Unwanted and Discarded

The first month of 2014 is more than halfway through and with it comes a terrible fact.
One recurring topic in the news is abandonment.  It is now a sad fact that both the very old and infirm and the very young new-borns are being cast away, left to the tender mercies of Fate.

Five aged and sick elderly folks were abandoned in a house filled with rubbish.  It had once been a shelter for old folks who had been left there by their families.  However the owner of the shelter had moved and left these five unfortunate people behind, one of whom is bed-ridden.  When neighbours, yes, there were neighbours on either side of this house, finally went in to check on the noises they heard coming from what they thought was an empty house, they discovered these five elderly folks, one of whom was lying in a heap of rubbish.

They were sent to the hospital where they had their first square meal and given a check-up. To date, none of their family members have stepped forward to claim them although their photographs have been published in the national newspapers.

On the other hand, the more helpless victims were the newborns who could only make their presence known by crying.  Usually abandoned by their mothers in the dead of night, they are truly at the mercy of predators and are usually ant-bitten by the time someone discovers them, provided they are still alive.  Today’s news reported that a teenager was awakened at 3:00 a.m. by a baby’s cries and looking out of her window, saw a little naked baby crying on the ground.  She also heard footsteps walking away.  Thankfully the teenager’s mother, on being informed, took the baby boy in, cleaned him up ( his umbilical cord was still attached and there were blood stains; he had also been bitten by ants ), dressed him and made a police report.  The baby is now in hospital, under observation.

What has made these people abandon their old folks and newborns?  How can they be so heartless and cruel?

The old folks once cared for their children, raised them from babies till they were independent, only to be discarded once their shelf life is nearing expiry date. Some have speculated that they could have been abandoned because they had not been good parents, or their families could not afford the cost of their medical bills and their upkeep.

What about newborns?  Do they deserve to be discarded like rubbish?  They didn’t ask to be born.

It would seem that parenting is partly to blame.  Parents have not instilled good core values in their young or have not been good role models.  Isn’t it about time that something be done to arrest this sad state of affairs?  Are old folks and newborns to be throwaways simply because we do not have a place in our lives for them?

Tweet