EVERYONE LOVES A STORY with a happy ending, especially when it is one that is so horrific that it captures an entire society. Such was the case when the SUNDAY SUN broke the heartbreaking story of the sexual and physical abuse of three young children aged 14, 13 and ten.
The hurt and helplessness of the children, the concerns of residents and the role of the Child Care Board have been detailed, triggering a new national debate on the issue of child abuse.
That is why it was heart-warming to hear that the 35-year-old father was granted full custody of his three children after waging a six-year battle for them. On Tuesday, a High Court judge granted the father, who lives in England, custody after filing an urgent application. The good news is that these three children have been rescued from cruel treatment and an abusive household and they will be packing their bags and leaving Barbados this week.
While we are happy they have been saved from a life of abuse, we cannot forget the many others who may be living in such conditions. These still need to be saved.
As a society we cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the social scourge of child abuse which plagues so many families. We cannot afford to keep quiet on this issue. In fact, we urge those who are aware of any form of abuse taking place in homes to sound the caution and raise the alarm.
In this vein, we applaud the courage and actions of residents who brought the matter of the ill-treatment of the three children to the attention of the Child Care Board. The fact that these residents spoke out publicly as well can only be testimony of their strength and the need to do what they knew to be right. So often in societies we ignore the wrong we see, scared to speak out and fight for others, for fear of being targeted or victimised. We are happy that in this case, the residents saw the need to come to the public on this matter.
As sad as it was to grapple with this case of physical and sexual abuse, as a news organisation, we believed it was a story that had to be told. We are now glad to report that this story may well have a happy ending, with the children being rescued from an abusive home.
But the story doesn’t end there. We also need to save the other young people who are suffering at the hands of abusers in this country.
