The cycle of neglection

All these children did wrong was be born into the wrong environment. Many have been left by their parents because those parents don’t have time for them. These kids are sent into the streets without guidance, and if you take a closer look, you’ll see they often come from traumatized parents who lack self-awareness. In turn, they bring another damaged child into the world.

These three kids in the streets are there all day long—no one to tell them what’s right or wrong because the parents themselves don’t know. The kids face emotional, verbal, and sometimes physical abuse. And what happens next? They deflect their pain onto others, animals, trees, and properties. They’re filled with anger and resentment, because instead of being nurtured, they’ve been abandoned.

This is the unfortunate reality in my country today. Parents have children but don’t give them the care and attention they deserve.

Take the oldest child in the photo, for example. She’s a beggar. Just a few days ago, my brother saw her and another girl—both teenagers—fighting over a newborn baby, treating the infant like a toy to use for begging. It was shocking, but sadly, not unusual to see.

Our streets are flooded with kids who have homes and parents yet are neglected. They’re sent out to play unsupervised. And these children, left to their own devices, learn and absorb everything they see, which shapes their future.

When I see these kids, I feel heartbroken for them. They don’t have the quality of life they deserve, and its society that has to deal with the chaos they create.

I believe it’s time for our government to step in and take action. We should limit the number of children per family to two, or even just one. Only parents who are financially stable and aware of their responsibilities should be allowed to have children. In addition, marriages between relatives should be forbidden by law, as it weakens genetics and leads to health defects.

There should also be a system in place to report parents who neglect their children, with fines imposed, and shelters available to take in abused or neglected kids. These shelters must be tightly regulated to ensure the children are treated with care.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that corruption is rampant in my country. Many people would climb the ladder by stepping on each other’s necks, thinking only of themselves. Kids witness their parents’ moral code and imitate it, creating generations that grow up with corrupted values.

One more alarming example: the teenager in the photo was drinking beer and holding a puppy that had been taken from its mother and tortured. I took the puppy and returned it to its mother.

Our collective consciousness as a society is deformed. Schools, which should be a place of education, have become centers for blackmail, where private lessons are marketed, or kids are set up to fail exams.

I write this because I believe there are others out there who see what I see and are willing to do something to help improve society.

Have a good day, everyone.