Thursday, February 28, 2008

Manila's Invisible Children

They jail children, don't they? In smelly cells in police stations, youth rehabilitation centers and mental hospital. They tie them up, chain them to beds, lock them up in filthy rooms. Children are put behind bars supposedly for their protection. But once there, their world is not much kinder than it was in the streets or slums. Food is scarce and stale. The cops are mean and the quarters, cramped and squalid. Policemen and wardens beat up little boys hauled from the streets, while young girls are molested. Once children are in jail or behind bars, their world becomes cramped and small" he says. Without outside help and concern, these children would be permanently scared.