{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.015982951518380393, 'fraction_numerical': 0.009057005860415556, 'mean_word_length': 5.1172638436482085, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Should international adoption be part of humanitarian aid efforts? Lessons from Haiti.

On January 12, 2010 a massive earthquake struck the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, leaving much of the capital and surrounding towns in ruins. Strangers to Haiti know it for its crushing poverty and history of political and economic turmoil and failure. Those who know Haiti know the indomitable spirit, creativity, and sheer will of its people – in this, Haiti is one of the richest cultures in the world. The earthquake not only took an estimated 230,000 lives and left more than a million Haitians homeless, but the aftermath threatens to break the spirit of its people. Many of the country’s smallest victims continue to suffer and wait for a family reunion that may never come; as many as 50,000 children may have been separated from, or lost, their parents. Child victims of humanitarian crises galvanize human empathy and resolve like nothing else. The plight of Haitian orphans has led some to call for expediting international adoptions, or immediately airlifting orphans to the USA as part of the relief effort. In fact the origins of international adoption stem from a humanitarian response to children orphaned in World War II. Yet most international humanitarian aid organizations recommend against international adoption or the transfer of children out of the country in natural disaster or political conflict. This shared policy reflects the central principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and more recently, the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption, which place highest priority on securing the immediate safety and survival of the child in the affected country and preserving family integrity through reunification in country. There are generally three ethical appeals implicit in policies on international adoption and disaster relief: