It was heart rendering for me as I walked up the steps of Parliament house and I noticed the mothers all greeting each other like old friends and mean while around the periphery, mostly alone, searching with that bewildered, hyper-vigilant gaze we depend upon, were my fellow adoptees. We were mostly strangers to each other, searching for kindred spirits. The reason for this difference I saw between the two groups was created because the state government here in South Australia has never funded any services for adoptees to become a cohesive group or have access to counseling. In contrast the state has provided funding for the mothers for nearly 20 years now.
So as the day progressed ...I met dozens of fellow adoptees, including 3 women like myself who were both adoptee and mothers. At stumps , I found myself among a group of 6 fellow adoptees. We had all found each other and were immediately relaxed in each others company and busy swapping contacts and laughing and sharing our stories and feelings. We were a mixed lot to look at. We ranged from fair haired, blue eyes, fair skin to very dark skin........ And as the darkest among us said....I am so sick of being in the middle....that lot won't accept me because I am too white and got a private school education and that other lot won't accept me because I'm black.....our little tribe had found each other amongst the thousands of people present....We are the 'products' of Australia's very thorough Eugenics experiments.
