Upon passing along Ilustre Street , a young boy came across my way yelling unto the two American women who were waiting for a taxi. The lad was like 7 or 8 years old, in his ragged clothes and worn-out slippers. He came near to the ladies and asked," Ma'am, where you go?".
I couldn't help but smile upon hearing the boy in his effort to speak such an almost perfect foreign language.The boy's broken English has registered in my mind up to this very moment. Must be an intelligent kid huh!At such a very young age, he should have been just home,enjoy watching tv., working on his assignment if ever he goes to school at daytime, or playing with his siblings and parents-- safe from the the unsuspecting threat of the night.
But sad to realize, this has been the usual scene that I see each night when I pass along Ilustre Street on my way home from work. Young boys whose age ranging from 7 to 10 yrs. old who help the people from that area get a taxi. They're the ones who hail a cab for them and get cents in return for such "customer service". Whether it's voluntary or out of dire need, still it's a child labor dilemma. And then again, I recall my encounter with the boy who was selling sampaguita along the drive-thru of McDonald's .
Sigh...we can only hypothesize to put the blame either over poverty or of parent's negligence in this case. I wonder what future there may be that holds for these children, but just hoping that fate will lead them unto a good luck and will not be part of the delinquents of this alarming society.
4 comments:
A sad story, Ev.
My mother (now deceased) was a teacher. She had a student in 6th grade who was an avid reader, and she encouraged him by giving him books to read. This young boy was our neighbor; lived with his parents who survived in a hand to mouth existence. Sadly, the parents let the boy quit school, before graduating, for reasons unknown to my mother. She was hoping the boy would have a bright future had he gone to a higher education...at least high school grad. The parents, obviously, didn't think that way.
There's nothing much we can do, just hope, maybe that they'll do well in the future.
It is very sad - for many kids in the world future may be not well.
Your today's post ... really spoke to me!
nakakapanghinayang ang mga smarteng bata sa lansangan...pero,minsan,mas masaya pa yata sila kesa sa mga taong masyadong maraming pera at obligasyon sa buhay.. :)(buti na lang,di ako ganon!lol)
btw,saan na ba ang work mo Ev?Wala na akong balita eh..Share mo nman. :)
Here I am,back to blogging Ev!Thanx at di mo pa rin ako forget :)
miss yah!!
for me, its really the obligation of the parents to raise their children well, careful family planning. i just hope these children will find their way to a better life
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