Review of Hearts for Hearts Doll Surjan From Nepal

PRODUCT DETAILS

UPC:  043377131427

Doll Height:  15 inches

Box Contents:  1 Fifteen Inch Doll that comes with earrings, nose ring, necklace, bracelet, dress, underwear, flip flops, booklet, friendship bracelet, and comb with rubber band

Hair:  Slightly curly, brownish-black, butt-length

Eye Color:  Speckled yellowish-brown

Recommended Age:  6+ (choking hazard should be considered since jewelry is small)

Release Date:  2014

Item Number:  13142

Produced by:  Playmates Toys

Website:  www.playmatestoys.com

Doll Movement:  Head can nod up and down and turn--very pose-able (some people think too much so and get creeped out); arms go up and down and back and forth, does not bend at elbows or hands; torso does not twist; legs go up and down and back and forth, do not bend at knees or ankles.  Doll can stand on her own (though this one is a little harder to do so), and she can sit if you prop her up with something or with her arms behind her.

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Surjan is another doll my mom bought used, so we don't have her box.  I was excited when she was put out.  For one thing, I thought she was beautiful.  She had a similar face to Tipi, who was my favorite of the Hearts for Hearts dolls, but she had Shola's neat eyes.  I have friends from Nepal, so I'm slightly familiar with the country and their bright clothes (though usually those are saved for special occasions).  One thing I remember most about talking to these friends were their numerous holidays.  It seemed to me that 3/4 of a year were devoted to some holiday.  They didn't just have a holiday that lasted one day either...but holidays that went on for an entire week.  I sometimes wondered if the poverty in this country was due to the financial strain of having so many deities with all their bloody holidays!

After seeing the outfits my friends posted on Facebook, I admit I was slightly disappointed in Surjan's outfit.  It was a little simpler, though still colorful.  My mom didn't think it looked that "exotic"...you could see a similar dress on an American child.  The jewelry was not as impressive as some of the other dolls.  Simple loop earrings and a loop nose ring...I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about nose rings.  I always wonder what happens when people who have them sneeze.  She has a yellow beaded necklace like Rahel, and a gold bracelet with little flower imprints.  The bracelet is the best of the jewelry.  Surjan, of course, is supposed to be a poor factory girl, so she may not be able to have a lot of nice bling.

She wears cotton underwear and flip flops...the bloody flip flops, which--like Tipi's--just love to fall off.  I found her a little hard to stand up.  She seems a little off-balanced...perhaps due to her hair.  She comes with a friendship bracelet, a comb, and a booklet.

Surjan's story, though, is disturbing.  The booklet seemed put together out of order, but I'm not sure if that wasn't done intentionally to allow parents the option to not read certain parts of it to their children.  The Hearts for Hearts dolls are meant to give children exposure to other cultures and to introduce them to problems other children face.  However, in the past, the stories have been carefully written to not be so bleak, and usually the girls were in a situation where they had already had improvements made to their life.

Surjan, for one thing, hasn't escaped her situation yet.  Surjan is a slave after being sold to a rug factory by her unemployed father, who then disappears.  Her mother is ill after giving birth to Surjan's little sister Isha.

Surjan learned how to weave rugs from her mother.  She works from three in the morning to seven at night.  If she works too slowly, she gets punished.  She has to work in the factory until she pays back the money the manager gave her father.  Since her mother is too ill to work and the father has disappeared, the manager tells Surjan she will be working for the factory for a long time.

What I found disturbing though, was the part where a woman named Gubal--who is supposedly from a child protective agency--offers to help Surjan to escape from the factory.  She claims she can give Surjan a better life.  The story ends with Surjan and some other girls planning to escape that night--so we don't know if Surjan successfully escapes...and whether this woman is who she says she is.

That is what really left a bad taste in my mouth.  We hear so many stories about human trafficking, particularly of children.  This happens in the States as well as other countries.  People offer to help girls in poverty-stricken situations to have a better life, and then they wind up in brothels.  Now, this woman may have been legit...but the fact is, we don't know that.  Recently, we have started hearing stories about some of the Haitian children who had been "rescued" during the earthquake by groups who then trafficked them.

The Hearts for Hearts stories supposedly are based on the experiences that are common to girls in a particular country.  Supposedly, there isn't a real girl this is based on.  However, I don't like that they wrote the story this way.  We tell our children not to talk to strangers, and then you have a story about a girl that runs off with some woman she doesn't know.  Of course, if your child is old enough, this may be a good opener for a conversation about being wary of people who offer to help you and how to protect yourself when exploring opportunities in life.

So to sum it up, I love the doll but hate the story...which I felt was irresponsibly written for a doll that is meant for children.  It is fine to gradually expose children to the world's problems, but you have to be careful about the messages you give.  I felt this story gave a positive message to running off with someone you don't know, and I think that was a bad thing.