Rescued youngsters are an inspiration to us all
The Universe
(July 11, 2004)
The happiest days of my life are
the ones when a cowering and enslaved child is rescued and freed from a
filthy brothel and the operators and pimps are marched away in handcuffs
to face trial.
The youngest victim in once such
rescue was Alice, 14. After a few months in the PREDA’s children's home
and recovery center she had regained her self-confidence, sense of
wellbeing and dignity and a voice to testify against her cruel abusers.
Alice described her ordeal “I was
ashamed to be alive, I was nothing in the eyes of the old men who were
grinning at me. They paid for me and I was dragged to a back room where
they (sex tourists) did it to me. They are huge and bad smelling and I
hate it, hate it.”
Today Alice has recovered and is a
strong-minded young teenager who can speak out in public on behalf of
abused children. There are many terrific youngsters like her with a
desire to save others from being trafficked into the sex trade. We do
all we can to change the evil political system that allows this to
happen and lets most of the abusers bribe their way out of jails.
Angela’s rescue was no less
extraordinary. Her father died when she was six months old. Her poor
mother couldn't pay for the burial and faced jail. The funeral parlour
owner said, “Pay with the child and hand her over to us.” The mother had
no option. A few months after, we heard that she died and the rich
family kept Angela. We intervened and Angela was freed and returned to
the love of the grandmother. With financial support from donors Angela
grew strong and healthy, and became a happy active child. But it soon
ended. An uncle who sexually abused her took in when she was eight years
old the grandmother died and Angela. She ran away and was taken in by
another family who made her a servant.
Last month, years later, we finally
found Angela, a small and frail-looking 12 year old. She was working for
food and £5 a month to take care of elderly woman that had suffered a
sever stroke. Angela was doing the work of a professional nursing aide,
cleaning, dressing, feeding and washing for the paralysed woman. It was
amazing, but shocking form of child labour.
She joined our “Childhood For
Children” programme and today is back at school, and is a beautiful,
intelligent, gentle girl. At last, she is free to have a life of her own
with dignity - and a good education and thanks to the generosity of some
Universe readers who are helping her through school.
There are many stories of children who have endured and overcome similar hardships. They are an inspiration to us all and their success can encourage us to reach out as Jesus did and care of the poorest of the poor and share with them a simple life of decency and dignity.
Fr. Shay Cullen is a Columban missionary: PREDA Centre, Kalaklan, Olongapo City. www.preda.org
