One of the topics that is mentioned briefly in Enrique's Journey is foster care. On page 19, the author describes the cases of several extremely young children, some as young as 4 years old, who knew nothing of a real, parental figure. These children were abandoned by their appointed smugglers, and left to be found by strangers, hopefully strangers with their best interests in mind. According to Orphanslifeline.org, 60% of the Mexican population falls under the classification of "Poor," with only a cumulative 26% of the country's income is headed their way. The mortality rates of infants and children living in these squalorous conditions are worryingly high, over twice that of those who aren't impoverished. Right now, there are currently over 1.5 million separated or orphaned children living as wards of the state, whether they were seized while en route to a family member or otherwise. On average, of children leaving the foster care system at 18 years old, 25% will become homeless, 56% will be unemployed, 27% will become incarcerated, and 30% of women will experience early parenthood.
(NOTE: The term "orphan" does NOT necessarily mean that both parents are dead. According to worldlifeexpectancy.com, in India, it is estimated that of their approx. 30,000,000 orphans, only 0.3% were orphaned by the death of their parents. All others were abandoned in some way or another.)
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/life-expectancy-of-orphans
http://www.orphanslifeline.org/Mexico.html
After his mother leaves for the United States Enrique is passed from family member to family member as each one abandons him in some way, leaving him feeling lonely and hateful towards those around him. This made me curious about what becomes of orphans or children deprived of family structure later in life. According to Orphan Hope International 10%-15% commit suicide before age eighteen, 60% of girls become prostitutes and 70% of boys become hardened criminals. This shows that mothers from central america who leave their children to go to the united states need to consider what will become of their children while they are away.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Unicef, there 132 million orphans in the world and only 13 million have lost their parents. This made me curious about immigrants who cross the border into the United States and if some of them just leave their children to die or not. Enrique was lucky enough to have a family to take care of him throughout their childhood. Although those family members cared for him, each of his family members disowned him and sent him to a different family member because of his disrespectful and juvenile behavior. I agree with Katy when she stated her fact about orphans. Although mothers might think they are doing what's right for their children when traveling across the border, they have to consider the consequences of how that could effect their child's/ children future.
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