Tuesday, April 13, 2010

How Wrong Was it?

Torry Ann Hansen from Tennessee adopted 7-year-old Artyom Savelyev from a Russian orphanage six months ago. According to Ms. Hansen, the child had emotional problems and violent tendencies and became more than she could handle. Among other things, she said the boy threatened to burn down the Hansen home with the family inside. And mom's solution to the problem? Why, she contacted the adoption agency and requested whatever immediate help they might be able to provide. Not! No, she put the child, unaccompanied, on a plane back to Russia with a note to whomever he might encounter in the Russian airport explaining who he was and why he was there.

We've all heard of children adopted from foreign orphanages who are suffering from all manner of emotional problems, detachment disorder, violent acting out, even full-blown psychoses. But I've never heard of an adoptive mother handling the situation like this. Have you? I mean, this is not a disobedient puppy that you take to the SPCA when it pees the floor for the hundredth time. It's a real, live child.

Whatever Ms. Hansen's intentions were, she has created an international incident. She has apparently broken no U.S. laws, however, and does not at this time face prosecution for any criminal charges. Personally, I find her actions morally reprehensible and can't believe it's not legally wrong.

What do you think? Did she commit a crime? Should she be prosecuted for, at the very least, some type of child abuse? On a scale of 1 to 10, how wrong do you think this was?

8 comments:

NYD said...

Simply put: She's a piece of shit.

The reason that this world is so golldarned fucked up is that people don't care enough to go the extra mile.

We need to do a little more, care a little more and ask for help from our neighbors just a little bit more...

Life ain't easy.

Anonymous said...

i have my own
detachment disorder,
violent acting out,
and
full-blown psychoses to deal with,
and no time to spare to judge others

but i do think that all extremists should be killed...

well, see what i mean?

HAPPY PENDING HUMP DAY, SERENA JOY!

× × ×

/t.

G-Man said...

She should be put on a plane to Saudi Arabia with a note attached..
"Free to good home. Vaccinated. Neutered. Small health issue, she has No Heart!"

Marion said...

As one who has dealt with a mentally ill foster child many years ago, I feel for the woman. Sociopath's are scary, very scary. I can see her returning a sociopathic kid to Russia, but not all alone. She should have taken him back herself or sent a relative with him. In a sense, they are both victims of a fucked-up system in Russia. xoxo

puerileuwaite said...

If it helps in some small way with our trade imbalance, then I am all for it.

Serena said...

NYD, Dude! It's so good to see you out and about. I SO agree with your last two sentences. There's gotta be a better way...

Well, maybe not ALL extremists, /t. I do, after all, have my moments. But for today, we're simply going to contemplate a pleasingly Happy Hump Day.;)

That could be a viable solution, Galen. She sure could use more heart, that's for sure.:)

I have no doubt she was at wit's end, Marion. It had to be bad for her to have gone to such extremes. I do think she should have turned the little boy over to someone here in the States rather than put him on a plane all alone. Eventually, I guess we'll hear her side of it.:)

I'm unbalanced all the time, Pugsley, but please don't put me on a plane bound for Russia!

rkfinnell said...

As an adopted child myself I grew up knowing my mother thought I would do something wrong one day simply because I was adopted. A bad seed,so to speak. A lot of people used to think that way.

Serena said...

Yikes, Roxan. That's a heavy burden for any child (of any age) to carry.