When extreme poverty is too unbearable,
\nchildren are turned out of their homes,
\nexcept at mealtime and bedtime.
\nHow could they play there?
\nHow could they invite their friends?<\/p>\n
Often, they tell us,
\n\u201cSometimes a friend invites me to a birthday party,
\nbut I say, \u2018No, I can\u2019t go.\u2019 I feel bad,
\nbecause I could never invite them to my place the next time–
\nI\u2019m too ashamed! \u201d<\/p>\n
Girls are the most humiliated.
\nThey hate being kept away from their friends,
\nespecially since they can hardly play outside,
\nmixed in with the boys who push them around,
\noften hitting them for fun.<\/p>\n
Outside, there\u2019s always mud, or dust, or dirty streets.
\nAnd they have to put up with clothes
\nthat are wrinkled, soiled, torn.
\nHow ashamed they feel!<\/p>\n
Where will they play, where can they have fun?
\nIn the neighborhood, on the sidewalk,
\non construction sites, or vacant lots!
\nWhat friends will they make there?
\nWhat can they learn?
\nWhat new horizons can they discover,
\nespecially when the magic of rubbish dumps charms them?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s so much treasure to harvest,
\nthings they can sell to get food, things to wear,
\nor to bring home, broken toys, disjointed baby carriages…
\nStill, the worst is vacation time,
\nwhen there\u2019s no one to take care of you,
\nand you have to stay put.<\/p>\n
So many children playing on the cobblestones, or in the dust,
\nbecome dehydrated.
\nSome children are accidentally mutilated for life
\nby sharp objects, by falls.
\nSometimes, accidents cause death.<\/p>\n
One Friday afternoon, Violet, a two-and-a-half-year-old toddler,
\nwas playing with her five-year-old brother,
\nthrowing junk into a pit.
\nRubbish was burned along the banks of the pit
\nbecause of the insects and rats.
\nViolet slipped,
\nfalling headfirst into the fire.
\nHer brother went looking for help,
\nbut it was too late.<\/p>\n
They could have doused the fire with water,
\nbut there wasn\u2019t any water.
\nIt had been cut off when the bill went unpaid.
\nThe police came and said,
\n\u201cThese children should have been put into foster care long ago! \u201d
\nThere was no money for the burial.
\nSo the parents had to borrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow will we manage tomorrow?\u201d they asked each other.
\nTomorrow, other children will play alongside the pit,
\npassing away the summertime…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When extreme poverty is too unbearable, children are turned out of their homes, except at mealtime and bedtime. How could (…) Read more