Save and nurture the children

Last week we carried some of the compositions sent by the students of Leeds International School, Panadura as part of a special project for Children's Day. It's an appeal from the children to the adult world to save and nurture the children and their beautiful world. Today we carry the remainder of the compositions.

****

Child slavery and child abuse

Children are said to be the most valuable gift to the world. They are compared to flowers as they are soft, lovely and make the Earth beautiful. On October 1, Children's Day, people tend to speak about them than on any other day. But is that enough? No, for those children who work as slaves and are being abused by adults, October 1 is "just another day to suffer."

Millions of children all over the world are living in slavery, taken from their families in the rural villages or given up by desperately poor parents, for the promise of better lives in cities.

Often we hear rich families taking over such children, promising the parents "we'll take care of him as our own child, give him an education and all other comforts." But, finally, this child has to mop floors, wash dishes, look after babies not much younger than themselves and are forbidden to eat at tables and forced to sleep on dirty floors.

The most tragic situation is that some of these children are burnt, beaten up or kept without food for the simplest mistake they do. Some girls are raped by their masters and their lives are made worse than hell.Then, there are children who are brought to cities to be given jobs, but end up in brothels or tourist hotels and are abused by local people and even foreigners.

This is the harsh truth which brings tears to our eyes, as all these children are our own brothers and sisters.Not only children from rural areas, even those from orphanages are sold for slavery, sexual abuse and even for organ transplants.

How can people destroy the lives of these innocent children for money? Even during the tsunami disaster in 2004, children were kidnapped. This is another example which demonstrates that the human qualities of adults are declining day by day.

They don't think how the parents would feel when all their property is lost and their children have to suffer a fate even worse than death. The future of these children is most probably destroyed due to slavery or child abuse, by the adult world.

As a child, I request adults to think of all children as their own. Before destroying these lives by such non-human behaviour, please think twice. Why do adults behave worse than wild beasts? Before doing these evil deeds, think again, as you are ruining the future of this world.

All children have a right to be educated, live with their families and spend their childhood in peace and happiness.Immediate action should be taken by the government to remedy this situation. Always remember, if there is a will, there's a way!

Janarusiri Kumarage, Form 7.

***

Fate of the next generation

"While the adult crab walks in a crooked line, will the young crab listen to the elder's advice and walk in a straight line?"

In spite of all the advice to the adult community, they still have not taken a step towards making this world a suitable place for us, the children, to live in.

Let us speak about the reality. When we say that we are dying of starvation, that is just an expression, but for some children it is not an expression, but the truth that they have to face every single day. Not only starvation, but also diseases caused by uncleanliness and lack of facilities have resulted in a large number of deaths annually.

Who are to blame?

Power-hungry leaders have made the world their playground and in the act of making the world a better place by helping others, they collect support for their own benefit.

We must not forget the fact that today's younger generation is having, or perhaps been given, weapons to carry out acts of crime or even worse, wars. And the motive? Political gain!! While the leaders are already tilting the balance towards the destruction of the society, other adults are tilting it even more by contributing to the already decaying society in various ways.

Let us start with the concept of "family". The foundation of the family is the parents. Lack of communication between the parents and children lead to neglected relationships.

Due to alcohol, drugs and various other problems leading parents to fight, some children even wish that their parents were divorced, rather than see them fight all the time.

But that is not always the case, as some children wish that their parents were never divorced as the child ends up at a crossroad, having to choose which parent to live with. We have a question for you dear adults.

Are you all going to continue this way of life of yours and make this beautiful world a living hell, or are you going to change and make this world a better place for us, the future generation?

Mona Hausotter and Thanu Fernando, Form 7.

***

Environmental pollution

The world is becoming smaller and smaller due to the growth of technology and development. The increase in the construction of sky-hugging buildings and making fast-moving vehicles may cause severe damage to the natural environment.

This causes the world to grow richer, at the same time, leading to increased poverty among the poor.

When nature is destroyed, there aren't any fresh winds or shade under giant trees, and even the lakes and ponds get dried up. The number of animals decrease and the lack of trees results in a bare land with deserts being created and severe drought and hunger raises their heads in every direction.

In India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the death rate among the young has increased due to lack of medical care, lack of fresh air (poisonous fumes from chemical industries), intake of polluted water which causes diphtheria, cholera and other severe diseases and increase in harmful insects such as mosquitoes which can cause dengue.

Increase in noise pollution in an urban area can severely affect child education. Even hazards such as tornados, tsunamis, floods, volcano eruptions and earthquakes can destroy the younger generation. The construction of buildings provides an artificial environment to the children in which they will never get a chance to sip a cool drink under a shade of a tree.

We appeal to grown-ups to think about these hazards and save the children from these disasters.

Even Mother Nature has turned against man. She is furious over the unhealthy behaviour of man, destroying various aspects of nature in their greed for money. But it is not always the wrongdoers who are punished.

It is mostly the innocent who pay with their lives in tsunamis, landslides, floods and droughts.

Stop this destruction and let us live in peace.

Preethi Jayawardane, Form 7.