I am reading a book right now on the child soldiers in Uganda during the war with the LRA. At one point, the young man writing it expresses a suspicion that I believe to be true of most Americans (or westerners in general). His suspicion is that the rest of the world believes, for some reason, that African children are more disposable than their own. And the devastating thing is that he is totally right. I have blogged about my frustration on this issue before, but I want to paint a different picture- I will do it with my own precious little sister, but insert your own beloved child in this scenario.
My 10 year old sister Danielle is missing. My family is dead or dispersed, and although we loved her deeply, now she is on her own. She is living on the streets of LA. Danielle misses us more than anything, but she is trying to numb the pain. She smokes pot daily, or drinks vodka to escape her past. In the day, she collects bottles and cans to get money for recycling, and that is how she feeds herself. But its not enough, and she is starving- her ribs begin to stick out. At night, she runs from police who will place her in jail instead of help her. If they find her, they will probably club her, and may even shoot her because she is just a child nobody cares about. She catches the flu, but she cannot see a doctor, and she remembers how my mom would take care of her when she was sick before this nightmare began. She is filthy dirty because she hasn't had a clean pair of clothes or even a bath for months. At night, she sleeps in gutters or under sheets of plastic, and men will probably come and abuse her. The next day, she wakes up and lives it all again, and nobody cares, and there is no hope.
These boys I love are children just like yours. They are beloved, even if the only person left to care is their Heavenly Father. Its disturbing isn't it? To put it in those terms, and I have no doubt members of my family will be upset I even imagined such a thing. But the fact is that my boys face this life every day, and I cannot forget them simply because they are Ugandan, or far away from me. I cannot forget them, and neither should you. If you have money to give, if you have a room in your home, if you have a body able to go, then do something. God is not comfortable with his children hurting, and we shouldn't be either.
My 10 year old sister Danielle is missing. My family is dead or dispersed, and although we loved her deeply, now she is on her own. She is living on the streets of LA. Danielle misses us more than anything, but she is trying to numb the pain. She smokes pot daily, or drinks vodka to escape her past. In the day, she collects bottles and cans to get money for recycling, and that is how she feeds herself. But its not enough, and she is starving- her ribs begin to stick out. At night, she runs from police who will place her in jail instead of help her. If they find her, they will probably club her, and may even shoot her because she is just a child nobody cares about. She catches the flu, but she cannot see a doctor, and she remembers how my mom would take care of her when she was sick before this nightmare began. She is filthy dirty because she hasn't had a clean pair of clothes or even a bath for months. At night, she sleeps in gutters or under sheets of plastic, and men will probably come and abuse her. The next day, she wakes up and lives it all again, and nobody cares, and there is no hope.
These boys I love are children just like yours. They are beloved, even if the only person left to care is their Heavenly Father. Its disturbing isn't it? To put it in those terms, and I have no doubt members of my family will be upset I even imagined such a thing. But the fact is that my boys face this life every day, and I cannot forget them simply because they are Ugandan, or far away from me. I cannot forget them, and neither should you. If you have money to give, if you have a room in your home, if you have a body able to go, then do something. God is not comfortable with his children hurting, and we shouldn't be either.
Thanks for being brave enough to make this comparison and stand up for these boys!
ReplyDeleteWell written. The world needs to wake up and realize that the most important thing in life is not money or who's religion is right or who owns the most land. It's the children who are going to carry on our future and no child should be left and abandoned.
ReplyDeleteExactly the same reasoning John Grisham used in the novel A Time to Kill. One of my favorite Matthew McCaughey movies too. You are so right Caitlyn, life is easy when you make gross generalizations or trivialize a gross and complicated issue, and don't view every person as precious. Well said Caitlyn! Now how do we get your blog into the popular media!!!!
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