I received an advisory through Whatsapp. It is meant for women. It says that if you come across a child in distress who has an address tag in his hands or pocket or is wearing it around his neck, DO NOT take it to that address; take the child to the nearest police station instead! You can easily figure out what might happen if the unfortunate woman were to take the child to the address planted on it.
There is nothing that brings out the altruist in us so spontaneously and forcefully as the sight of a child in distress. This has long been exploited by criminals who kidnap children and force them into begging. I recall an event that took place a few decades ago when I was quite young and which is deeply imprinted on my mind. At that time I had started working and was posted in an office in Hazaratganj, Lucknow. When I came out from my office in the evening I saw a child with a crippled hand sitting alone on the pavement on the other side of the road and begging. He somehow had the look of a well behaved child from a middle income family. I crossed the road and inquired with the child if he would like to go to someplace and whether he could give me his home address. I could see fear in his eyes as he vehemently declined my suggestion. Almost immediately a well built man appeared from nowhere, picked up the child and walked away at a fast pace. To date I have not been able to forgive myself for not having raised an alarm or having tried to stop the man.
Whether to give alms or not is a rather ticklish issue in a place where poor abound. But I have made a rule for myself. Never, never, give alms to anybody who is asking for it in the name of a child. Sometimes I have seen beggar women carrying infants who are limp and look so helpless that your first impulse is to reach for your wallet and help. But I always remind myself that this child may not really be her own; and if she succeeds in 'using' this child in making money, she and her team will surely kidnap more. It is a very cruel decision but to be humane will bring untold cruelty upon many more hapless children.
Trafficking in children is as heinous a crime as rape, if not more. However we don't hear many voices against it or notice any action being taken to prevent it. The least that each one of us can do is to steel our hearts and not to give alms to children or to beggars asking in the name of infants.
And, of course, if you find a lonely child with an address tag, take both the child and the address tag to the nearest police station as advised.
There is nothing that brings out the altruist in us so spontaneously and forcefully as the sight of a child in distress. This has long been exploited by criminals who kidnap children and force them into begging. I recall an event that took place a few decades ago when I was quite young and which is deeply imprinted on my mind. At that time I had started working and was posted in an office in Hazaratganj, Lucknow. When I came out from my office in the evening I saw a child with a crippled hand sitting alone on the pavement on the other side of the road and begging. He somehow had the look of a well behaved child from a middle income family. I crossed the road and inquired with the child if he would like to go to someplace and whether he could give me his home address. I could see fear in his eyes as he vehemently declined my suggestion. Almost immediately a well built man appeared from nowhere, picked up the child and walked away at a fast pace. To date I have not been able to forgive myself for not having raised an alarm or having tried to stop the man.
Whether to give alms or not is a rather ticklish issue in a place where poor abound. But I have made a rule for myself. Never, never, give alms to anybody who is asking for it in the name of a child. Sometimes I have seen beggar women carrying infants who are limp and look so helpless that your first impulse is to reach for your wallet and help. But I always remind myself that this child may not really be her own; and if she succeeds in 'using' this child in making money, she and her team will surely kidnap more. It is a very cruel decision but to be humane will bring untold cruelty upon many more hapless children.
Trafficking in children is as heinous a crime as rape, if not more. However we don't hear many voices against it or notice any action being taken to prevent it. The least that each one of us can do is to steel our hearts and not to give alms to children or to beggars asking in the name of infants.
And, of course, if you find a lonely child with an address tag, take both the child and the address tag to the nearest police station as advised.
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