I had trouble getting to sleep the night I watched the world premiere of These Little Ones. It runs for less than an hour, but what a disturbing hour of film making it is.
“Millions of children vanish each year.
83,000 each month.
2,700 a day.
115 per hour.
1 every 30 seconds.
It makes you wonder…where do they all go?”
My life hasn’t sheltered me from the knowledge of the evil that exists in our world. It was still confronting to see some of the footage in These Little Ones. From old 60 Minutes footage, to interviewing Henry B. Smith Jnr, to snippets of Nancy Schaefer delivering her report "The Corrupt Business of Child Protective Services”.
Thankfully that report is easy to find online, this surprised me. The contents of it don’t make for easy reading. Doing the research for this article has brought me to tears on multiple occasions, yet the reason evil is allowed to fester is because good people stay silent.
Your Tax Dollars
There is a multi billion dollar industry employing state employees, lawyers, court investigators, court personnel, and judges. There are psychologists, and psychiatrists, counsellors, caseworkers, therapists, foster parents, adoptive parents, and on and on. The system may keep these people employed but it isn’t keeping the children safe.
I was astounded to learn from Mrs Schaefer’s report that The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect in 1998 reported that six times as many children died in foster care than in the general public, and that according to the California Little Hoover Commission Report in 2003, 30% to 70% of the children in California group homes do not belong there and should not have been removed from their homes.
A Light in the Darkness
Thankfully some are found, sadly many have been abused before they can be rescued. Undoubtedly there are some good people working within the system but it’s clear we need many more speaking out to save these children.
Mrs Schaefer ends her report with the verse “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and the needy" Proverbs 31:8-9
Being a voice for the voiceless can come at a cost. Mrs Schaefer believed it cost her, her career. Many believe it also cost her, her life. These Little Ones also looks at the life and death of Isaac Kappy. I wasn’t aware of him before watching this documentary. I’m sure his friends, family and followers still miss him.
It’s dumbfounding that Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty and convicted by a jury in US federal court on five sex trafficking-related counts, one of sex trafficking of a minor, one of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and three of conspiracy to commit choate felonies. Yet despite these convictions, why have we still not seen any charges brought against anyone else? Who was she working for?
How Can You Help?
This isn’t a new phenomena abuse of children has been going on throughout the history of the world. What can you do as just one person? Well you aren’t just one person because you don’t live on an island by yourself. Where ever in the world you are reading this from, you know people in your community. They know people, and those people know people and together we can make a difference.
Please don’t be one of the good people that remains silent. Yes it may cost you something but what could it cost a child if you stay silent afraid of what might happen to you as an adult? There may come a time when like Jesus you are asked to give up your life for another. Until then what are you willing to do to help those who need you to fight for them?
3 of Neville’s previous articles on the value of life:
· Have you ever known a love like this?
· Hugs save lives
· Planned
Neville Hiatt was the 2020 Press Services International Tronson Senior Writers Award Winner for Australia. His previous posts for can be read here.
He spent a decade working for Radio Stations before his career was intermissioned by someone in a hurry to get home from work. For more of his award winning creativity visit http://nevillehiatt.com.
He also blogs for http://altcoincollege.com/covering the way cryptocurrencies and blockchain are changing our world.