The housegirl/boy: The ills of the society

As a preteen, I watched ROOTS, the mini-series(1977)by Alex Haley, so many times.

Man’s inhumanity towards man. Dare I forget “Kunta Kinte” and “Chicken George?”. Many years later the effect of Slavery is still glaring in the Western World.

This is not the west, yet I see the effects of slavery around me.

I was having my lunch in an eatery, on the Island when they came in. A Lady, two girls, aged between 3 and 5, I believe, and a toddler, carried by a girl who looked like ten years old or slightly older.

I see pictures like this quite regularly and I end up having mixed emotions about it. The girls and boy (toddler), were well dressed and the older girl, was dressed shabbily.

This must be the “house girl “ or “ girl from the village “, I figured. They made their orders and sat down to eat. The village girl didn’t have any plate of her own.

She was feeding the toddler while the girls and their mother, chumped their chicken and fries. I was shocked at what I saw but tried to convince myself that the girl will be served her meal after she finished feeding the toddler. Although I had finished my meal, I just couldn’t leave, I was determined to see this to the end.

The girls wanted ice-cream after they finished their meals and I heard the mother tell the “house girl” to “follow them”; she got up, carried the toddler and went with them.

Then to my utmost surprise and disgust, she dragged the toddler’s plate to her self-centered person and finished off his meal before they came back with ice cream. So the “house girl” just came to watch them eat, abi?

I was livid! I actually wanted to walk up to her, but to what end? Will it deliver the small child from such discrimination? Believe me, I had thought it through, maybe she is fasting or doesn’t know how to eat this type of food, I tried to convince myself.

However, there was a time the lady got up to take a phone call and the girl subtly put some pieces of chicken in her mouth; there was a shriek from one of the daughters “ I will tell mummy you are eating Benjamin’s food”. She began to beg her… I then realized that my thoughts were “not holding up”.

This is very rampant in Nigeria, where a child is brought, usually from the rural setting to take care of the children of some person in the urban areas. Most of these children are not treated well, don’t get an education, and the society accepts it has the Norm. This is so wrong on many fronts.

First of all, any person who is under 18 years, taking in as a “nanny” is experiencing a form of child abuse and slavery! How can a child take care of a child? When do they ever get to be who they are, CHILDREN?

Secondly, are you not putting your own children at risk, leaving them in the hands of a child? The responsibilities that you cannot trust your own children with, why do you think you can with someone else’s child??

What future are you putting in place for this slave child and your own children? If she does not get an education, do you think your own children will be free from the burden of taking care of her and her own children?

Look, I do understand that families in the village want their Wards to go to the city, with the hope of a better life for them. Just remember that as children they are still being molded by experiences and circumstances around them.

If you discriminate in your actions towards them they could end up having trust issues, being judgmental, cold- hearted etc.

The least you can do is let this child feel “at home”, feel the love of family …if you cannot.Please employ the services of adults to do your childminding and household jobs, or better still stop having children that you do not have time to raise! It is not wrong to have a servant, but when the servant is a child, you are definitely not innocent.

Auntybspeaks.com guy to talk.