Child Abuse

For those of you who don't know much about how minibuses operate in Jamaica, particularly in rural Jamaica, let me tell you: the buses are generally built with 3 rows of seats in the back (to hold a total 12 passengers), and two passengers can sit beside the driver. However, minibus owners here tend to add an extra row of seats. Hence, in total, they can 'comfortably' hold a total of 18 people. I use the quotes on 'comfortably' because for long legged people like me, sitting in the rows is a nightmare... as it is for anyone sitting in a row with one or more fat people.

Anyway, I was on my way from Runaway Bay to Brown's Town (which is where I live, by the way) this evening. As the bus I was on approached a turn, we all saw a very large group of students (maybe age 10-12) standing by the side of the road, beside a minibus which appeared to have broken down. Our bus stopped, our driver asked if they needed help, but they refused assistance.

I sat in amazement as I looked out the bus window and saw the multitude of little ones standing in the darkness of a lonely, unlit road. There had to be AT LEAST 35 children out there. And as I looked, I found it hard to imagine that some money-grubbing jackasses would be cruel enough to cram 35 children in a bus that only seats 18. And I'll have you know that the route isn't short of buses. I thought of the consequences of a bad accident happening while they traveled home- how many of them would survive it? How would the situation be explained to their parents? How can we be so damn irresponsible???

I wish the children were smart enough, or experienced enough, to know what things not to do. The reality is, however, that they just wanna get home. And I'm sure more than one of the students have been left stranded on the road before (whether their fault or not). In the end, they feel like they just have to take what they get. Afterall, some drivers still refuse to carry schoolers, because they don't pay the full fare. So the most vulnerable of our society are left stranded on the streets because they aren't 'worth' the pick-up.

In so many ways in this country, we don't take care of our children. We use and abuse them, make them suffer for nothing other than being their age. It sickens me. I'm thoroughly disgusted.