Thanks Jeansis for
"Prayer For The Children” .
..i've lived in various parts of the UK, certain crimes would really shock me, one in particular was the killing of Dr Russells wife,Lyndsy and Megan, brutally beaten to death in the countryside, on a beautiful summers day, the other daughter survived, remarkably. A few years later i was living in cambridgshire, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were killed, slayed and burnt beyond recognition by Ian Huntley, this was a devastating crime and had such an awful impact on me, my illusions of lovely, sunny, garden of england were shattered, Cambridgeshire has some wonderful scenery, and the small , quaint village of Soham will never be the same again. A friend still lives there and shared with me such a said story, he had worked for Hollys Dad or maybe Jessicas, cleaning, i will never forget what i had heard!..... I studied politics and society years ago,so i always had this kind of odd relationship with the media and crime, sometimes obsessive , other times detatched, due to brutal murders becoming too much for my little old mind....I always wanted kids, but knew that if i had them id be totally worried about their safety, and would need to have therapy just to deal with coping no doubt, but i think about 5 years ago i knew i wanted to leave the UK, wasnt sure where mind you , but knew i had to leave.....for many reasons, far too boring and no doubt trivial to some people to go into here!
I have always had a close relationship to the Isle of Wight, my parents moved there in the late 80s, dad bought a small shop and retired, such a lovey island, although on the outside it looks so pretty doesnt it? 3 prisons are housed there, Parkhurst, Albany and Camp Hill, since the 1970s various sex offenders of all "types" have been institutioned there, and once released seem to stay on the IOW, no doubt get free housing , accommodation whatever, and are tried to be rehabilitated into society. The IOW has an appauling level of sexual crimes upon children, so shocking the statistics are depressing, perhaps this is due to the large ammount of sexual offenders who have been released and chosen to live " anonymously" there, or just crime rising. Two years ago, it was a lovely english summers day on the Isle of Wight, a 15 yr old girl was raped and brutally murdered in the woods, whilst collecting different types of flowers, only found in the UK, ( as she was from France) that crime , for some reason always stuck in my mind, and of course others, Fred West , Myra Hindley, but crimes upon children seem to really hit me hard, they shock my system, make me sick even, confuse me, anger me, and always, always sadden me.
Crimes seem to be getting worse inthe UK, from anti social street fighting to child abduction the list goes on and on....
When i heard of this little girl in Portugal had gone missing, my heart sank, especially as it is now nearly 6 days ( plesae dont quote me it could be more or less), depressingly the chances of finding her alive are reduced by the hour, we are all too familiar with these crimes.... what the parents have done or indeed havn't is another matter, im not a parent, and take a similar view to Jeansis, i wont judge, although, regrettably in cases like this sometimes it transpires to be a family member who is guilty, im not speculating, but the shocking crimes iv'e read where parents take their own childrens lives is incomprehensible. I hope for this dear sweet little girl to be found, and go and grab a cuddle from mum, although rather gloomy i doubt it. But im english and was taught to have hope and "keep your chin up" until the end!
Ive lived in Denmark for over 3 years and never heard of a child go missing, they have their sexual crimes, which of course are depressing enough, and horrifying, but serious murders and evil crimes on children, the UK and USA seem to have a monopoly on, social scientists perhaps have more experience than me in this area, there is an answer somewehre, thats for another debate and time, complex by nature. I know though if my girlfriend is lucky enough to fall pregnant one day i certainly will have security top of my list, not paranioa, security. Im security concious at the best of times, being raised in a modest south london home, working class family, tough neighbourhood and Millwall as my local football team, street sense was a way of life, but i have learnt to differentiate between becoming too paranoid and security-sensible. And of course having fun and smiling. Although serious crime happens, i must remember to not let the media and all its severity play too much on my mind, sometimes i turn off the news, buy no papers, chill out and forget, otherwise its way too much for my little old mind. I start asking myself questions " why o why Jeff what a sick world", over and over, with no real answer just bewilderment.
I will pray tonight for this dear sweet child, and other children who are suffering in silence, sometimes caused by daddy and sometimes by a "uncle", pain for children is regrettably real..... and more than most of us can bear to imagine
my god watch over this child.........and hold her tightly . <>(