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44 years ago, the American military initiated "Operation Babylift" in Vietnam. As the war was ending, thousands of babies were rounded up and later given up for adoption. At the time, they claimed the children were orphans, but it turned out many were not.
In fact, many mothers were told they would reunite in America, but this never happened. The first flight out of Vietnam with Operation Babylift crashed soon after takeoff. "Operation Babylift" serves as yet another example of power exerting itself through the severing of families
(see also The Stolen Generation, Operation Pedro Pan, the Sixties Scoop, American slavery, I could go on). We see this horrifying practice persist to this day as children continue to be separated from their families at the US/Mexico border.
This poem is written in solidarity with my fellow adoptees as we mourn and reckon with the trauma of such separations. Thanks to @kwelijournal for giving it a home (& to @freedewi for encouraging me to submit!).
kwelijournal.org/poetry-1/2019/…
kwelijournal.org/poetry-1/2019/…
