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Mary Bowers

@eatbemary.bsky.social
409 followers 493 following 335 posts

I built the infrastructure. Now I advocate for the people crossing through it. 🎬 Directing my first documentary. 🇰🇷🇺🇸 Competitive Eater, Alumni. 🦑 Squid Game: The Challenge. marybowers.carrd.co

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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
I arrived in the US at 5 mo old, with a piece of fabric as my only possession. Decades later, I carried that flag with me at the Nathan's Famous Hotdog Eating Contest on the 4th of July. Through heartache and hotdogs, I'm finally living my American Dream 🇰🇷🌭🇺🇸 www.eatbemary.com/journal/nath...
eatbemary.com
Nathan's Famous, July 4th, and the Three Wishes That Changed My Life — Eat Be Mary
Former competitive eater Mary Bowers carried the Korean flag at the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2023 — and found her brother through a DNA test one month later. A story about adoption, i...
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Human babies should not be separated from their mothers at birth. Do first mothers even know this is happening to them when their baby is immediately taken? 🥚 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Breastfeeding or nipple stimulation for reducing postpartum haemorrhage in the third stage of labour
Oxytocin and prostaglandin are hormones responsible for uterine contraction during the third stage of labour. Receptors in the uterine muscles are stimulated by exogenous or endogenous oxytocin leadin...
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Dr. Sandra Steingraber 🏳️‍🌈 @ssteingraber1.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
🥚 Framed as happy, this story has details that speak to the inherent cruelty of plenary adoption. No one told her she was adopted until age 7. When her adoptive parents died their bio kids rejected her. Her bio dad has to adopt her to get his name on her birth certificate apple.news/A3a0qYtJHSf-...
apple.news
For years, he didn’t know he had a daughter. At 66, he adopted her. — The Washington Post
Jennifer Skiles said hearing her father’s voice for the first time “felt like home.” Four years later, their emotional bond is now a legal one.
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Adoptees have been telling you. Forced confinement is not a "forever home." Telling the truth does not make one mentally ill. It exposes systemic sickness that needs to be treated. 🥚
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
My brother is living proof that I come from somewhere, and we are not alone in this world. #adoption 🥚 www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/...
channelnewsasia.com
Lies were told about who they were. Now these South Korean ‘orphans’ are reclaiming their truth
A system built on demand and stigma sent more than 200,000 Korean children overseas. CNA’s One “Orphan” Every Hour follows adoptees as they retrace fragmented pasts, find lost siblings and uncover lon...
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Tony Corsentino @notalegalrecord.net · 07/03/2026
if you don’t like the idea that #adoptees are treated as other people’s property—despite there being a $34 billion market in children—then maybe we can agree that adoptees’ legal identities are other people’s property. “I want a child to call my own.” OK, here’s a piece of paper that proves it
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Anxious Rage @anxiousrage.blacksky.app · 03/03/2026
🚨URGENT THING: If you live in VA, please send an email TODAY to senators who voted yes today. We hopefully just need one more push to get this done. It will be heard again tomorrow Template and contacts below HB 301 will give VA-born adopted people the right to access their original birth certs.
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Looking forward to watching movies and wearing my favorite shoes in peace 🇰🇷
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
“입양이라는 인신매매, 수령국 자료 확인하면 입체적 조사될 것” "Human trafficking through adoption will be investigated in detail if data from the recipient country is verified." n.news.naver.com/mnews/articl...
n.news.naver.com
“입양이라는 인신매매, 수령국 자료 확인하면 입체적 조사될 것” [안녕 진화위⑱]
‘안녕’은 작별이자 환영의 인사다. 5년간 과거사 조사기구로 활동해온 2기 진실·화해를위한과거사정리위원회(진실화해위 또는 진화위)가 지난해 11월26일 역사 속으로 사라지고, 오는 2월26일 제3기 진실화해위가 출범
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Tony Corsentino @notalegalrecord.net · 07/02/2026
The National Council for Adoption has millions of dollars, reflecting the lopsided “demand side” of the industry: affluent hopeful adopters. Birthmothers, by contrast, repeatedly tell us that if they had even a little more financial stability, they could have chosen to keep their children. +
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
Whether from war, trafficking, immigration policy, or plenary adoption, involuntary family separation is a wound that lasts a lifetime. Sending courage to parents searching and hope to children missing them. May you find strength to keep moving toward reunion and safety. youtu.be/bqFGN0FE3lA?...
youtu.be
Labeled an "Orphan", She Discovers a Biological Brother 23 Years Younger. Is It Too Late?
YouTube video by CNA Insider
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Michigan Adoptee Rights Coalition @michiganadoptees.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
To Adoptive Parents and Policymakers: International adoption cannot be separated from our immigration policy. 🥚
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Anxious Rage @anxiousrage.blacksky.app · 27/01/2026
California SB381 just passed the Senate (CA-born adult adoptee access to their original birth certificates) On to the House next LFG!!!
caallianceforadopteerights.org
California Adoption Legislation - California Alliance
Join us to secure California adoptees' rights to original birth certificates. Advocate for equal access now!
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Anxious Rage @anxiousrage.blacksky.app · 25/01/2026
🚨🚨VA RESIDENTS: Want to do some advocacy from home this weekend? HB301 will give VA-born adopted people the right to access their original birth certificates and will be heard by the full VA House **before Fri 1/30**. More details and email templates below
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Tony Corsentino @notalegalrecord.net · 25/01/2026
i’m a librarian and i really love archivists and their mission. we librarians serve the people of the present. archivists serve posterity.
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Anxious Rage @anxiousrage.blacksky.app · 23/01/2026
These are the horrors I want adoptive parents to sit with when they allow themselves to believe that the reason why contact stops from the mothers who lost their children is because the adoptee they're raising "wasn't wanted"
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Tony Corsentino @notalegalrecord.net · 22/01/2026
another piece about the adoption industry’s model state of Utah just came out. If you think using coercion and deception to speedily strip a person of their child forever raises ethical problems, maybe take a look at Utah. 🥚
sltrib.com
Pregnant, alone and bused to Utah: How the state became a hub for out-of-state adoptions
She was pregnant, alone and searching for help. An adoption agency told her to come to Utah — where birth mothers can sign away parental rights just 24 hours after delivery. Critics say Utah’s laws ha...
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Tony Corsentino @notalegalrecord.net · 21/01/2026
another heartwrenching part of the story of the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo is the resistance they encountered from adopters over returning the children to their original families. And the Abuelas tended only to press these claims against adopters who had reason to believe the children had been stolen.
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Anxious Rage @anxiousrage.blacksky.app · 16/01/2026
For anyone who wants to submit testimony or otherwise support: HB301 is the bill that (if passed) will give VA-born adopted people the right to access their original birth certificate. It's assigned to the Health Committee, it may be heard as soon as next week! More info in the thread below
legiscan.com
Virginia HB301 | 2026 | Regular Regular Session
Summary (2026-01-14) Adult adoptees; access to vital records. [Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB301)]
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Tony Corsentino @notalegalrecord.net · 13/01/2026
CA people could really do #adoptees a solid by calling their reps *immediately* to voice support for SB-381, a clean bill giving CA adoptees access to their original birth certificates.
Tell them to VOTE YES on SB - 381 (Senator Wahab).
Short and sweet. California adult adoptees deserve equality - unrestricted access to their original birth certificate.
, Then, call their offices using the phone numbers provided. Give your name; Ask that they VOTE YES on SB 381. ** Indicates the senator is on BOTH committees.
SENATE JUDICIARY MEMBERS EMAIL: SJUD.FAX@SEN.CA.GOV
To the Honorable Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee - Chair Umberg, Vice Chair Niello, and Senators Allen, Ashby, Caballero, Durazo, Laird, Reyes, Stern, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, and Wiener.
PHONE: 916.651.4113
HEARING, TUESDAY, 1/13/2026
Thomas Umberg (Chair) 916.651.4034
Roger Niello (Vice-Chair) 916.651.4006
Benjamin Allen 916.651.4024
Angelique Ashby 916.651.4008
Anna Caballero 916.651.4014
Maria Elena Durazo 916.651.4026 **
John Laird 916.651.4017
Eloise Gómez Reyes 916.651.4029
Henry Stern 916.651.4027
Suzette Martinez Valladares 916.651.4023 ** Aisha Wahab 916.651.4410 *Thank her for authoring
SB 381
Akilah Weber Pierson 916.651.4039 **
Scott Wiener 916.651.4011
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Farnad Darnell, PhD @docdarnell.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
I learned that there were about 1,500-2,000 Iranians adopted from Iran between 1963-1979, scattered from Germany to the US. Coming from a small group doesn't provide as many resources as those from larger adoption groups. And the Islamic Republic most likely didn't keep records. Sigh. 🥚 #FreeIran
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Sharing for adoptees and families in the US who are feeling anxious about records or citizenship. If you or someone you care about has questions, this guide may help. While primarily for Korean adoptees, Appendices D and E are useful for all internationally adopted Americans. auskrg.com/resources
auskrg.com
Resources
Guidebook on Korean Citizenship Status for Adopted Koreans Adoptee Mental Health Guide
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Many people choose comfort over truth. I lost my first family, and later, parts of my adoptive one as I questioned where my life started. Even on good days, grief remains. But adoptees + allies now sit with me ❤️‍🩹. Children should never lose family in the name of profit. apnews.com/article/kore...
apnews.com
South Korea vows to end foreign adoptions as UN presses Seoul to address past abuses
South Korea’s government says it plans to end the waning foreign adoptions of Korean children. The announcement came Friday.
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Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 13/11/2025
A key part of today’s executive order: Faith-based foster-care agencies will now qualify for federal support. The White House is directing agencies to override state barriers that restrict religious organizations and expand partnerships with churches and faith-based providers.
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Tony Corsentino @notalegalrecord.net · 01/11/2025
National Adoption Awareness Month, which is about promoting #adoption, begins today. none of the promotional material contains an answer to the following naïve question: why does “give this child a loving and safe home” require “erase and rewrite this child’s entire identity”?
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MJ @moonjoo.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
It's Adoptee Remembrance Day today. I think about all the adoptees whose lives have ended too early. May they rest in peace🥚
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Dr. Sandra Steingraber 🏳️‍🌈 @ssteingraber1.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
🥚 Extraordinary apology from South Korean President to 200,000 Koreans sent abroad as adoptees, many of whom “discovered their records were falsified to portray them as abandoned orphans, while others were carelessly removed, or even stolen, from their birth families” 1/3 apnews.com/article/sout...
apnews.com
South Korea's president apologizes over poorly managed foreign adoption programs
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has apologized for poorly managed foreign adoption programs that were rife with abuses and fraud.
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
A person does not need to be a racist to participate in or perpetuate racist systems. It's important to listen and learn with open hearts and minds, especially when the person naming the harm is someone you claim to love as one of your own. #adopteevoices 🥚 www.channelnewsasia.com/watch/whats-...
channelnewsasia.com
What's Coming Up - Korean Adoptees And Their Journey To Reclaim Erased Histories In One "Orphan" Every Hour
Nearly 250,000 Korean children were adopted to the West as "orphans". Were they lucky to be rescued, or does the truth tell a different story? Find out in One "Orphan" Every Hour.  Premiering 30 Augus...
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
After filming this documentary, I became 1 of 56 resolved cases in Korea's TRC #adoption investigation, confirming human rights violations. 311 remain unresolved. Thanks @channelnewsasia.bsky.social for telling our stories 🥚.
f.mtr.cool
Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
I grew up believing I was an orphan. The truth told a different story 💔. See my story in One Orphan Every Hour this Sat, Aug 30 at 9pm SGT @channelnewsasia.bsky.social  🥚. #Korea #AdopteeVoices #adoptionjourney #adoptionstory #adoption
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
It's totally a coincidence. Can't possibly be related, right? 🧮
Chart showing Korea's rapidly declining birth rate relative to total population and net reproduction rate
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
#Korean #Adoption 🥚. Giving new meaning to pork barrel politics 🐷 www.hani.co.kr/arti/opinion...
hani.co.kr
수입산 돼지고기 냉동창고에 입양기록물 내팽개친 국가의 폭력 [왜냐면]
김오묘 | 입양기록긴급행동(EARS) 대표· 미국 보스턴칼리지 교수 부모님 방에 몰래 들어가서 처음 내 입양기록을 들여다본 때를 기억한다. 열살 무렵이었는데, 뭐가 쓰여있는지 너무 궁금했다. 중요한 내용은 없었다. 친부모님의 이름도, 내 출생에 관한 정보도 없이 그저
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
I had no idea how much anger I could feel until I found my little brother. Now, I understand what was stolen from us. Society shames adoptees for feeling angry. If you aren't angry about systemic child abuse, corruption, and violations of human rights, maybe it's time to ask why. #adoption 🥚
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Tony Corsentino @notalegalrecord.net · 12/08/2025
My pre-adoptive identity IS my identity. To conceal it is to violate the right to know who I am. People who dismiss our demands for the truth with “love is stronger than DNA” are engaged in deliberate and desperate obfuscation. And concealing the truth is the opposite of love. 🥚
theguardian.com
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’: the Australian push to have all adopted people told their full history and identity
Some people can get all the way through adulthood without knowing they are adopted. Should the government tell them?
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Meet the requirements. 기준을 지켜라. Protect the records. 기록을 지켜라. Respect our identities. 우리의 정체성을 존중하라. Amplify #adopteevoices and share 🥚 www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/s...
koreatimes.co.kr
Adoptees voice deep concerns regarding state takeover of adoption system - The Korea Times
Korea’s move to bring its adoption process entirely under government control was promoted as a safeguard against the abuses that have long marred t...
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
Instead of assuming I'm "ungrateful" for my adoptive family, you can start assuming that I would walk through hell itself to find my biological family. Loving someone even in their absence takes courage. I will not be broken ✊️❤️🥚 #adoption www.cnn.com/2025/08/01/a...
cnn.com
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Dr. Sandra Steingraber 🏳️‍🌈 @ssteingraber1.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
🥚These trends are the result of national bans enacted around the world after exposés in international media revealed systemic deception, corruption, coercion, fraud, and baby-stealing by adoption agencies. And those exposés were the result of relentless, ongoing #adoptee rights activism. BRAVO🧵
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
Sending out the 🥚 signal. It's like a 🦇 signal, but cooler 🫶. The records of an estimated 200,000 Korean #adoptees are moving to a government leased facility. These documents are often the only remaining to our families. It could be going better 🫤. v.daum.net/v/2025072318...
v.daum.net
흩어진 입양기록물 한 곳으로…입양단체들 우려, 왜?
입양인들의 입양기록물을 한 곳에 모아 보관할 임시서고가 경기도 고양시 덕양구에 위치한 한 저온 물류센터 건물 내 둥지를 틀었습니다.  입양기록물이 냉동 물류창고 목적으로 지어진 건물에 보관되는 것이 적절치 않다는 지적에 해당 업무를 맡고 있는 아동권리보장원은 "공공기록물법 시행령상 기준에 맞춰 관리할 계획"이라는 입장이지만, 입양인단체 등의 우려는 여전합니
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Teen Vogue @teenvogue.com · 23/07/2025
"As a Chinese transnational adoptee, there is no single correct way to be, or feel. Our experiences are complex, fluid, and often shaped by the openness — or rigidity — of our adoptive families." This project shares the stories of young people whose lives were shaped by China's overpopulation laws.
teenvogue.com
We Were Adopted Thanks to China’s Overpopulation Policies. These Are Our Stories.
160,000 Chinese children were adopted by families across the world since this policy went into effect in 1992.
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
#Adoptees went to the National Assembly 🇰🇷. Not to make a scene. To BE seen. To ask—quietly but clearly—not to lose what little we have left. #adoption records hold our names, our families, our identities 🥚 m.pressian.com/m/pages/arti...
m.pressian.com
"20만 해외입양인 기록, 정부 책임 하에 '쿠0 창고'로 이관됩니다"
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
13 years. One incredible life chapter 🌭✨. Korea’s Truth & Reconciliation Commission recently confirmed my adoption was a violation of human rights. So I’m stepping away from competitive eating to focus on advocacy and healing. Thanks for being part of my story—from the first bite and beyond 💫
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Wishing everyone a safe and happy #4thofjuly. Congratulations to Joey Chestnut, Miki Sudo, and all of my Nathan's Famous friends on an incredible competition 🌭🌭🌭. Cheering for you today and always ❤️! #hotdogeatingcontest
Competitive eaters Maoi Ebihara and Mary Bowers pose for a selfie, with pom poms in hand as they cheer for the Men's Division at the 2024 Nathan's Famous Hotdog Eating Contest
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Ever wondered what 10 minutes of glory tastes like? Welcome to my life 🌭. Join me and Denverse Magazine on the Locals Aloud #podcast as I talk about why the #4thofJuly is my favorite full-contact sport 🇺🇸. Give it a listen 🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/2lMb...
open.spotify.com
Competitive Eating Behind the Scenes With World-Ranked Hot Dog Specialist Mary Bowers
Denverse: Locals Aloud · Episode
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
So much respect for this incredible athlete and friend. Can't wait for his return to the table 🌭
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Kim Tong-hyung @kimtonghyung.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish commission recommended Monday that international adoptions be stopped after an investigation found a series of abuses and fraud dating back decades. apnews.com/article/swed...
apnews.com
Sweden faces call to halt international adoptions after inquiry finds abuses and fraud
A Swedish commission has recommended that international adoptions be stopped after an investigation found a series of abuses and fraud dating back decades.
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Hey, @detroitrudyowens.bsky.social! Would hate to start a beef with an adoptee advocate, but feel like I know you well enough to test the strength of our friendship. Who has the better Coney Island 🌭? Lafayette or American?
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Kim Tong-hyung @kimtonghyung.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
A 72-year-old mother has filed a lawsuit against South Korea’s government and its largest adoption agency, alleging systematic failures in her forced separation from her toddler son who was sent to Norway without her consent. apnews.com/article/sout...
apnews.com
A South Korean mother sues the government and an agency over the adoption of her missing son
A 72-year-old mother has filed a lawsuit against South Korea’s government and its largest adoption agency, alleging systematic failures in her forced separation from her toddler son who was sent to No...
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
We cannot forget the innocent lives lost through senseless violence. May truth and justice be their legacy 🪷.
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Mary Bowers @eatbemary.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
"If you say you care or love someone, then fight for them — loudly, consistently, and without asking them to do all the work." I don't need a fan club. I need a fighter 🥊. I am exhausted.
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