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December 06, 2005
Suffer the children
They are not rookies on the force. They have faced the banality of crime and the bankruptcy of soul of the people they have arrested.
But still they hesistated before opening the hospital room door.
Such a large table, such a little body.
The room is cold, but that's not the reason for their gooseflesh or the overwhelming need to talk in soft tones, almost whispers.
One raises the camera as the other gently folds back the sheets, quietly apologizing to the little girl. They have to document the numerous bruises over the tiny body. They try not to think of her 19 fractures - ribs and skull. They try not to think about her four short months of life, four short months of terror and pain.
They just do their job ... and hold her little hand and stroke the soft curve of her cheek and speak to her softly, in comfort, telling her that she has nothing to fear any more, no more pain to endure, that she is loved and not forgotten. That they will not forget her.
May we never forget her.
Posted by Darleen at December 6, 2005 12:16 PM
Comments
oh my God, 19 fractures, Darleen, this is so heartbreaking and unjust. There was no justice in this life for the baby. Maybe, maybe for who did this to her, but not for her. I wish i could give her a hug.
Posted by: jane at December 6, 2005 01:19 PM
Kind've off topic---but not by much, I'm afraid. The L.A. Daily News recently ran an article about how many kids in the L.A.foster care system simply "disappear"; whether they're running away or being abducted, nobody seems to know; nobody even seems to know how to go about finding out! (There has been some talk of trying to match up foster kids' records with those of the Coroner's office. And, of course, the foster care service says it needs more money before it can do anything.)
Lost pets---lost LUGGAGE gets more attention than these lost kids!
I believe these two stories are somehow connected, at least as they reflect our society's general attitude towards kids.
Posted by: TalkinKamel at December 7, 2005 08:28 AM
Seems like something out of Dickens. Not much has changed since the days of Oliver Twist.
Posted by: Carl W. Goss at December 7, 2005 09:11 AM
"Not much has changed since the days of Oliver Twist."
Unfortunately, it hasn't.
I only wish a new Dickens would arise, who could write books exposing all this, and troubling the public's conscience!
Posted by: TalkinKamel at December 7, 2005 11:24 AM
Cheers to you TalkinKamel! I wish I could make it happen.
Posted by: Carl W. Goss at December 8, 2005 01:35 AM
I know, Carl, me too. (sigh.)
Posted by: TalkinKamel at December 8, 2005 08:22 AM