CHILDREN: The Street Children of Colombia
Yesterday, April 30, was International Children's Day, and many countries had programs to mark it, among them Chile,
where a well-publicized campaign told parents not to spank their children. This is a break with the Spanish tradition of
teaching, which was "la letra con sangre entra", even more extreme than the English "Spare the rod and spoil the child".
Here are some questions for Spanish scholars. What is the origin of the espression? In the old days, much education was
in the hands of the church. Is the anticlericalism which is a feature of Spain the result of this? Have any Spanish authors
written about their mistreatment as children by clerics? Novels like AMDG and El jardэn de los frailes say little about
it.
Ronald Hilton - 5/1/01
Many Colombians have fled to the United States because of the intolerable conditions in their sad homeland. They and
other Colombians in the US will hold their first assembly in Atlanta, Georgia. Jaime Gѓmez has circulated an excellent
statement to be submitted to the assembly, calling for protection for the children of Colombia, whose plight is incredible.
Kathleen Morrison of Stanford has written a book about the children of Ecuador, but I know of no similar book about
Colombia. We have heard a lot about the street children of Rio, who are victimized, sometimes killed by angry
shopkeepers or, at their request, by police. The causes of their plight is little studied, primarily child abuse of one kind or
another, or fear of punishment.
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