This story takes place at the mall where i used to do my grocery shopping when i was teaching in a suburb of Beijing. Here’s the assignment for you:
Read the article, then answer the poll at the bottom to tell me if the father is abusive or if he is justified in his actions based on his circumstances.
Here’s the article:
At first sight it seems the ultimate in child cruelty – a two-year-old boy chained to a lamp post to stop him getting away.
Yet his parents say this is the only way they can guarantee not to lose him.
His father Chen Chuanliu works as an unlicensed rickshaw cyclist in Beijing, taking fares all over the city, while the boy’s disabled mother collects rubbish at the roadside.
They say they secured their son, Lao Lu, with a padlock around his ankle because his four-year-old sister Ling was ’stolen’ from them last month.
Child snatching is rife in China, where strict laws govern the size of families.
Concerned passers-by spotted the shackled toddler outside Huaguan Shopping Mall in Liangxiang.
They reported his father to the authorities, who yesterday ordered him to remove the chain although it was not clear what arrangements he would make in future.
There is no nursery place for Lao Lu because his 42-year-old father is a migrant worker from another province, Szechuan, and therefore does not qualify for state help. The family live in one room, 9ft by 8ft.
Chen said he could not afford to pay for childcare on his earnings of £4.50 a day and had refused offers of ‘a lot of money’ to give his son up for adoption.
‘My wife cannot take care of him and I have to work to support my family. So I chain him to a pole when I have a fare.
‘I don’t even have a picture of my daughter to use for a missing-person poster. I cannot lose my son as well.’
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Mom
March 13th, 2010
The whole thing breaks my heart. A parent’s worst nightmare is to lose their child. Their second worst nightmare is to not be able to adequately care for them. This is a universal feeling. How much does day care cost?
Matthew Peterson
March 13th, 2010
I can’t imagine where his daughter is or the corruption this dad is surrounded by where no one helps him find her. There is such an innocent look on the face of his little boy.
proctor
March 21st, 2010
I came back to this tonight…and was thinking, what if we were to put ourselves in the shoes of this little boy?
I think what’s really hard for us is the mention of “chains” and seeing a pictures of metal chain links holding back this little kid.
which bothers us more….Is it the fact that he’s tied up with chains? or is it the fact that his father is leaving him all alone?
b/c think about it… if it’s just the fact that he’s tied up…would we feel any different if it was a plastic rope that was colored and nice looking? b/c i see this all the time at the mall or wal-mart….where kids are confined to their surroundings (obviously safer surroundings than a city sidewalk)…but still, they are in a leash.
but back to putting ourselves in his shoes…let’s say, 20 years from now. You are that 22 year old chinese boy. A hard life but raised by your parents….maybe you remember the chains, maybe you don’t. How would you feel about your dad loving you that much so that you didn’t end up as someone’s slave in a rice field or rock quarry or sex slave in the brothel in Cambodia?
As “cruel” as all this looks, it’s so easy to look at this thing from the comfort of our own homes and filled bellies and make a judgement call on the situation.
I wonder what this boy will think when he’s 22 years old. Will he be grateful and understanding? Or will he feel abused and blame his father for making certain decisions? I wonder if he will recognize and understand the life of cruelty his father is trying to save him from.