NOT GUILTY AS CHARGED

The dictionary defines the word “crime” as an act that is illegal or breaks a law and as a primary rule, ‘Every criminal must be punished’. But what happens if the so-called ‘criminal’ isn’t aware of what the law states, what if he’s too small to even pronounce the word, let alone know its meaning? This is what was going through my mind when I met Ben.

Ben is a six-year old boy I recently met at a remand home. This wasn’t the first time I’d visited the boys’ remand home. I grew up with the belief that  ‘service to man is service to God’, which is why every time I felt like I had a lot to be thankful for, I’d make it a point to voluntarily help-out with the service activities my father was involved in. These service activities usually included preparing food at home and taking it to feed the poor and helpless. I always looked forward to days like these, because they gave me a chance to serve the God residing in everybody. This day was no different – I looked forward to it too. Besides, I’d met these children before. They were all a bunch of boys ranging from ages nine to twelve, who’d committed an offense or crime and were now being housed by the remand home because they were too young to be sent to jail. Our job was to try and reform them by teaching them human values and all I was expected to do was talk to them and help with the teaching. Little did I know that one of these boys would end up teaching me a lesson, a lesson that I would never forget….

Their daily prayer had just begun when we arrived. So we stood there watching them pray while they recited their hymns in unison. I let my eyes drift across the room, trying to spot any changes since the last time we visited. There was Frank, the matron standing right in the front, keeping a close watch on all the boys. Somehow, he always reminded me of Professor Snape in Harry Potter – he was tall and thin, with this grave and suspicious expression plastered to his face – making you feel like there was something evil and villainous about him. The mere sight of him sent shivers down my spine, probably because I’d once seen him beat one of the boys with an iron rod just because he accidentally yawned while they were saying grace before a meal. This is just one of the examples of how brutally they treated the boys and I often wondered how they expected those children to reform their ways if they were going to be treated like street-rats. Why not just send them to jail then? They’d end up getting more or less the same treatment out there too, wouldn’t they? I felt my gaze automatically shift to the boys. There was Wilson – the eleven year old boy who tried to steal a great deal of money from the person he was working for ; then I saw Daniel – I don’t exactly remember what he did, but I do know that it too had something to do with stealing. I recognised a few others like Razaq, William and Syed, and that’s when my eyes fell upon this little boy. He was probably just about three and a half feet tall and he looked like he was about to burst into tears any minute.

Once the prayers got over, we were asked to serve the food we brought with us. One could tell that the boys were starving as they rushed into the dining room to get their food. I watched as each boy picked up a plate and went to stand in line, waiting to be served. However, the little boy was nowhere in sight. My eyes scanned the entire room, but they couldn’t find him. So, I decided to check the prayer room, in case he got left behind – and there he was, sitting in front of this big portrait of Jesus Christ.  Maybe he can’t eat by himself, I thought. So I went back to the dining room and filled up a plate for him. I was going to feed him. But as I moved closer, I realised that he was crying. I tried to talk to him. I asked him why he was crying. At first, he didn’t reply, he just kept crying. But eventually, as I somehow managed to assuage the crying, he began to talk. This is what he said –

“My mama and papa don’t love me. They left me here and went away. I want to go home to my mama and papa.”

I felt a lump in my throat. What could such a small child have possibly done to have been given such a punishment? I knew I had to find out. I tried my best to soothe the little boy, but since nothing worked, I decided to call somebody. So I called Emanuel, one of the staff members. Emanuel told me that the boys’ name was Ben and that he was six years old. He had been sent to the remand home ten days ago for accidentally killing his two-year old brother. Apparently, the two children had been left alone in a play-ground and while playing, Ben, unknowingly threw a huge stone at his younger brother. The stone hit the two-year old’s head and the child died on the spot. After this, he was sent to the remand home and ever since then, this boy has unfailingly been asking for his parents every day. He barely eats, barely sleeps – the only thing he seems to be doing in abundance is cry.

I felt the tears well up in my eyes as I listened. By the time Emanuel was done telling me this story, Ben was taken away. At that moment I didn’t know how to react, part of me couldn’t help thinking about the number of times I’d taken my family for granted. Here was a child who was never going to see his family again, and that too for a crime that involved no fault on his part. He was six years old for God’s sake, how was he supposed to know what he was doing? Isn’t that what his parents were there for? What parent in their right mind would think of leaving a six-year old child to watch over a two-year old one? And most importantly, how in the world is the law providing justice by punishing a child who wasn’t even aware of the fact that he was committing a crime? There are so many questions that remain unanswered when it comes to the law and its so-called ‘justice’ and I’m afraid that by the time they find an answer to all our questions, it might be too late. In the meantime, innocent children like Ben will have to suffer because of their parents’ foolishness and callousness of the law. Ben is going to suffer the agony of living without his family and the accusation of killing his baby brother.

So I ask you, does he deserve it ???