October 2014: Infancy & Politics
Infancy and Politics.
Never thought I’d write a blog merging those two concepts, but here I am. Earlier this week I heard of a very disturbing situation from a dear friend about an immigrant couple who received an official, Canadian-government request to send their 6- month-old baby back to the Philippines. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that one!
For one, I wonder about the bureaucrat who had to compose the letter and the one who had to send it!
Then I wonder about our Canadian government who wants immigrants to supplement our workforce without procreating????
And I wonder if we ever left the Middle Ages, Indentured Servitude, or made any head way with human rights—or even common courtesy let alone common sense.
Now the psychology comes into play. It is well known by this century that the years of 0-5 are the most critical for child, social, and brain development. If we accept that as true—and are aware of the epidemic of social ills that plague this continent—a land of opportunity and better way of life—why on earth would we promote mental ill-health by separating children from their care-giving parents? These are not delinquent parents by any means—but the kind of parents every child deserves—loving, caring, responsible parents. And our government thinks this child should be sent back to a life of poverty without his natural parents to love & care for him?
By the way, these parents had to leave their 3-year-old daughter in the Philippines to find work in Canada to support their multi-generational family.
Now people may make judgments about family planning. Be that as it may, this child was born into a loving family and has arrived. There is no sending this baby back from whence it came! We cannot reverse conception, gestation, and delivery.
Granted, there are plenty of ‘unwanted/unplanned’ children taxing the system. That is one of the social ills that is self-propagating in our own Canadian culture. This Filipino family is not part of that fabric. This baby is not taxing any system. However, he may in the future if separated from his parents at such a critical age!
We were a country who promoted human rights and overall well being for all persons. This is indeed a reversal of those basic concepts; as well as an actual effort to perpetuate the world’s ills—not alleviate them! For all our peace-keeping efforts in the world, why are we ignoring those born right within our country—and the immigrants we need to maintain our standard of living? If we cannot maintain that standard with internal resources, why do we punish those who have come to literally serve us in menial work?
It begs the question, “What is our world (and country) coming to?”