It's pretty crazy that there are such mind boggling senses of entitlement. It exists here in a different form.
If there are throwaway kids here, they would be snatched up by officials. This child that you care for is the luckiest child ever. I'm sure that your influence will guide her to be someone her mother will beg to be around when she's older.
Her mother will be lucky if she isn't rejected and have to ponder hard about ditching her kid. I'm not against grandparents taking their grandchildren in circumstances, but grandparents are suppose to be high on the level of nurturing and caring.
I agree with you and say all the time, how people suck.
Same same but different as they say here, the western "Karen" comes to mind, and there are plenty of Cambodian "Karens," although the manifestation is very different than in the west. I sometimes remind Mey-Yii that her grandma would be in jail where I'm from for treating her the way she does.
Life is cruel teacher at times, and I can't help but imagine a day will come when this perfect "new family" disintegrates, the mom finds herself in hard times, Mey-Yii is a young successful adult, and the mom tries to come back into her life because Mey-Yii has an income, apartment, spare bed, etc., and this sweet little girl will finally see the power dynamic has changed and she has a choice of whether or not to deal with their foolishness and fuckry.
I can imagine that day, Mey-Yii telling me in perfect English that she told her mom "Don't let the door hit ya' where the good lord split ya'!" Haha, okay, that scenario is not likely to happen, but perhaps a version of it.