At the age of 5, while most kids were
outside with chalk on their driveways or
riding their scooters around the neighborhood,
freshman Nina Givotovsky only
enjoyed these activities in her dreams.
Nina, along with her two younger
brothers, were born in Russia where she
was brought up in an orphanage.
“Everything at the orphanage was
everyones,” Givotovsky said. “You didn’t
own anything — toys, clothes, even a
toothbrush.”
Nina’s daily life in Russia was strict
and unbearable at times.
“You have to wake up at [a] certain
time, and you could only go to the bathroom
at certain times — not when you
wanted to,” Givotovsky said. “You had to
clean up every last crumb after you ate or
else you would be punished. You would
eat mostly soups every day with just beats
and bologna. The only thing we’d drink
was tea with sugar. There were no veggies
except beets.”
Nina is one of more than 60,000 Russian
children who have been welcomed
into American homes. But future adoptions
of Russian children to U.S. couples
have been stopped. In January, Russia
banned adoptions between Russia and
the United States.
“I find it absolutely terrible,” Givotovsky
said. “Kids won’t be able to have
homes they deserve. Nothing good can
come out of it.”
At the age of 5, Nina was adopted
along with her 3-year-old brother Alex.
“Most kids were adopted when they
were infants or small, small children,”
Givotovsky said. “It was very, very rare to
get adopted from age 2 on.”
The siblings were fortunate to come
to America with each other. Years prior,
their youngest sibling was adopted to
another family. They don’t know where
he is now.
Adoptive parents Laura Givotovsky
and her late husband started the adoption
a year and half before stepping foot
inside the orphanage.
“We had to be home studied, have
a medical examination, fingerprints,
extensive background checks, countless
court hearings, and it was a 14-hour
plane ride from America to Russia,” Laura
Givotovsky said.
In the process of the home study,
their home and everything involved
in their day-to-day life was examined.
Though the adoption process was
lengthy, it was worth it to the Givotovsky
family.
“The one good thing about the orphanage
was we got to say yes or no if we
wanted to be adopted,” Givotovsky said.
“I don’t really remember me saying ‘yes,’
but I know I must’ve.”
Nina worries about the children still
in Russian orphanages. According to
UNICEF, more than 740,000 children
in Russia are without parental care. For
many Americans, the adoption ban is
seen as retaliation against an American
law targeting human rights abuses.
“A lot of the adoptions were from
Americans, and now closing off the adoptions,
kids are just going to get older and
will be completely unwanted by families,”
Givotovsky said. “Once you turned 18,
you were completely kicked out of the orphanage.
You have no money, no belongings
and no family. You were completely
on your own after that point.”
Nina and her family have not visited
Russia since they left 10 years ago. Now,
with the ban, they won’t be visiting anytime
soon. Thankfully, she calls America
her home now.
“I love to read and have a book all to
myself and having my own clothes,” Givotovsky
said. “The fact I can be anything I
want to be [in America] is pretty cool.”