I talked to one of the searchers involved in trying to find Holly Burrows - they haven't been looking for a live child for a long time now.
When I became a parent I suddenly became a lot more interested in children, even ones that were not my own. The welfare of children seemed much more important, and the right of a child to have food clothing love and education seemed self evident. Stories in the media about children who were abducted from their bedrooms, killed by family members, raped beaten and starved, they are much more personal now, and they effect me much more. Every one of those stories makes me think about how I would feel if anything like that happened to C. And how he would change. He has such fun living his life, and he believes that the world is a good place, full of people who like him and will do good things for him.
Its not that the world isn't like that, but the world is also a place where people are cruel, where bad things happen to people. It can be ugly and nasty. It can make us cry ourselves to sleep. I want to protect him from that. I also want him to know about it - I don't want to raise a child who doesn't know the truth about where he lives. I get Cfused - I want diametrically opposed things. Often.
The kid in question is still with his grandparents. They asked him whether he wanted to go home, and he replied "No. Not yet". I guess I should be grateful that he thinks he will want to come home at some stage!
Posted by Toni at September 17, 2003 10:49 AM