.
Their connection, though already unique, may become even rarer as international adoptions from China have declined over the past decade.
The first reunion happened a year after returning to the States between the Emanoffs, who are located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and the Franquis of San Diego, California. They decided the entire group should meet up, and the next year, the girls and their new families had their first reunion.
Ed Franqui said they didn’t plan for the reunions to be annual at first.
But after the success of the first gathering, the group hoped to take
trips together every year.
Since then, the families have reunited all over the country, from San Diego to St. Louis to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Though most years not every family can make the trip, they try to choose places close to one of the family’s home.
In 2017, six of the nine families returned to Chenzhou, China, for a heritage trip — a trip Maggie Richards, one of the girls, said was her favorite "Spicy Sisters" adventure.
"It's our home, too," Richards said.
Maggie's mother, Emily, said that she felt it was important for the girls to remain connected to each other because they have a commonality that only one another can truly understand, adding that the girls are Maggie’s “greatest connection to where she comes from.”
“We wanted to keep those bonds," Emily Richards said. "These girls really are her sisters, and we wanted to keep those ties strong."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/staying-connected-why-these-nine-adoptees-china-reunite-annually-n890626
아래의 소녀들은 2007년도에 중국본토의 남쪽 지방, Chenzhou, Hunan성의 한 고아원에 버려졌었던 귀여운 아가씨들이었었다. 지금은 11세의 제법 처녀티가 나는 발랄한, 밝은 모습으로 성장하고 있다.
이들이 유난히 더 돋보이는것은, 미국의 넓은 땅덩이의 이곳 저곳에 흩어져 살고 있지만, 매년 이들은 그들을 입양 시켜준 부모님들의 보살핌 속에서 재회를 하고,살아온 세월의 얘기들을 나누면서, 지금은 피를 나눈 자매이상으로 우의를 돈독히 하면서 장래를 꿈꾸고 있는 가족아닌 가족으로 살아가고 있어 화제다.
"양념같은 자매들"이라는 별명까지 부쳐져 있는 이들 양녀들은 양부모님들의 노력으로 매년 재회하여 우의를 다지고 있다. 이것이 바로 우리 인간들이 살아가는 삶의 목적중 하나가 아닐까.
지금 미국과 중국은 무역전쟁으로 정치적으로는 세계강대국간의 총성없는 전쟁을 앉아서 보고 있어야만 하는 민감한 시대에 살면서, 괜히 죄없는 일반 국민들은 그전쟁의 값을 치르고 있는 형국이다. 이들이 다 자라서 사회생활을 할때는, 이러한 이념전쟁이 지구상에서 사라졌으면 하는 마음이다.
실로 내일은 또 어떤날이 계속될지 안개속같은 나날의 생활에서, 이들의 천진난만한 웃음꽃 피우는 얼굴을 보면서, 불과 몇년전만 해도 조국 대한민국에서도 가난함 때문에, 사회의 따가운 눈초리 때문에, 이러한 가슴아픈 피붙이들의 헤여짐이 흔했었는데, 삶의 여건이 비교가 안될정도로 좋아진 지금은 향락을 즐기기에 바빠, 후손들을 생산하지 않는 오명을 쓴 나라로 전락하여 전체적으로 인구가 줄어들고 있다는 망국적 슬픈 고국소식에 급변하는 세상살이에, 황혼을 살아가는 많은 노령인구들의 삶의 질은 어떻게 변할것이며, 의미있는 삶을 마칠수 있을 것인가를 생각해 본다. "풍요속의 빈곤"이라는 말뜻을 조금 이해할것 같다.
9자매의 앞날에도 그녀들을 지구의 반대편에 있는 나라까지 찾아가 양녀로 삼은 부모님들과 함께 지금처럼 환하게 웃으면서 오손도손 삶의 밝은 빛만 볼수 있었으면 하는 마음이다.
Nine 11-year-old girls pose for a photo, grinning from ear-to-ear. In other photos, they are embracing one another; sometimes, they're wearing matching outfits.
“They’re like my sisters, and we can really relate to each other,” Charlotte Emanoff, one of the girls, said. “I love them so much."
All nine girls were adopted by different American families in 2007 from the same orphanage in Chenzhou, Hunan, a southern province in China. But despite living in different cities across the U.S., their friendship has endured. They even call themselves the “Spicy Sisters” because of their birthplace — the nickname pays tribute to the spicy cuisine serviced in Chenzhou.
Since they were infants, the girls and their families have reunited annually. Missouri resident Debora Bell, one of the parents of one of the Spicy Sisters, explained that she and her husband viewed adopting from China as an opportunity.
“We knew that because of the cultural values in China, there were so many girls in need of homes,” Bell said. According to recent data from the U.S. State Department, the number of male versus female adoptees from China has evened out, compared to a decade ago when the vast majority of adoptees from China were female (84.8 percent in 2007).
The Bells and eight other families adopted through the Great Wall Adoption Agency in Austin, Texas. They all turned in their paperwork and received their referrals — photographs and biographical information of their daughters — at the same time. The agency organized a mandatory two-week trip to China for the families to pick up their daughters, and the parents were introduced via email.
As they traveled through China together, Bell said the group of nine families began to feel like one. “We talked a lot about the fact that these girls had spent their first year together. Even though they were babies, they were family,” she said.
Their connection, though already unique, may become even rarer as international adoptions from China have declined over the past decade.
The first reunion happened a year after returning to the States between the Emanoffs, who are located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and the Franquis of San Diego, California. They decided the entire group should meet up, and the next year, the girls and their new families had their first reunion.
Since then, the families have reunited all over the country, from San Diego to St. Louis to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Though most years not every family can make the trip, they try to choose places close to one of the family’s home.
In 2017, six of the nine families returned to Chenzhou, China, for a heritage trip — a trip Maggie Richards, one of the girls, said was her favorite "Spicy Sisters" adventure.
"It's our home, too," Richards said.
Maggie's mother, Emily, said that she felt it was important for the girls to remain connected to each other because they have a commonality that only one another can truly understand, adding that the girls are Maggie’s “greatest connection to where she comes from.”
“We wanted to keep those bonds," Emily Richards said. "These girls really are her sisters, and we wanted to keep those ties strong."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/staying-connected-why-these-nine-adoptees-china-reunite-annually-n890626
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