Stories

Child Exploitation

child-beggars1

Standing by a traffic stop

Scratching at his lice filled hair,

Glancing at the traffic cop

Ragged clothes and shoulders bare.

Baksheesh was his constant cry

Tapping on each window pane,

Not much cash, but have to try

Avoid the bashing and the pain.

From his owner’s greedy hand

Gets some shelter, little food,

Pressed in with this beggar band

Syndicate’s this captive brood!

Rural children on the run

Came to city hope held high

Told that city lot of fun,

Now they wish that they could die.

Syndicate of cruel men

Groom these children for their trade,

Some disfigured, only then

Maximize the money made.

Set a goal for each new day

Money payment for their keep,

Find and beat them if they stray,

From exploitation money reap

Such their life till early die

City streets their only fare

Hear no sympathetic cry

Most have other things to care.

© Copyright Ian Grice,

ianscyberspace 2018 All rights reserved

The above image is the property of asianworldnews.co.uk

 

 

 

 

19 thoughts on “Child Exploitation”

    1. The cruel part is that if they were not exploited they would die from lack of any food. We live in a sick world where there is enough wealth to share around and save much of humanity. The reality is that Communism that guaranteed equal distribution of food failed miserably. It made everyone poor except a select few. At least capitalism and democracy provides taxes to address some of the needs in a democratic country but while humanity remains selfish as a basic trait that’s the best we can come up with.

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  4. So sad the plight of some children. I am listening to a book written by Fredrick Douglas who was once a slave. He wrote that the owners who professed Christianity beat their slaves the hardest. It was interesting to read their “proof” texts for beating and depriving their slave of dignity.

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    1. I don’t know how people who profess a religious experience can live with themselves when they mistreat others. They will not be welcomed into that Better Land even though they profess to want that when they die.

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  5. I did not click the like button sweet Ian because the content of the poem is sad. The poem is very well written though and I do like that. The content brought back many memories of some children I cared for. Most people have no idea what some children of the world go through. It is so heartbreaking and I wish I could make it all better for every one of them. Keep writing my friend, people need to hear what you write about. Hugs

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    1. My parents took in every wounded young person and tried to improved their lives, some responded and made something of their lives and some didn’t. They’d been too damaged in their early years. My mother in law, like you, took in dozens of foster babies in her time and gave them the love they were missing out on.

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  7. The reality of life on the streets for hundreds of thousands of children. Many of the children had been sold by poverty stricken parents to “nice aunties and uncles”; others simply kidnapped.

    And you’re right, Ian, to tug at heart strings and purses, many of the these children are brutally crippled.

    A blight on society.

    Peace,
    Eric

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    1. Eric I’ll never forget the crippling of children in order to gain more sympathy and hopefully money. The flip side of that is I’ve seen an older beggar who was able to contort to appear as if he’d been maimed and he looked so pathetic one wanted to give him something. Then we came across him in a main city bazaar looking quite normal. He’d contort when he saw someone coming who looked like they may be sympathetic and have money to spend. That made me cynical for a while, but I got over it.

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