Friday 5 February 2010

Stop the violence!

It's a beautiful Saturday. As I was walking down the hill to get the papers, I heard a commotion from a 3-room flat nearby.

From where I stood, I could see a man through the metal gate. It was dark inside, I couldn't see much but I could hear the cries of 2 boys, one sounded like a teenager and the other one younger. They were begging their father to stop hitting them.

The cries were desperate calls for help yet the father continued ranting and scolding. Their wails were heart-wrenching. I couldn't believe how a woman next door could just walk past the commotion without even batting an eyelid.

I stood there, anger rising in my chest. The boys never stopped screaming in pain and begging for the man to stop. I couldn't tolerate the violence any longer and shouted at the top of my voice, "STOP HITTING THE KIDS!"

For a while, the father stopped, then I heard the kids pleading again. The father even had the cheek to say, "See, people are looking at us now."

Hot tears were rolling down my cheeks. If there is one thing I cannot tolerate, it has to be violence or abuse of any kind, especially to kids, women and animals.

The commotion stopped and I walked away. I was so angry with myself for not doing more. At one point, I had wanted to run up to the flat and tell the man that is not the way to discipline his children. I don't know what they did to incur their father's wrath but no kids deserve to be abused that way. I may be able to stop him today but what about the future?

Other passerbys or neighbours didn't seem to care. If I had called the police, they would just wave it off as domestic violence.

My heart bleeds for the kids. What miserable life they have compared to ours. They will grow up hating their lives and the family. I don't think I can enjoy my Saturday anymore.

2 comments:

Fresh Fry aka 福星 said...

haiz.....all these occur on the daily basis in my boon lay neighbourhood in different families. the parents (mostly moms) scream at their kids like bitches......

then bcos of how the kids family education goes, some kids got terribly rebellious as time goes and would never listen even with the whackings.


it's all a vicious cycle = uneducated parents --> poorly educated + loved kids --> kids grow up to be like their parents --> next generation come in same blueprint......

Petunia Lee said...

Fry - It isn't just uneducated parents who are violent. Violence can happen in any sort of family.

Ting - People think that anger is a minor sin. And that it's normal and therefore ok to get angry. But seeds of anger are like weeds. They overgrow a garden patch and strangle all the joy to death.

Children grow up with hate in their hearts and they pass the hate on to their children... who pass it on to the spouses and their friends.

It's so awful.

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