In this day and age,
one would hear unbelievable and heartrending deeds happening to children.
We hear the stories and we wonder when such evils in the world will cease. In
Nigeria, before Civilization and
Education enlightened the people; twin babies were regarded as evil and thrown
into evil forests and deep pits to die;
until a strong willed Scottish missionary Mary Slessor put an end to it. Present
Nigeria, we hear of children physically
and sexually molested, child labour and child marriages. And still trending is
the case of 2 year old abandoned by his parents, because he was actually thought to be a witch child!
This particular story
is not old news, it's been viral for some time and people are still talking
about it. In Akwa Ibom state, a 2 year old boy was found and rescued by a
Danish aid worker, Anja Ringgren Loven; who is the founder of the African
Children's Aid Education and Development Foundation. The poor emaciated boy was
found wandering about in Uyo; apparently living on scraps for several months. Ms.
Loven immediately gave him water and something to eat before taking him away
for a much needed bath and medical care. God was obviously watching over that
poor child, it's a miracle when he was
found he was still alive. It breaks my heart imagining Hope (as he's now
called) wandering about alone and starving all those months but seeing pictures
of his smiling face assured the world he's in good hands. What his future is
going to be, we are yet to know but it better not be Hope being handed over to
the heartless parents who abandoned him in the first place. I sincerely doubt
they would dare show their faces and claim Hope back. Hope deserves far better
than them.
Ignorance goes a long
way in the worst possible way; especially when it involves children. Ignorance
was the main reason behind the killing of twins so very long ago, until Mary’s intervention; at the time they were thought to be abnormal. Education
has enlightened us since then but unfortunately, there are still some primitive
practices carried out and superstitious beliefs held. What was the basis
behind Hope's parents' accusation in the
first place? A strange birthmark on the child's body? Something they thought
they saw in him and "collaborated"
by some dibia? How could they bring
themselves to do what they did to this boy; a 2 year old who had no means of
looking after himself after he was thrown out. We still don't know on what
grounds they accused Hope of being a witch child in the first place. But if
they still believe such a thing about him, then should we blame ignorance behind their wicked action?
Frankly, I don’t know
what to think in terms of their reason for abandoning Hope. But all I can say
is that they did a terrible thing and I hope they will forever live in guilt.
Feel free to leave
your comments.
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