More child abuse

I just finished reading an article about Shyima Hall.

Shyima is a 19 year old girl, who lives in California. She was born in Egypt and lived there until she was 10 when she was brought here to serve as a child maid. A wealthy Egyptian couple brought her from a poor village in northern Egypt to work in their California home. Her duties included waking up before dawn to iron their clothes, mop the marble floors and dust the family's crystal. She often worked past midnight. She earned $45 a month working up to 20 hours a day. She had no breaks during the day and no days off.

The family she worked for lived in a spacious five-bedroom, two-story home, which was decorated to look like a Tuscan villa. The house also featured a fountain of two angels spouting water through a conch.

Shyima though was not welcomed in the house. She was told to sleep in the garage. It had no windows, heat, or air-conditioning. After the garage's only light bulb went out, the family didn't replace it. From then on, she lived in the dark.

Shyima became a maid after her father who was a bricklayer became ill. Her mother found a maid recruiter and signed a contract that essentially leased her daughter to the family for 10 years.

Her family, of course, was poor.

At first, Shyima worked in her owner's home in Cairo. She was 9 at the time. Her mother came by once a month, not to visit her daughter, but to pick up her salary. Later when they moved to California, Shyima moved with them. But, she was never treated as family. As a matter of fact, she was treated like dirt. The kids of the family called her stupid, and that was allowed. Still, she had to wake up in the morning and serve the cretins.

Finally, in April 2002, an anonymous call was placed to the California Department of Social Services notifying them that there was a child living in a garage. A few days later the local police came and rescued the girl from the house. It took four years, but eventually the mother and father of the family were charged and a trial ensued.

During the whole ordeal the girl was ostracized by her own family.

Her father yelled at her.

She was quoted as saying, "They kept telling me that they're good people. That it's my fault. That because of what I did my mom was going to have a heart attack."

Thankfully, her owner's finally pleaded guilty to all the charges they faced. The husband was sentenced to three years in federal prison. The mother was sentenced to 22 months. Both were to be deported after their prison stints. They were also ordered to pay Shyima $76,000. The amount she would have earned if paid minimum wage.

The story does have a happy ending being that Shyima has been adopted by a new family that treats her well.

The sad part of this is that this is something that is rampant. The article reported that there are tens of thousands of children in Africa being recruited every year to work as domestic servants. Some of the children are as young as 3 years old.

Many of these servants end up in the United States and Europe. In fact, The U.S. State Department found that over the past year, children from at least 10 African countries were trafficked as maids to the U.S. and Europe. Unfortunately, because the servants are so well hidden they have no idea of just how many.

As I read this type of articles, I can't help but wonder why these types of atrocities toward children are being allowed, or better yet, tolerated. I thought the children represented our future. If so, what type of future will we have if these types of things continue to happen?

I say "we" because we are truly a global people. Although we may not like to realize it, what affects others, affects us. It is time for us, not government, to stand up against these people who use our children as slaves.

As for the mother of the family, she is back in Cairo. The last time she was spotted she was walking around in the lobby of her apartment with designer sunglasses on. Right behind her, was a little girl carrying her grocery bags.

The girl was around 9 years old.

The Wizard has spoken