Little Girl Lost- A Poem
Little girl lost
where are you going?
All alone
in the dark
in the rain
and nobody knowing.
Wandering in the streets
Sonagachi is no place for you
Little girl lost
it is time to break free
Run, run away
Run for your young life
Break loose and find yourself
There's so much more for you to see
Run from the streets
Leave Sonagachi far behind you
The world will not be blind forever
Soon they must face it
Everything you suffer
Soon you, little girl lost
will be found
This is the second poem I wrote after watching the documentary Born Into Brothels, which follows a group of children growing up within a brothel. While in the first poem I called people to move to help those in need, this poem acknowledges that the person must also make the choice to leave that lifestyle. In the documentary we are shown that girls born into the brothels are almost always doomed to become a part of the brothel. They are given little to no education and are expected, by their families, to earn a living the same way their mother did. As a child growing up knowing this is just how life is they know no other option in life and their greatest ambition is to simply join a brothel and earn money to support their families.
Zana Briski meets these children and decides to work with them and help them to see the world in a different way. Arming them with cameras she takes them around their town to learn the art of photography. It is at this time the children begin to see that what they thought to be the only way to live life is just one of many options. They children are given a choice by Zana, enroll in a private school and study there or stay in their current life. Even this simple choice is surrounded by obstacles and not all of the children are able to follow through. I will not reveal all of their story as I do believe it is something everyone should watch and experience for themselves. Updates on the children are available on the Kids with Cameras Website.
All the children were lost, they just didn't know until they were given the opportunity to experience life in another way. Some people believe that they must like how they live their lives because they make the choice to stay where they are. This is an incredibly ignorant way of seeing the world. As Zana shows us while she works with these children and opens their eyes to the world around them, they simply knew no other way of life. With education and the positive support of another human being these children have risen to become so much more than they would have if they were simply left alone. Happier, healthier and with an education they now speak for others like them. All we need to do is open and door and they will walk through when they are ready.
