http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/18/1097951631788.html?oneclick=true

What's in a name? It's all a question of heritage
By Michael Pelly
October 19, 2004


A Sydney couple who adopted a son from South Korea have been blocked from
changing his name, in a decision that a judge said left him with "some unease".

The case is the first such rejection under a new law that stops parents
changing a birth name, on the grounds that it is a core part of a child's
identity.

However, the couple say their chosen name was also Korean and they applied for
the switch because the original - which they wanted to make his second name -
was difficult to pronounce and might lead to him being picked on.

The father said they had gone from deep anger to acceptance since the ruling
last week.

"He is known to us and everyone as [X], so a piece of paper is not going to
change that."

The mother also questioned the law's practicality, because a name can be
changed by deed poll for $80 after a court approves an adoption.

"We wanted to give him a Korean name. And we are going to great lengths to
bring it [Korean culture] into our home."

Last weekend they joined other families with Korean born children at a camp in
Galston.

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The organiser of the camp, Jane Taggart, said naming was a "very hot issue".
Like many others, both her Korean adopted children have English first names and
Korean middle names. "We want them to be proud of their Korean heritage and
identity and, on the other hand, we want them to be proud Australians."

In Australia about 100 babies are adopted from Korea every year, with NSW
taking 24 last financial year.

In most cases, adoptions are finalised outside Australia, but those from Korea
must go through a court here. When the couple lodged their papers with the NSW
Supreme Court, the Department of Community Services argued that special reasons
did not exist to warrant a name change.

Justice Reg Barrett said he could not approve the adoption orders for the boy,
in their care since he was five months old and now 25 months. However, he said
the couple could amend their application. He did not accept the original name
would cause distress and that in "contemporary Australia" it would be wrong to
assume people would not know how to pronounce the name.

"The Sydney telephone directory contains more than six pages of entries for the
family name 'Nguyen', a name I venture to say is mispronounced, from a
Vietnamese perspective, by many (probably most) Australians who have no
knowledge of the Vietnamese language."

He said Australia had made commitments to other countries, and the law tied his
hands.

"[It] leaves me with some unease, based on a general feeling that adopting
parents of a child placed with them at the age of five months should not be in
any different position from the natural parents of a newborn baby when it comes
to the matter of choosing names for their child."

Mrs Taggart agreed.

"My children have not suffered having both names."



-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown

Our family has just come back from the culture camp mentioned in this
article. IMO this NSW law is nonsensical. It forbids parents from
giving their adopted infant a new name, even if the name the parents
choose is from their child's birth culture and is more meaningful
than the name selected by a social worker.

Instead of making it compulsory to retain the name, they should
concentrate on helping parents understand the importance of
establishing and maintaining connections with their child's birth
culture - as this family are already demonstrating. My son uses both
his Aussie name and his Korean birth name, as do the overwhelming
majority of Korean children here with Korean parents. On the other
hand some countries, such as China, have adoption processes that are
completed in those countries, and Aussie adoptive parents going to
those countries can ask the Chinese court to approve any name they
wish.

Julia


On 18 Oct 2004 14:46:53 GMT, lilmtncbn@aol.com (LilMtnCbn) wrote:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/18/1097951631788.html?oneclick=trueWhat's in a name? It's all a question of heritageBy Michael PellyOctober 19, 2004A Sydney couple who adopted a son from South Korea have been blocked fromchanging his name, in a decision that a judge said left him with "some unease".The case is the first such rejection under a new law that stops parentschanging a birth name, on the grounds that it is a core part of a child'sidentity.However, the couple say their chosen name was also Korean and they applied forthe switch because the original - which they wanted to make his second name -was difficult to pronounce and might lead to him being picked on.The father said they had gone from deep anger to acceptance since the rulinglast week."He is known to us and everyone as [X], so a piece of paper is not going tochange that."The mother also questioned the law's practicality, because a name can bechanged by deed poll for $80 after a court approves an adoption."We wanted to give him a Korean name. And we are going to great lengths tobring it [Korean culture] into our home."Last weekend they joined other families with Korean born children at a camp inGalston.Advertisement Advertisement The organiser of the camp, Jane Taggart, said naming was a "very hot issue".Like many others, both her Korean adopted children have English first names andKorean middle names. "We want them to be proud of their Korean heritage andidentity and, on the other hand, we want them to be proud Australians."In Australia about 100 babies are adopted from Korea every year, with NSWtaking 24 last financial year.In most cases, adoptions are finalised outside Australia, but those from Koreamust go through a court here. When the couple lodged their papers with the NSWSupreme Court, the Department of Community Services argued that special reasonsdid not exist to warrant a name change.Justice Reg Barrett said he could not approve the adoption orders for the boy,in their care since he was five months old and now 25 months. However, he saidthe couple could amend their application. He did not accept the original namewould cause distress and that in "contemporary Australia" it would be wrong toassume people would not know how to pronounce the name."The Sydney telephone directory contains more than six pages of entries for thefamily name 'Nguyen', a name I venture to say is mispronounced, from aVietnamese perspective, by many (probably most) Australians who have noknowledge of the Vietnamese language."He said Australia had made commitments to other countries, and the law tied hishands."[It] leaves me with some unease, based on a general feeling that adoptingparents of a child placed with them at the age of five months should not be inany different position from the natural parents of a newborn baby when it comesto the matter of choosing names for their child."Mrs Taggart agreed."My children have not suffered having both names."-------------------------A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend willbe sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"-----Unknown