“Nanny rents out baby to beggar” said the headline of the front page article in today’s papers. Normally the paper I get is notorious for its non-existent grammar and misleading phrases not to mention spelling errors – so I didn’t do the expected double-take. Instead I began reading it and found a zany real-life story of a nanny renting out the baby she was hired to take care of.
The parents were the well off sort who were both out pursuing careers in MNCs. They got a maid from an agency (these agencies don’t provide references and pick anyone off the street to work for them) and proceeded to leave this character in charge of their baby while they went out to work. I guess the maid thought of putting the child out to work (after all, you could never begin too early) and rented him out to a beggar for a hundred rupees per day. Then she would sit back, relax, put her feet up and watch the daily soaps till the evening when the child would be returned.
The child kind of protested at being sent out to work and not being fed properly and being clothed in smelly rags. So she drugged him and then sent the newly docile child out. The parents did say they wondered why the child was so lacking in spirit and energy ever single evening but they didn’t think too much about it. The weekends were the only drug-free period for the poor kid and he was noticeably different then.
The whole story came to light when the mother came home early to find a dozing nanny and no sign of her baby! The nanny panicked and spilled the beans and the horrified mother had to wait a few hours to receive her baby from the beggar.
What does a story like this make you think about? Whose fault would you say this was? Was it the maid’s fault? She was a wily opportunist no doubt – she was also uneducated and obviously had no feeling invested in someone else’s child. Professionalism, dignity of labour, accountability even sheer humanity did not come into the picture for her. She was definitely guilty of harming the little child. What about the parents? Did their responsibility end in hiring someone they knew nothing about to take care of their precious child? Why did they trust a stranger? Did they do unexpected checks or ask a neighbour to check on the child occasionally or even install a small camera at the door to be on the safe side? They didn’t do any of these – they simply left their own baby in some idiot’s hands and washed away responsibility by paying her a high salary. They too were guilty of both stupidity and neglect. A career is important but if it is all-important, there are many ways to decide to not have children.
The sad part is that the baby may be irreparably harmed by the drugs given and even babies can feel when they are loved as against when they are toted around like a sack of potatoes in the glaring heat and the dusty roads. What did he do to deserve this? The answer to that is simple – he was just being and in this day and age, who has the time to care for him?
2 comments:
Yeah…It is definitely better to be a DINK couple (Double Income No Kids) than to have a couple of children and leave them to the mercy of those shady day cares and Ayahs. Then these mothers complain to the world of stolen baby food, biscuits and chocolates. The conditions of these well protected kids are very similar to that of the street children, vulnerable and always at risk. Financial security is important but not at the cost of your child’s security. Unless you have your family or a very stable and trustworthy servant with proper references it is definitely not advisable to leave your child and work and later on repent.
I was always sure I'd be a career woman but it didn't happen is spite of my qualifications or rather I didn't pursue it for too many years because i couldn't do it all. I always had the choice of day care but it felt too cold - I understand that not many may be able to afford this choice but a child is important and not secondary to financial stability!!!
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