Address child abduction crisis before the vice gets out of hand
A woman in joy after reuniting with her child who had been abducted. Watching children disappear every week can really be traumatising to other children.
The growing number of children reported missing is a matter of great concern.
Watching children disappear every week can really be traumatising to other children.
It is unfortunate, especially for parents and children in big cities such as Nairobi. Parents are now shutting their doors and locking their gates fearing for the safety of their children.
I am speaking for the voiceless children in the hands of strangers who want to take advantage of their innocence. I can only imagine how they are feeling. Are they fed? Are they sick? Are they kept warm during this cold season?
But what if it were me? What If I was to be taken away by a stranger to a place I did not know? How I’d wish the earth would open up and swallow me alive as it would be better than enduring the pain inflicted by my kidnappers.
Heart-breaking
What about the parents who have lost their loved ones? One can only imagine what they are going through.
It is heart-breaking watching them grieve on television. As schools close and children in boarding schools return home, I can only imagine the anxiety and fears in the hearts and minds of my colleagues. Many are not ready to travel alone.
That’s how scared we are for our lives. We are living in fear in our own country, which is no longer safe for us.
We are afraid of being scooped off our feet by malicious strangers the moment we are out of the school gate.
This fear keeps rising as the closing day, Friday July 16, approaches. It is out of this fear that I plead with the government to do something before this matter gets out of hand.
I hope that they find the lost children and punish the criminals. May God give the captured children strength and endurance, as He fills the hearts of their parents with hope.
At the same time, may the Almighty touch the hearts of their abductors with empathy, so they feel the pain the minors’ parents are going through.
Have a hopeful week.
Patricia is a Form Three student at Mama Ngina High School.
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