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Passersby not the only ones at fault in death of neglected toddler
By Wang Yong |
October 27, 2011, Thursday
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SHE was born in June 2009 and died in October 2011; she was just 28 months old.
Little Yue Yue (literally meaning "merry") was struck by two hit-and-run drivers on October 13 in Foshan City in Guangdong, one of China's richest provinces.
Her injury and pain (captured on TV and the Internet) have prompted soul-searching in China. But who really killed Yue Yue?
The two drivers who ran over her, one striking her down and fleeing, the other driving right over her as she lay in the street? What about the cold-hearted passersby who refused to save her and didn't even bother to call an ambulance? (A scavenger lady who collected recyclable items finally called for assistance.) Or what about her parents who should never have let her wander out into the street alone?
It's cruel to ask these questions, now that the "merry" girl has ceased to be. If she could look down at this scene and read the newspaper stories, who would she blame, or forgive?
So far, the passersby who didn't stop to help - nearly 20 of them - have borne the brunt of fierce moral reprimands.
Certainly their indifference and behavior were abhorrent; they behaved like animals (except that even some animals show compassion). At least they could have called the police or an ambulance. They did nothing. They looked away from the bloody scene of the toddler in the street.
But are they the worst? Not necessarily. There's plenty of blame to go around.
Unjust judgments
Bad court judges have rendered infamously unjust judgments and helped create a society and mind set that do not value Good Samaritans - and do make people reluctant to step forward and help.
In 2006, a young man named Peng Yu helped an old woman, who had fallen in the street, to a hospital in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. The old woman first thanked him but later accused him of having knocked her down and caused the injury.
Without compelling evidence from either side, a local court ruled in 2007 in favor of the woman and ordered Peng Yu to compensate her family for medical and related expenses.
That ill-judged case angered the whole nation and discouraged many potential Good Samaritans from giving a helping hand, lest they open themselves to costly legal action.
And worse than the cold-hearted passersby and bad judges are the two drivers who drove off immediately after running over little Yue Yue. The first driver has been arrested on charges of murder by negligence. The second driver also has been arrested; charges are pending.
And let's not forget Yue Yue's parents. They are reasonable, grieving people.
Yue Yue's father has decided not to sue the two drivers for compensation, while Yue Yue's mother will spend the rest of her life anguishing over her failure to take care of her toddler in the first place.
Parents, beware
Indeed, how could any responsible parents let their two-year-old daughter run around on the street by herself? However hard one's life, there's simply no excuse for not watching closely over a toddler.
We stand by Yue Yue's parents, we understand their sorrows, we pray for their better life in the future. But there's a hard lesson to be drawn from their gross negligence in failing to protect their little and lovely daughter.
While we duly accuse the drivers, the judges and the passersby, we should not forget that Yue Yue would still be alive if her parents had watched over her.
Yue Yue's parents left their hometown in rural Shandong Province to do metal business in Foshan. They operate a small shop in a local metals market. They work and live in the same crowded shop.
Public opinion easily shifts against society and social ills that make life miserable for people like Yue Yue's parents, who had to abandon agriculture to make a living in cities where they are often treated as second-class citizens, if that. They are definitely treated like outsiders.
Indeed, had Foshan provided an affordable, safe and convenient kindergarten for the children of poor migrant workers, Yue Yue might not have had to try to amuse herself in the street. Society and its general indifference to the struggles of migrant workers are indeed to blame. But, as individuals - as fathers and mothers - we cannot afford to be indifferent to families and our children.
Public opinion is divided over whether the law could or should compel parents to be responsible for their children's safety. But parents really need to ask themselves what's more important - business or children?
Little Yue Yue (literally meaning "merry") was struck by two hit-and-run drivers on October 13 in Foshan City in Guangdong, one of China's richest provinces.
Her injury and pain (captured on TV and the Internet) have prompted soul-searching in China. But who really killed Yue Yue?
The two drivers who ran over her, one striking her down and fleeing, the other driving right over her as she lay in the street? What about the cold-hearted passersby who refused to save her and didn't even bother to call an ambulance? (A scavenger lady who collected recyclable items finally called for assistance.) Or what about her parents who should never have let her wander out into the street alone?
It's cruel to ask these questions, now that the "merry" girl has ceased to be. If she could look down at this scene and read the newspaper stories, who would she blame, or forgive?
So far, the passersby who didn't stop to help - nearly 20 of them - have borne the brunt of fierce moral reprimands.
Certainly their indifference and behavior were abhorrent; they behaved like animals (except that even some animals show compassion). At least they could have called the police or an ambulance. They did nothing. They looked away from the bloody scene of the toddler in the street.
But are they the worst? Not necessarily. There's plenty of blame to go around.
Unjust judgments
Bad court judges have rendered infamously unjust judgments and helped create a society and mind set that do not value Good Samaritans - and do make people reluctant to step forward and help.
In 2006, a young man named Peng Yu helped an old woman, who had fallen in the street, to a hospital in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. The old woman first thanked him but later accused him of having knocked her down and caused the injury.
Without compelling evidence from either side, a local court ruled in 2007 in favor of the woman and ordered Peng Yu to compensate her family for medical and related expenses.
That ill-judged case angered the whole nation and discouraged many potential Good Samaritans from giving a helping hand, lest they open themselves to costly legal action.
And worse than the cold-hearted passersby and bad judges are the two drivers who drove off immediately after running over little Yue Yue. The first driver has been arrested on charges of murder by negligence. The second driver also has been arrested; charges are pending.
And let's not forget Yue Yue's parents. They are reasonable, grieving people.
Yue Yue's father has decided not to sue the two drivers for compensation, while Yue Yue's mother will spend the rest of her life anguishing over her failure to take care of her toddler in the first place.
Parents, beware
Indeed, how could any responsible parents let their two-year-old daughter run around on the street by herself? However hard one's life, there's simply no excuse for not watching closely over a toddler.
We stand by Yue Yue's parents, we understand their sorrows, we pray for their better life in the future. But there's a hard lesson to be drawn from their gross negligence in failing to protect their little and lovely daughter.
While we duly accuse the drivers, the judges and the passersby, we should not forget that Yue Yue would still be alive if her parents had watched over her.
Yue Yue's parents left their hometown in rural Shandong Province to do metal business in Foshan. They operate a small shop in a local metals market. They work and live in the same crowded shop.
Public opinion easily shifts against society and social ills that make life miserable for people like Yue Yue's parents, who had to abandon agriculture to make a living in cities where they are often treated as second-class citizens, if that. They are definitely treated like outsiders.
Indeed, had Foshan provided an affordable, safe and convenient kindergarten for the children of poor migrant workers, Yue Yue might not have had to try to amuse herself in the street. Society and its general indifference to the struggles of migrant workers are indeed to blame. But, as individuals - as fathers and mothers - we cannot afford to be indifferent to families and our children.
Public opinion is divided over whether the law could or should compel parents to be responsible for their children's safety. But parents really need to ask themselves what's more important - business or children?
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