Arlo D. Otomo
This is the adoption-migration narrative of Arlo D. Otomo. He was born Shashemene, Ethiopia to Jula and Fatuma Gesho. Arlo and I, share a link of adoption but the circumstances surroundings our origins are vastly different. My narrative lies in placement. Arlo’s in loss; a loss that thrust him into several transitional states. During a personal interview I asked Arlo a series of questions to which he responded. The following is that text.
Describe your life in Ethiopia up until Adoption?
It was hard because we were really poor. His wife told me that food was also hard to come buy but his mother always made sure he was fed. She would sneak out at night and by him bread. She was also generous and would give the families food away to their neighbors. She couldn’t stand to see another go without.
Under what circumstances did you lose your parents?
He does not remember how his parents died. His wife told me that their family had traveled from their village to another to meet relatives. During their stay Jula (Arlo’s father) was performing work in the fields and fell ill. As Fatuma (Arlo’s mother) nursed her husband she also fell ill and died within days. As a result Arlo fell into a state of trauma where he could neither eat or speak; primarily he slept. It was during this period that he also lost his father. He was only eight years old.
What type of clothing did you wear?
A. Anything I could find. Again his wife provided me context. Arlo, only had a shirt to cover his nakedness until the age of eleven.
When were you adopted to the United States?
August 29, 1995 by Cuck and Marigold Cartwright. Issy (Arlo’s wife) again provides context. Cuck and Marigold had already adopted two of his siblings and had not planned on adopting Arlo until returning to Africa and seeing the malnourished state he was in.
Was it had to adjust to life in the United States?
No, my brothers and sisters had been adopted before me so, I was coming home to family.
How would you describe your present life?
A. My life is great! I have a beautiful and wonderful wife. She is a wonderful mother to our four children. My job supports four our needs and I like what I do. I could not have asked for anything more in my life.
I think it is beautiful how you describe the different outcomes of international adoption; that of placement and loss. I think it is invariably something that is seen as a benefit with little considerable of the loss and endurance that precedes placement – as is the case with Arlo. It is difficult yo imagine the pain inherent in the loss of so much personal information regarding major life events such as how did your parents pass away. This really is a beautiful story of strength and tenacity.
Claire
I recently went to dinner with Arlo and his wife to thank them for sharing his story with me. Towards the end we each shared our adoption story and experiences of transition, learning, understanding, identity. We recognize that our adoptions presented us with circumstances that would let us flourish but embedded within us are deep seeded questions entangled with our beginnings.
When I read your fragments selected for the project I was impressed with way they interrelated to each other as a composition of a life with loss. Thinking about Arlo’s shirt as an object of safety, family, and poverty strikes me deeply. The shirt is piece of the story that embodies so much of what it meant to be adopted into another family and have a whole life changed. The shirt speaks as an emblem of memories that Arlo wore on his body to protect, but also perform who he was.