I wrote yesterday about the volume of stories I wanted to wade through and commented that I knew what I would find, many stories of pain and only a few of joy. I read that now and realize how defeated that sounds. So here is one of the stories of hope.
Shelley Seal writes one of my favorite blogs, Weight of Silence. She has a post about movies made by children rescued from child slavery in India. Her post is entitled, Through the Eyes of Children.
An excerpt:
Sahiful Mondal, who filmed that first movie “I Am” in 2004, is now 13 years old and has filmed or directed three other movies since. Sahiful is very tall for his age, an extremely attractive bright-eyed boy who is full of boundless, optimistic energy and always has a smile on his face. He has traveled to Athens, Cyprus and Melbourne in association with his films. He has come a long way from his early childhood. After his father died of tuberculosis when he was three years old, Sahiful began working in agricultural labor at a very early age due to his mother’s mental illness. The backbreaking work earned him the equivalent of 20 cents per day. Because the agricultural work was seasonal, in the off season Sahiful worked tending goats. He earned two portions of rice per day for this work. One day when he lost a goat under his herding watch, his employer beat him and refused him food for two days.
Please read it all if you have the time.
Jeff Turner (@respres)
J
krkbaker
Shelley Seale
