From Russia With Love

Unpleasant happenings always seem worse during the festive period.

Having followed other friends' year abroad blogs, I have begun to have some understanding of how the world works in other countries, and one of those is Russia. In Russia, I learnt, they do not celebrate Christmas, and perhaps it is for this reason that their concept of timing seems off to us, but to them would not be a problem.

What on earth am I talking about?

On 27th December the Russian government announced plans to ban US citizens from adopting Russian children, a commodity of which they appear to have many, and a country from which the Americans adopt many. Sitting at home in our comfortable living rooms in front of the television, with this story being broadcast on the news, we could not help but feel for the orphaned or abandoned children this concerned at this time of year, when I cannot even begin to imagine the temperatures across that massive expanse of land in the north of the Northern Hemisphere.

Now of course this Russian bill did not come from nowhere; it is a reaction to another piece of legislation passed by the US Congress imposing financial and travel restrictions on those in the Russian population who abuse people's human rights, an act called the Magnitsky Act.

So not only is the timing of the Russian announcement deplorable, but the idea that this, with other things, is considered appropriate retaliation is disgusting. For the small percentage of their population which abuses human rights, children are losing out on homes. Some of them have disabilities, some are without parents or any form of family. Alone in the world. There is disappointment and sadness too to be felt for the people who had made such connections with children to have it snatched from them and are left unable to help.

When did it become acceptable for governments to play with the lives of children in such despicable ways? It is and it always has been a governmental responsibility to run the country for the best of all its citizens, so if it cannot look after its own children in a proper way, why does it have the right to stop other people from trying to do so? This action is petty and childish and has a better place in the playground.