Words that hurt

Being a third world country girl I see it every day; kids getting beat up for not doing their chores or just for talking back; and even if I cannot see it, I know that a great percentage of kids are being assaulted sexually every day in ther homes and schools and, dare i say, even churches. Kids have become defenseless targets of abuse because theyre not allowed to complain; and even when they are brave enough to speak up, adults refuse to believe them. Mothers refuse to think theyre husbands are doing something wrong; they either think theyre entitled to do that kind of abse (because children are jus something else you own like a piece of land or some cattle( or they blame it on the kid assuring that 3 year olds and 7 year olds can seduce a grown man. Therefore, they should bare with the guilt.

But physical and sexual damage are not as important as the psycological damage that is caused in almost every guatemalan infant; low self esteem and a lack of both information and safety are, in my oppinion, the main causes of the perpetuation of such behavior. Words lead to actions, the bruises may go, the STD you get from your rapist may be cured by a physician but the psycologycal damage remains, words stay with you always.

My half sister has an abusive mother, she hits her in every way you can imagine; nails, kicking her, the whole package and my sister says she has learned to deal with it; she goes numb and doesnt feel a thing but she remebers everything she says and that hurts even more that everything else she may do.

Just remeber; sticks and stones may break our bones, but words may break our hearts.