Last night while scrolling through Facebook I saw a comment on a link a friend shared to a waiting child. It said something to the effect of: "I am in tears reading about these children! Some of them have heartbreaking stories."
I know it was meant well, but it rubbed me the wrong way.
Being abandoned and left to die at an orphanage or institution because of a special need is heartbreaking in itself.
I know we toss around the words, no mommy, no daddy, no one to tuck them in at night, to give them hugs, to love them, etc. After hearing it so many times the effect wears off. But take a moment and actually think about it. What if that was YOU.
But their stories are really so much more than what we read on their profiles. There is more than what we see in pictures, or even occasional video clips of a child. And that is where they heartbreaking really kicks in.
We don't see what their lives are really like. Sitting here in our warm houses, surrounded by everything we need, and so much we don't, we can't even start to know what their lives are really like. What life would be like for you if you had special needs and lived at an orphanage or institution.
How you are drugged and sit in front of a TV all day doing nothing, because you have a little too much energy for the nannies' liking.
How you are tied to a chair with a sheet, because you are easier to take care of that way.
How you get mash that has who-knows-what-in-it-as-long-as-it's-cheap (of which the smell makes visitors gag), shoveled down your throat so fast you can't chew, making your tummy hurt later.
How you sit there all day in a playpen with ten other children, having no toys to play with, doing nothing.
How if you can't sit up on a potty chair by yourself, you are laid over the top of it, in any position, as long as your bottom is over the potty, even if it means your face is on the floor.
How the nannies pick you up by one arm, and never carry you chest to chest because that encourages attachment.
How you scratch behind your ears raw, and bang your head to comfort yourself, or because you are bored.
How a large bib sits under your bowl of food, so if you move, your bowl of food goes onto the floor and you are done eating.
How you learn not to cry because no one hears you or comes.
How if you aren't the biggest, strongest, and most able to move around, you get beat up, and food and toys (when they rarely come out) get stolen from you. And even if you are tiny, you become unnaturally strong for your age to hold your own.
How you attack every little bit of food, shoving it in your mouth, because you don't know what a full belly is or when the next bite will come.
How your head gets shaved so no one has to take care of your hair. You don't understand why and cry and rub your head, wanting your hair back.
How you lay in a bed all day because you have a special need which makes it harder for you to move, and end up laying in a very wet diaper, or in your own waste.
This gives us a glimpse, but we still don't know. The emotional pain, in additional the to the physical. Even if children do not understand there is a life they could be living other then the miserable life they have, they still feel in their hearts the sense of abandonment. That's something they may never heal from, nor the years of abuse they are receiving in where they live.
"Once our eyes are opened, we cannot pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts, and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to ACT."
Now that our eyes are opened, let's live that way.
I know it was meant well, but it rubbed me the wrong way.
Being abandoned and left to die at an orphanage or institution because of a special need is heartbreaking in itself.
I know we toss around the words, no mommy, no daddy, no one to tuck them in at night, to give them hugs, to love them, etc. After hearing it so many times the effect wears off. But take a moment and actually think about it. What if that was YOU.
But their stories are really so much more than what we read on their profiles. There is more than what we see in pictures, or even occasional video clips of a child. And that is where they heartbreaking really kicks in.
We don't see what their lives are really like. Sitting here in our warm houses, surrounded by everything we need, and so much we don't, we can't even start to know what their lives are really like. What life would be like for you if you had special needs and lived at an orphanage or institution.
How you are drugged and sit in front of a TV all day doing nothing, because you have a little too much energy for the nannies' liking.
How if you don't get to the potty in time, you get yelled at, get in trouble, and even abused by the nannies. And because of that, become terrified whenever you have an accident or throw up.
How you are given a bottle of steaming hot tea that burns your tongue and goes down too fast, making you choke and make a mess, which results in you being yelled at and getting in trouble.
How you are tied to a chair with a sheet, because you are easier to take care of that way.
How you get mash that has who-knows-what-in-it-as-long-as-it's-cheap (of which the smell makes visitors gag), shoveled down your throat so fast you can't chew, making your tummy hurt later.
How you sit there all day in a playpen with ten other children, having no toys to play with, doing nothing.
How if you can't sit up on a potty chair by yourself, you are laid over the top of it, in any position, as long as your bottom is over the potty, even if it means your face is on the floor.
How the nannies pick you up by one arm, and never carry you chest to chest because that encourages attachment.
How you scratch behind your ears raw, and bang your head to comfort yourself, or because you are bored.
How a large bib sits under your bowl of food, so if you move, your bowl of food goes onto the floor and you are done eating.
How you learn not to cry because no one hears you or comes.
How if you aren't the biggest, strongest, and most able to move around, you get beat up, and food and toys (when they rarely come out) get stolen from you. And even if you are tiny, you become unnaturally strong for your age to hold your own.
How you attack every little bit of food, shoving it in your mouth, because you don't know what a full belly is or when the next bite will come.
How your head gets shaved so no one has to take care of your hair. You don't understand why and cry and rub your head, wanting your hair back.
How you lay in a bed all day because you have a special need which makes it harder for you to move, and end up laying in a very wet diaper, or in your own waste.
This gives us a glimpse, but we still don't know. The emotional pain, in additional the to the physical. Even if children do not understand there is a life they could be living other then the miserable life they have, they still feel in their hearts the sense of abandonment. That's something they may never heal from, nor the years of abuse they are receiving in where they live.
"Once our eyes are opened, we cannot pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts, and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to ACT."
Now that our eyes are opened, let's live that way.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment! I love to hear from my readers!