The Tale of Pax Thien Jolie

TIME Magazine recently published an article telling the tale of the young boy who the world now knows as Pax Thien Jolie. According to TIME, Pax was abandoned as a newborn, "His mother gave birth and left immediately," Nguyen Van Trung, director of the orphanage. Signs were posted for 30 days trying to find the woman but no one turned up, so Pax was sent to the orphanage and a police report was made (standard practice in Vietnam). When Angelina Jolie applied to Vietnam through an agency asking for a healthy boy between ages 3 and 5, Pax happened to be the only one at Tam Binh orphanage who met the criteria. There were 31 other boys the same age, but all of them had relatives or were not healthy.  Nguyen said,

Only Sang (Pax’s name in the orphanage) met the set criteria for adoption in general and her request, [Angelina] was lucky at the time she applied that there was this boy who met the request and criteria.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s national adoption director says that he prepared 10 other boys, including those at other orphanages, in response to Angelina’s original application and criteria. Pax will definitely be missed at the orphanage, most by his caretaker Ms. Tuyen. She commented on how Pax will be thought about, remembered and missed:

He was here, and now he’s gone, I’m very happy for him. I miss him and so I am sad — but we have other children to take care of. Everyone is sad since he’s left. We have mixed feelings — happy, proud of him, missing him. He’s very clever and I hope he has a good life. We just hope he will return to visit us. But we don’t know.

For now, Tuyen, and everyone else at the orphanage will be getting regular updates on the boy they grew to love and his new high profile life.  The orphanage director said:

She is required to send a report every six months updating us about his health, mental development, hobbies — and a photo. It’s required for the first three years. After three years, it’s not required because we can see if the kids are being taken care of for the first three years so we can be assured they are in the good home.

After Angelina’s original visit to the orphanage in Novemeber and her visit most recently to pick up Pax, orphanage workers agree she will make a good mother for Pax and he will have a good future in America: "I think she’ll be a good mother to him, she already has the experience," said Ho Thi Kim Thoa.

Source: TIME

Thanks to CBB reader Maya.

Comments

Thalia on March 24th, 2007

I like articles like this. Ones that stick to the facts and that is that. I like the 3 year follow up rule that they have. That shows an investment into the future wellbeings of the children

AnLoc on March 24th, 2007

I am so happy for Pax Thien, I hope he will have a great future in America. Besides learning English, his mother now Jolie should think about having him learns to write and speak Vietnamese. Vietnam is a beautiful country and the Vietnamese people are very friendly, Jolie is now a great person in the eyes of the Vietnamese people, not just because of how famous she is but because of how she loves and adopted Pax Thien. I am a native born Vietnamese living in America, I would like to thank Jolie and everyone that supported her for the adoption. Jolie should bring Pax Thien back to visit Vietnam once in every 2-3 years, tell him the story of his life, the orpanage where he used to live and the great people there that love and care for him. Having more than one cultures embedded in a person benefits that person in many ways, Pax Thien should learn both the American and Vietnamese cultures and I am sure he will grow up to be a great person, a bridge between America and Vietnam that once was torned by an unnecessary war.

L on March 24th, 2007

The only thing that saddens me is that someone with such wealth wouldn’t seek the unhealthy child who, otherwise, has little to no chance.

Rachel on March 24th, 2007

I agree with Thalia that articles that stick to the facts are wonderful and parts of this article were truly touching. I liked that they included how loved Pax was at his orphanage and how much he will be missed and I too love the follow-up that they do…

But I must say that I HATE when anyone shares details of an adopted child’s story (meaning what happened with their birth parents and such) publicly. THAT part is Pax’s story and in my honest opinion only he should be allowed to share that with the public. I mean he shouldn’t have to grow up and read that on the internet… it’s just not something to make public.

Grace on March 24th, 2007

L: Raising a child with health problems takes more than just money. It creates an emotional drain on not just the parents but the whole family, and therefore I don’t think a person should feel obligated to adopt an unhealthy child just because they have money. And I’m saying that as person who has suffered from chronic illnesses since childhood and as a former nanny who has worked with several different families who have had children with health problems. I worked for families that had a great deal of money and resources at their disposal, and well as me working for them full-time to help ease the strain – and it still took a huge toll on the parents and the other siblings.

If a person thinks adopting a child with a health problem is so important then they should go out and adopt one instead of pointing the finger at other people and telling them they should.

It seems to me that no matter what this family does it will be considered wrong. When they were adopting just babies there was an outcry of people saying they should adopt a child who is older, and then they did that and now it’s “they should adopt an unhealthy child” or “they should adopt a child from America” and something tells me if they adopted an unhealthy or American child they would be criticized for that too.

Grace on March 24th, 2007

Rachel: I agree. The story about the beginning of Pax’s life should be kept private. There are parts of that story that could be really hard for Pax to find out about one day and it would be so much easier to find out about it from people who love him – instead of from the media.

It’s really getting on my nerves to see the way certain parts of the press have no respect for the well-being of a young child.

Rachel on March 24th, 2007

And I totally agree with you Grace. I respect and admire anyone who is willing to adopt children who have health problems. It really takes a lot of work and effort, is often expensive and is not something to be taken lightly at all (though that’s not saying adoption in general should be taken lightly) it’s just a much more difficult and takes a serious commitment.
A couple that isn’t fully prepared to deal with a child who needs the sort of attention it takes, or one that just isn’t prepared for personal reasons should not adopt a special needs child period.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Brad and Angelina only adopting healthy children. They have a lot of money (and they donate a lot of money), but like any other couple I’m sure they have their reasons for only feeling like a child who is healthy at this time could fit into their lifestyle.

maureen on March 25th, 2007

No one should feel obligated to adopt a sick child. Who knows what went into their decision? Adopting a child is a huge commitment and adopting an ill child can make the first few months that much harder. Maybe they knew they had full shooting schedules coming up and didn’t want to put a sick child through all that travel and instability. It’s really not our place to judge them.

Plus, wasn’t Zahara very sick when Angelina (and Brad) adopted her? It’s certainly easy to understand that if you’ve been through one serious illness and hospital stay with a new child you wouldn’t want to repeat the expirience.

sandy on March 25th, 2007

I think the desire for a healthy child has alot to do with the amount of traveling they do. Not to mention the fact this is their 4th child, all of them 5 and under. Adding in a child that is disabled or seriously ill would become emotionally dificlut for every one in the family, including the newly adopted child.