I am feeling a lot better today about my sister and her husband's situation. They have come to an agreement that he will scale down his relationship with Miss X. I was thinking of going to visit them today, but, I have an exam to study for, and I think it would be better if I left them alone so that they could spend some quality time together. Sometimes I am not sure where to draw the line between being there for them and interfering.

I wonder how I escaped being fooled this year?....

I heard the something really disturbing last night. A friend of mine went to help out in Asia after the Tsunami disaster. I think I mentioned her already in one of my previous posts. Her main area of responsibilty was looking after the children...making sure they were washed, clothed and fed. Apparently during the initial stages, some people would come and claim to be related to the children. At this time there were no strict rules about who could or couldn't take a child away with them. I think it was assumed in such a situation it was wonderful to have people want to support each other. As most of the children were young and couldn't reliably identify these people (even I don't know some of my relatives!), they would just go along with whoever took them. It was only after rumours of child trafficking emerged that it was decided that if anyone wanted to take a child they had to go through a thorough evaluation and had to produce more than one form of identification etc...more than just a passport/ driver's licence/ utility bill.. It's disgusting to think someone can be so evil and cruel as to want to make money by selling children! And those who buy them are just as bad. Some might have the cheek to claim to want to provide a good home for these children. But why not wait and do it properly? I hope anyone who suspects someone they know of having been involved in such evil dealings will report them to the authorities.

At the moment in the UK there is a Child Protection awareness campaign going on. Things really picked up after the Victoria Climbie incident. I am pretty sure a lot of children have been missed, because people are too scared to come forward and report the offenders, are too scared to make a fuss in case that bruise turned out to be from a "fall off the tricycle" , or because people don't consider it and simply believe what the caregivers say. I know some people might be offended if they are suspected of abusing children. But, I say bollocks to that! It's not an accusation. It's not a charge. It's something that needs to be excluded. I feel it is better to err on the side of caution than to let these people slip through the net and allow another child to die at the hands of some cruel human being.

~Amethyst~

Click here to join Peach Tree Club! You'll be glad you did!

Best Selling Books