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RE: Travails of an Africa village girl child
OMG, @mirrors. This one gave me goosebumps... literally.
It’s so sad... I was lucky enough to be born in Europe, and I take so many things for granted. It’s posts like these that ground me again.
Who am I to complain about my silly luxury problems. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to live a life as you just described, although I know that for millions of people - and girls in particular - this is harsh reality every day.
Having no chances at all to realize your hopes and dreams, ... I don’t even have the words to describe how this makes me feel...
Its a harsh reality, @simplymike. And it is so easy to go through your day without being bothered about it until, like me the other day, you come head-on with one such scenario that reminds you that there are needy people and worse circumstances out there that should remind you every now and again, how fortunate you are.
You know i traveled upcountry to attend to some family matter three last week. And for much of my time, i have since spent in the town (urban). And all has been well, until yesterday when i prepared to travel back to the city, when some time late evening i encountered two young girls, one 17 and the sister 12 years. They had come from the village. Their story being that their father had chased them from home and they were looking for some, any kind of employment. Particularly, they were looking to be employed as 'house girls (maids)'.
To cut the long story short, i made sure to hand them over to the Authorities (police) for safe custody as it was already night. The following morning (yesterday), i followed them up at the police where they spent the night and did the least i could do, which was to fuel the police van (yes! The police apparently had no fuel) so that they could be transported back to their village and father!
It was a better trade-off.....their father who was obviously mistreating them for the likelihood of them being raped or kidnapped for child sacrifice (something very common) out in the dangerous stet corridors....or being conscripted into some prostitution gang - another growing 'business'.
If you had seen them, you would know what i mean when i say i felt bad, and hurt inside. They were just children. Who should be at school. Not loitering in a strange town looking to be taken by any body as maids, but what options?
It is what inspired me to reflect on the life of their lot of children across Africa, and their daily travails. Not that i lived the same life, because whereas mine maybe wasn't so fortunate as that in Europe, at least my father was a teacher, and i was fortunate to grow up in an urban setting, and had the chance to study, and now the chance to fruit my dreams.
the experience has played again and again in my mind as i have since wondered what is happening to those two young girls back at home with the father who had previously chased them away. Was i wrong to over see their sending back? I am not sure.
This write, which i made on my way back to the city earlier today, is my way of trying to vent away that sad episode.
I wish I could say I understand, but the situation is so surreal to me.
It’s hard to make a choice between two evils, but all you can do is follow your best judgement...