waited at the interchange for the bus back home when i saw this
young man (age max 22) wheeling this infant son on his stroller to
the queues. the infant has such beautiful eyes and so active for
his age(cant even guess his age at all). as he wasnt strapped to
his stroller he slowly stood him and looked ard but his father who
had a disgruntled look just yanked (possibly) his son by one (read:
1 only) hand off the stroller and onto his shoulder but this child
didnt even whimper or cry at all.
as i looked away he was placed back into his stroller but i could
only imagine how crudely his son was placed back.
when the father boarded the bus, he carried the stroller onto the
bus and impatiently placed the front end of the stroller with a
great deal of force. no one can tell the physical trauma done to
the child.
throughout the brief 15mins bus ride till the father got off with
his infant in tow the baby barely made noise, only when he
desparately sought attention and soothing words from his father.
still as active as other infants of this age would be, he
constantly stood up to visually explore the sights and sounds of
this unfamiliar environment, yet his father treated him as a
misbehaving child and ruthlessly grabbed him from his position and
forcibly placed him back into a sitting position. he then took the
towel on the baby and simply threw it at the baby's face.
as i watched this scene being replayed repeatedly before my eyes, i
was afraid to imagine what treatment this young life might be
suffering at home, behind close doors, not physical barriers of
wood but fears of hostility and the lack of care and concern for
each other, especially this young soul.
when the child finally gave up trying to stand up, he made a
desperate plea to his father for attention by crying for a sec and
making baby noises only to be ignored yet again by his father who
only bothered to look out the windows and appearing irate,
frustrated and impatient with his child.
as he walked towards the doors, he repeatedly jerked this stroller
back and forth , a clear sign he was simply taking out on his
innocent boy.
not once, did the child cry when his father handled him roughly or
made wilful demands to be attended to. i shuddered in fear each
time those scenes replayed before my eyes.
many times i felt the urge to bash him for the way he treated this
son, especially after i looked several times into the boy's eyes i
could tell he wanted attention from anyone, even strangers. but i
was stopped by my own inept.
i can only hope and pray for a better life for this young
life.
i admit i made quite abit of assumptions, such as whether the man
is the child's father, whether was it roughly handling i witnessed
or was i mistaken, whether the child would receive abuses at home
or not.
