Hey there Superman!

by Rose Danielle Austria

for Special Topics (MCM 190)

“Heartbreaking” would probably be the perfect way to describe the realities shown in the film Minsan Lang Sila Bata. I am not ignorant; in fact I am well aware, of the worsening conditions of poverty in the Philippines. I see it every time I step out the door. The news is bombarded daily with evidences and while the media is known for sensationalizing virtually everything, one cannot deny the distressing feeling that it inculcates.

I’ve watched countless videos, seen hundreds of photographs, and listened to a number of talks on poverty and child labor yet I’m stunned every time. I encounter street kids on a daily basis and feel the lack of hope in them. I’ve heard of children in sweat shops and for a while it was unimaginable what they go through. It was until we saw the footages of the kids in the slaughter house, the port area, and the hacienda.

Then I look back at my own childhood – including the times I complained to my parents for not buying me things I don’t really need – and realized how blessed I’ve been for the past eighteen years. Guilt clouds my heart as I look around and find that all my needs and wants are provided for – and I didn’t even have to work for any of it; while the kids in the film had to struggle every day for food that would not even satisfy anyone’s appetite.

American author Tom Robbins wrote in one of his books that “it is never too late to have a happy childhood.” But my heart breaks even more as I realize that there might not be a better future for most of these children. As the documentary puts it: once a “hornal,” always a “hornal.”

The story of the children in the port area and how that one boy collapsed in exhaustion; the young “hornals” who battle forces of nature and human injustice every day; and the children of the slaughter house as they are likened to dead meat replay in my head like scenes from a horror movie.

At this, I feel remorse for them and anger towards people who have the power to make life a little easier for them. Everyone has the power to make life livable for them. These kids have dreams – they want to study, play, and have fun – but somehow they feel helpless.

Children do not deserve to be treated like slaves. None of them did, no child does or will ever deserve such treatment. Their young minds warrant care, attention, education, nourishment and freedom. These kids need to know that they’re God’s little angels and they should not let anyone or anything to hinder them from living.

We would all agree that child labor is a social problem; but in reality you’d see the burden is not shared at all – some reason ignorance, others the lack of power to help, and disinterest for a few.

There’s a reason why humanity’s battle against such issue never ends: humanity, in its entirety, remains unmoved and indifferent. Sure, everyone desires to change the world but few are the ones who walk the talk. We cannot reason that we are powerless to do so because we are not. Wise men say to change the world, we need to start change within ourselves. We don’t have to be Superman to save lives. If there is a will, there is always a way.

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to act.”

Proverbs 3: 27