im-not-too-j
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im-not-too-j37 karma
My uncle and aunt adopted a child from an Eastern European orphanage when she was 4 or 5. Almost since birth she had been so malnourished and neglected (lying in a crib 24-7 in a room with lots of other children in their cribs and no one to give them attention beyond the bare minimum) that she was developmentally damaged. They adopted her because they were too old to be eligible to adopt a normal child, and they raised her with a lot of love. She learned the new language, but she never caught up with her peers socially, and now that she is in her 20s she lives in a (very nice) facility for adults who function well enough to have their own little apartment and relationships and work a little, but who still require a caretaker overseeing their lives and helping them out with stuff. My aunt and uncle still see her several times a week, but they are secure in the knowledge that she will be well taken care of when they are gone.
The point of telling my cousin's story is: How in the world did you manage to develop as normally as you did? You seem miraculously whole for what you've been through.
im-not-too-j32 karma
"I would like to think I wouldn't have done that, but frankly, I don't have any clue how I would have turned out if I hadn't gotten out of that place."
Yes, none of us can say what we would have done unless we've been there ourselves.
Thank you for the AMA!
im-not-too-j32 karma
This just became more difficult to read...
Did you witness sexual abuse of the girls at the orphanage?
im-not-too-j230 karma
Do you see any signs that having survived Utoya is helping someone's political career? Like it gives them extra publicity and / or respect because of it?
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