In light of our class theme revolving around children, I read an article, Children Adrift in a World of Unfathomable Chaos, about the suffering of children in Haiti. Just by reading the first few paragraphs of the article, I realized the title was true: the chaos and horror that these children are facing is unfathomable to me. A young girl, Daphne, recounted how she had to watch her mother's "lifeless" body be carried away in a wheelbarrow. Tons of children have lost their parents and homes, and almost all of them have lost their schools. Of course, with such great a tragedy, there are enormous concerns: "There are health concerns, malnutrition concerns, psychosocial issues, and, of course, we are concerned that unaccompanied children will be exploited by unscrupulous people who may wish to traffic them for adoption, for the sex trade, or for domestic servitude," said Kent Page, a UNICEF spokesman.
How do these children survive? Haiti's first lady said that without help, the Haitian children will have "lost their childhood, their innocence,". The term that resonated with me was "loss of innocence". This reminded me specifically of what we have been talking about in Huck Finn. At the age of 13 or 14, Huck has had to take care of himself, fend for himself, and make important decisions for himself. Personally, I believe that Huck although still a child, has "lost his innocence" through all of the life-experiences and challenges he has encountered. He, just like many children in Haiti, has had experiences with death, something no child should have to experience. But I don't think Huck is necessarily an adult. He is still figuring out life lessons and constructing the type of person he is going to be, which we see evidence of in his conflicts over what is right vs. wrong. Yet, he is clearly not an innocent or naive kid.
Does "losing ones innocence" mean that one loses their childhood? Or can you still be a child without it? What do you think? Is childhood defined by innocence?
Picture: http://www.france24.com/en/20100118-vincent-grammont-humanitarian-aid-worker-haiti-earthquake-port-au-prince-delmas
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