BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- With their eyes closed and cries resounding through the maternity ward, children are born into the world to spark the laughter of a family and to kindle the hope of all mankind, waiting to be showered with praise and loving words.
Health and happiness are to children what pulchritude and perfume are to flowers. However, when children are shackled with physical or mental deficiencies, they are as pitiful as broken blossoms, in need of tender, loving care.
DEAR, DON'T CRY
Skinny, without muscles and suffering from spinal disease, the 16 year-old Cameroonian boy Arnaud Dengoue resembles an 8-year-oldin height and weight.
According to his doctor, his particular disease would interrupt the normal development of the boy's organs, such as the lungs and heart, and cause paraplegia.
Since his illness was a great financial burden to his family, he was sent by his mother to a rehabilitation center in Yaounde, Cameroon's capital.
"I heard my father was dead, and mom has never showed up since I was here," he murmured.
Even though knowing no one would visit him, Arnaud would always wait every weekend at the center's gate to watch the parents coming to meet their children.
Being afflicted by poliomyelitis and having also lost her parents in a car accident, Maftuna, a girl in a small town in Kyrgyzstan, has known nothing but pain and tears.
"I remember the names," she said. "My mother's name was Lena. My granny's name was Nina. I remember the place (where) we lived. I remember how my mother died."
Heavy as the daily labor was in her stepparents' house, Maftuna said: "I had to work a lot. I helped to carry heavy boxes for my aunt, who had a small shop. Still, it was better than living in an institution."
Unfortunately, her adoptive parents' divorce was another bitter blow. Unable to sustain the abuse of her new stepmother, she eventually went to live in the local rehabilitation center for homeless children.
"I cry very little nowadays, and I think I'm already strong in heart," she said. In her recently-finished piece of embroidery, which hangs on the walls of her room, viewers can clearly read the message the girl's works are sending: "SOS!"
The children seeking assistance are legion. According to UNICEF, there are presently 150 million disabled children, among whom about 6 million are living in the United States, 2.37 million in Brazil and 30,000 in France.
Furthermore, of all the children under the age of 14, at least 2.5 percent are experiencing sensory and mental problems. In some low-income countries, the mortality of handicapped children under five is as high as 80 percent.
Faced with all kinds of discrimination, these handicapped children could never expect to enjoy the health care and education their healthy peers enjoy. Their dignity is broken, their wings are clipped, and this makes getting along with others difficult.
"Handicapped children should be entitled to the rights of adequate health care and quality education and be protected from mistreatment and exploitation," Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF, declared.
Special Report: Global News Day for Children
