“They were all telling me to go away.” Anano, 6, is a child actor. But the situation she’s in is very real. Every day, millions of children living in poverty are ignored, pushed aside and deprived of everything they need to thrive.
We live in a world where we are judged, almost relentlessly – based upon gender, race, caste and more often than not, our appearances. The indicators that society swears by often include the fashion labels we wear, the friends we have (that decides our ‘social status’) and the kind of attitude we can ‘pull off’.
Awfully enough, these ‘parameters’ are coarse, so much that they even do not leave children aside from their yardstick and manage to affect them in an equally (if not more) alarming manner. No matter how hideous it sounds, it is the reality and a rather shameful one, especially in a country like ours. We see kids being treated ‘differently’ (adhering to the way they look) not only on the streets but even in educational institutions. I remember taking Indian classical music lessons at a renowned institution as a kid where students were often subject to discrimination because of their economic background. At that time, I didn’t quite understand why they were treated that way, though the picture got clearer as I grew up.
Obnoxiousness (as if) has almost become a norm these days and UNICEF has captured this harsh truth in a recent video. And it poses a question that’ll really make you think: “Would you stop if you saw this little girl on the street?” What follows will really break your heart.
