At least 80,000 women lost their children to adoption in NSW Australia
from the 1950's to the 1980's
-
My name is Lina. I was one of those women.
"Clayton's Mother" (mixed media on board)
(sold, prints available)
(In Aussie slang, to use the expression "Clayton's" to describe anything,
is to suggest it is not the genuine article)
BITTER WINDS
(1989 I wrote this song for my daughter, a year before we met)
Once there was a young girl, she was crying for her love
He’d left her when the bitter winds did blow
He left her with a promise, he left her with a song,
He left her with a baby in her womb.
The winds did blow, the winds did blow, oh, how the bitter winds did blow.
The babe was born in sorrow, the babe was born in fear,
They treated the young girl with hate and scorn.
Her crime to love too early, her fate to be alone,
They made her wish that she had not been born.
The winds did blow, the winds did blow, oh, how the bitter winds did blow.
They pushed her to give up the child, they said she wasn’t fit
To raise a child when she was one herself.
They cited all the reasons, yes, they made her feel the guilt,
She signed the papers with a broken heart.
The winds did blow, the winds did blow, oh, how the bitter winds did blow.
This happened in the sixties, but still I can’t forget
The one time that I saw my baby girl
The man I thought I loved, well, for him I’ve no regrets
But I’ve ached to hold my daughter in my arms
The winds did blow, the winds did blow, oh, how the bitter winds did blow.
Now she is a woman, she might have babies of her own,
She may never know from whence she came.
I only gave her life, I only sent her prayers,
She may never know how much I cared
The winds did blow, the winds did blow,
Oh, the bitter winds did blow, Oh, how those bitter winds did blow.
copyright:Lina Eve
To buy the CD, "BAD GIRL"
featuring the song "Bitter Winds"
email me at: linaeve@austarnet.com.au
(mixed media on canvas)
I was told that if I loved my child I would surrender her to adoption. I was told that there was a lovely couple who could give her so much that I never could, and that it was selfish of me to even imagine I could keep her. I was made to feel worthless as a person and a mother, and having no options, I signed the adoption papers. The trauma of losing my daughter to adoption, has life long repercussions and has made mothering my other children difficult. The daughter I lost to adoption has had everything that money can buy, but she was never happy and her adoption issues have scarred her deeply. She tells me that if I really loved her I would never have given her up for adoption, and she doesn’t believe there were no other options. Its a no win situation.
“Filius Nullius”
acrylic on canvas
In the earliest days of English law, poor little “Filius Nullius” Son of Nobody, had no claims on anyone and belonged nowhere. He had no rights of inheritance or rights of support at all....all because his mother was unmarried. These laws have now changed, but an illegitimate child’s right of maintenance by its father is still meaningless, if the father can’t be located.
"Baby for Adoption"
(mixed media on canvas)
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