They Need Us...
The sounds of those silent tears are still resonant around me, haunting me in whatever I do, invading the shelter of my haven, forcing me to look beyond my comforts to the lives of those who are a part of my existence, though made invisible by sheer indifference and fear. In case you are wondering what started this mental dilemma of mine….then read on.
Last Saturday morning I sat down to breakfast and turned on the television. Boogie Woogie (the famous dance show) was holding a contest for children living in different children’s homes. Behind those groovy dance moves each child, each face had a story to tell. A story of pain, of suffering, of abuse and neglect. 90% of the children who performed there had been forced to flee from their homes under various circumstances, the most common of them being physical abuse and torture. They were denied everything that you and I grew up with- education, love, security, care and the assurance that they were wanted and that they were not merely a working hand to feed the hungry mouths of the family. They ran away to various places the most common of them being Mumbai in the hope of finding a better future, a better life. After coming to these cities most of these children slept on the roads, railway stations and footpaths, did all kind of jobs that they could find- right from sweeping floors to cleaning cars and some of these innocent souls were even dragged down the dark lanes of the world of beggary.
Another very common element in most of their woes was the presence of a drunk father. They’d beat up their wives and kids to work of their frustration. Whatever money that the family managed to earn was wasted away in quenching their never ending but forever growing thirst for alcohol. It’s a vicious circle that never reaches an end. It continues day-after-day-after-day till these children have no option but to run away or get killed slowly at the hands of their own parents.
One of the judges there was the famous actress Tabassum, who narrated a heart wrenching experience. One day a beggar came up to her holding a 6-7 month old baby in his arms. The baby’s eyes were covered with white gauze and the man was begging people for money to treat the child’s eyes who he claimed was blind. The baby in his arms was wailing. Something didn’t strike her as right and she asked the man to take of the bandage from the child’s eyes. Hearing this the man got frightened and tried to make a run for it. She screamed and caught the attention of two police constables who caught hold of him. When they finally removed the covering from the little baby’s eyes they found that 2 cockroaches had been placed over his eyes before covering them with gauze.
As I sit pondering these things- which are just the tip of the ice berg- certain questions assail my mind. What are we doing for the children of our country? Where is our future headed? Has love, security and care been reduced to commodities to be owned and enjoyed only by the kids of the rich and wealthy? Are we deliberately closing our eyes towards reality because these things are not happening to someone we know and therefore don’t concern us? Why is it that our society chooses to ignore things till their consequences become to ghastly to even comprehend?
Its time to wake up. For once lets think about somebody but ourselves. There is so much that you and I can do to give these children the kind of life that they deserve. If you want you can donate money to a children’s home, send clothes, food, medicines, stationary or volunteer some time to teach them or play with them. You can sponsor a child’s education through various reputed NGO’s. Raise your voice against child labour. Protect these children from the demons of our society. Let them know love in its purest form. You wouldn’t want your child to go through this then why put these kids through it. Please spare a moment for them, do something for them. Don’t let your indifference make them the prisoners of darkness and pain. Do something…..before its too late.
Last Saturday morning I sat down to breakfast and turned on the television. Boogie Woogie (the famous dance show) was holding a contest for children living in different children’s homes. Behind those groovy dance moves each child, each face had a story to tell. A story of pain, of suffering, of abuse and neglect. 90% of the children who performed there had been forced to flee from their homes under various circumstances, the most common of them being physical abuse and torture. They were denied everything that you and I grew up with- education, love, security, care and the assurance that they were wanted and that they were not merely a working hand to feed the hungry mouths of the family. They ran away to various places the most common of them being Mumbai in the hope of finding a better future, a better life. After coming to these cities most of these children slept on the roads, railway stations and footpaths, did all kind of jobs that they could find- right from sweeping floors to cleaning cars and some of these innocent souls were even dragged down the dark lanes of the world of beggary.
Another very common element in most of their woes was the presence of a drunk father. They’d beat up their wives and kids to work of their frustration. Whatever money that the family managed to earn was wasted away in quenching their never ending but forever growing thirst for alcohol. It’s a vicious circle that never reaches an end. It continues day-after-day-after-day till these children have no option but to run away or get killed slowly at the hands of their own parents.
One of the judges there was the famous actress Tabassum, who narrated a heart wrenching experience. One day a beggar came up to her holding a 6-7 month old baby in his arms. The baby’s eyes were covered with white gauze and the man was begging people for money to treat the child’s eyes who he claimed was blind. The baby in his arms was wailing. Something didn’t strike her as right and she asked the man to take of the bandage from the child’s eyes. Hearing this the man got frightened and tried to make a run for it. She screamed and caught the attention of two police constables who caught hold of him. When they finally removed the covering from the little baby’s eyes they found that 2 cockroaches had been placed over his eyes before covering them with gauze.
As I sit pondering these things- which are just the tip of the ice berg- certain questions assail my mind. What are we doing for the children of our country? Where is our future headed? Has love, security and care been reduced to commodities to be owned and enjoyed only by the kids of the rich and wealthy? Are we deliberately closing our eyes towards reality because these things are not happening to someone we know and therefore don’t concern us? Why is it that our society chooses to ignore things till their consequences become to ghastly to even comprehend?
Its time to wake up. For once lets think about somebody but ourselves. There is so much that you and I can do to give these children the kind of life that they deserve. If you want you can donate money to a children’s home, send clothes, food, medicines, stationary or volunteer some time to teach them or play with them. You can sponsor a child’s education through various reputed NGO’s. Raise your voice against child labour. Protect these children from the demons of our society. Let them know love in its purest form. You wouldn’t want your child to go through this then why put these kids through it. Please spare a moment for them, do something for them. Don’t let your indifference make them the prisoners of darkness and pain. Do something…..before its too late.
Comments
its a beginnin of ralization of unfairness in world out dere fr u.....v all need contribute our bit 2 reduce da imperfections it has cohorted ovr time....nice 2 c da youth thinkin ovr it and wants 2shw sme progress....
nice blog...lookin frwd fr more...