The plight of children
The uncovering of the atrocious conditions abused and abandoned children endure broke my heart. It appears more likely stemming a tide than preventing and ending the misery of millions, and that’s an indelible shame. A character in Residues, Dr. Gerber, did something about it, but then took it too far.
Below is an extract from Residues illustrating part of Dr. Gerber’s conviction and revulsion.
Infanticide and child abandonment was not a new phenomenon; history provided ample testimony of heartrending accounts of cruelty, prostitution, and slavery.
From Greek mythology, the story of Oedipus saddened Gerber; an infant, taken into the hills to be killed by a herdsman but was found, and grew up to later unwittingly marry his biological mother. He was appalled that Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella, similarly illustrated abandonment or cruelty towards children. The gruesome circumstances of Hansel and Gretel – abandoned twice, horrified Gerber, with Hansel eventually being fattened to be baked in an oven and eaten. Perhaps they were not fairy tales after all. Why any parent would read those stories to their children, and why they had endured, was beyond Gerber.
It was because of the Parisian street urchins that Gerber vowed never to see Les Misérables.
Of all the harsh extremities abound in the universe, Gerber considered earth the most perilous – a celestial Venus flytrap.
The disturbing facts in the novel do not scratch the surface of the world’s suffering children. I could have filled the novel with the many heartrending accounts I read, and it troubled me knowing it was but the tip of a sorrowful iceberg. I felt guilty for having to delete large segments of information from the final draft – it was as if I was betraying their plight.
The affliction of children was introduced to provide insight into the magnitude of the disgrace, and a background to one man’s attempt to prevent the cause of these incriminating conditions. In the shameful darkness there are points of light that make me believe there are saints among us. There is a woman In South Africa – whose name I regrettably don’t know – who has adopted more children than she can afford to support. I have no doubt there are many more the world over – just not enough.
The children, along with euthanasia, ethics, morals, and war, are environments in which Residues unfolds. The novel is primarily about people within those gridirons, and endeavors to accurately portray the worlds they live in.
(During the time of writing Residues, I became aware of two orphanages that were razed killing many of the children. Fate has no conscience or compassion. I have no words…)
Vietnam – haven’t we had enough?
Perhaps, but in this instance it’s about the scarring it has left on one man – Dwayne McCormack. After exposure to the horrors of war at a young age, Dwayne believes he has come to terms with the nature of man, but he hasn’t. His wounds tear open every day, and although there is a remedy, he knows it will hurt the very person who can heal him.
Without being on the battlefield with Dwayne it would be difficult not seeing him as a typical homeless man who has given up on life. He is a product of his environment, and the Vietnam war was used as a backdrop to provide insight into his current circumstances. He had lost more than what the war had taken from him, and it took supreme strength for him not to reclaim it – every day for over three decades.
Below is an extract from Residues regarding Dwyane’s situation.
“Well, when we returned from ‘Nam we were met by anti-war protests. We were shocked; it felt as if the enemy had followed us home. After the horrors we endured, I guess we expected some form of gratitude, and it ripped the heart out of most of us.”
“You’re still carrying some of those scars?” Grant asked gently.
“Not really, I’ve been able to reconcile myself with man’s nature. To me, most of us are like the bamboo viper. But instead of the viper being in the mix of bullets, mortars, and hand grenades, it resurfaced in credit, junk bonds, and debt. I decided I didn’t want to be part of that, and that is what you now see.”
