Make some ‘chirren’ is their motto

THE EDITOR: I refer to Emily Dickson’s article of May 27, and even though I could have written such words myself, I would not have enjoyed reading it, as I would have felt pity for the very woman I sought to criticise for having so many children. Ms Dickson said that these offspring do not attend school and I assume the parents never went either and so cannot read. Does she then think they will read this article and be guided by it? Women who are illiterate and who make tonnes of children regard it as an honour. They even go about boasting about how many ‘chirren’ they have. Mundane things like how they will look after so many children are alien to their thinking processes. One woman I knew said in my hearing “God gave me these children and He will provide,” and she made 13 children. She probably meant that God’s other children who had means would have helped her mind hers.

Instead, God’s other children who will read Ms Dickson’s article will laugh at the thought of any sane woman killing herself by making so many babies. After all, if one is encumbered by this baby making and baby minding, one has no social life. One becomes crabby, old and wrinkles at an early age. One cannot buy clothes for oneself; the money has to be spent on the children. One cannot even save a penny! Smart people make only one or two, right? I figure that if God wanted women to have only two babies He would have caused her womb to close up after having those two. So why not blame Him for the fertility of the impoverished woman who cannot mind financially, but can make naturally. He knows which child is going to become a bandit or rapist, or beauty queen or prostitute or white-collar criminal. He can put such a child in the house of a poor person, among 14, or put such a child in the house of a rich person among two or three. Similarly a pre-destined great person.

I figure if the State had more social services that reached out to the impoverished and uneducated at a personal level, maybe that will make a difference. I know the churches do such service at present, but the Hindu leaders definitely do not encourage small families. “Get married quick and make some chirren eh beta/beti,” is their motto, “about ten or 20 go be enuff.” One really must concede that the population is in the control of some invisible hands, that we have to believe they know what they are doing. After all, we are here because somebody did not exercise birth control when they should have. Now we are boldfaced enough to debar others from being here because we do not want to spoil our neat little concept of how things ought to be. Hmm.

SUE SANKAR
Chaguanas