Photographer Captures Sickening Moment Hundreds Ignore Naked Baby Sleeping on Cold Stairs
Oftentimes we can ignore the ugliness in the world around us. Whether we stay nice and cozy in our homes or just block out the things we don’t like, remaining in a state of denial is usually more comfortable than recognizing what’s actually happening.
Fortunately, many of us are blessed to live well. Many of us don’t have to worry about where our next meal will come from or where we’ll sleep that night.
Not everyone is so fortunate. There are places in our own country and others where being poor and destitute is the norm.
In some places, even children are forced to fend for themselves out on the streets. It’s bad enough when adults are homeless, but children?
It’s heartbreaking to look at these images. But it may be something you need to see.
A.J. Laberinto (or the person who goes by that title on Facebook) was walking through Manila in the Philippines when he came across this heart-wrenching sight.
The toddler was sprawled out across the inhospitable steps, sleeping. Naked, alone, and dirty, the nameless child stayed in the same spot even as people walked by.
“There I was, camera–celfone rather, in hand turning around the corner when I saw the child,” wrote Laberinto in a comment on the photos he posted.
“You see, only recently I’ve been taking pictures of whatever sight was in front of me strolling around Manila though not that many. So there I was, and for several seconds the baby lay there on the floor not dying but rather sound asleep.”
Unfortunately the sight was all too familiar in that city, and the locals didn’t even bat an eye at the sleeping child.
But Laberinto wasn’t quite as cold yet. He was still interested in finding out where the young boy belonged, and who his parents were — if he still had any.
“After having finished taking the photos I then asked some familiar faces in the crowd, people who actually lived near those stairs, as to where the parent of that baby was.”
“Lo and behold, a woman somewhat bedraggled with dirty clothes on showed up and (immediately) carried the baby away. All of this in a span of seconds. I bought the child food, by the way, four days ago and he’s still living in the streets the very bed to sleep in he ever knew.”
While the finer points of Laberinto’s description may be fuzzy, the overall message is crystal clear: how have we gotten to the point that we can ignore a helpless, lost child?
Laberinto offered an explanation in another comment, writing that “You get desensitized seeing such.”
It’s sad to look at this situation and know this boy’s plight is shared by many more across the globe. We may not be able to help every single one of them personally, but even helping one person can change the world for that individual.
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