What does their future hold?

The women of her family are in the line. Great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, sisters, aunts. A desire for flesh pays for her meals. A desire to take something that does not belong to them pays for her clothing. A thin, translucent curtain is all that separates her from witnessing her sister’s work. Night after night she escapes to the roof, escapes from the sounds and the sights. The stillness of the sky runs into the calamity of the street below and as she flies a kite, she wishes she could climb the string to escape her life. What does her future hold? Work in the line is the short answer. Who can help her when customers offer a simple solution to the rumblings in her tummy? Who can come to her rescue when those around her give her no other options? Where has the innocence gone? The innocence once experienced by children, now a faded memory in the pages of history. What about her story? What does her future hold?

The women of his family are in the line. Great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, sisters, aunts. A desire for flesh pays for his meals. A desire to take something that does not belong to them pays for his clothing. As the men drink and smoke, he waits. As the men violate his mother, he waits. As the men strip at the womb that he once called home, he waits. His father sits outside, smoking hash, not as concerned with the welfare of his family, instead worrying whether his wife will make enough to support his addiction. He escapes to the roof and stares at the stars, wondering if there is a better life. Wondering where his life will lead. After they are finished, the men leave without paying. It is his job to chase them and make sure that his family can buy food. If he fails, he is beaten, his mother is beaten, their stomachs are empty. What does his future hold?

An angry thought from a confused (future) social worker

I've just finished reading the case-notes for the murder due to neglect of Victoria Climbie (Anna Kouao) and couldn't help but be reminded of a book I read a few years ago called "The Boy Behind the Door."

A true story about a young boy (David Bisson) who is neglected, abused and imprisoned by his mother and numerous partners, it couldn't help but raise questions in me.

With reference to the absolute cruelty inflicted on these young children, how could a mother or guardian or any human being claim to love them yet so willingly display actions of hatred toward them? How could someone who claimed to love them treat them worse than we treat our pets? How can people inflict such pain on other human beings? It is beyond me how we have allowed our society to get to this point that children who don't know any better can have their innocence tarnished by someone who should be trying with all their might to prevent such a thing occurring.

From a [future] social worker's perspective, how can a professional who has had the necessary training, and who you would assume has enough common sense, allow such a travesty to continue? And how can the law protect the people that are inflicting these situations all over the world right now? Where is the line that a social worker must find in order to not do "too little too late" or "too much too soon?" And is it really the social workers' fault or a combination of a lack of knowledge of our legal mandates, faults of medical professionals, police and other authorities, and faults within the social welfare system itself?

Wherever the fault lies, all over the world there are children living in circumstances not unlike those of the two examples. Something needs to happen...and soon!