Let children be children
I had no idea what awaited me that Sunday afternoon as I clicked on a Youtube link provided by a concerned blogger who wanted me to write about it. My heart broke as I watched a six-year-old kid gyrating like a macho dancer on the variety show “Willing Willie,” with TV host Willie Revillame making fun of him and the audience amused beyond belief. It was truly sickening. I cried as I watched the boy’s pained facial expression. I couldn’t take it anymore. The first thought that ran through my head was, “Could this be a violation of Republic Act No. 7610, or the 'Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act' Section 3 (b)?”
What I witnessed was Willie repeatedly humiliating a boy in front of millions of people tuned in to the TV station. Where is the dignity in that? Why did he allow the boy to dance like a male Chippendale dancer for the general public entertainment? The adults who taught him to dance that way? Ugh, the very same people responsible for his well-being.
This incident reminded me of Human Rights Day last year when I wrote on “Who will speak up for our children?”. A conversation with a friend made me realize that our kids don’t have a voice unless an adult speaks up for them. When a child is caught in a tussle when their parents are hitting each other, who will speak for this child? A child can be silently suffering from domestic abuse, bullying and corporal punishment. In the Willing Willie episode, who will speak up for this six-year-old boy who cried as he gyrated to the music? The fear and embarrassment written in his eyes was undeniable. I wanted to hug him and rescue him from his discomfort and tell the boy that he didn’t have to do that dance.
But the incident happened on March 12 and tri-media did not pick the story up except for, “Willing Willie and the boy who wouldn’t smile,” an opinion article by Benjamin Pimental on March 25. There was only one thing I could do that moment. I wrote a blog entry and tweeted that this could be a possible violation of child abuse. My friend, Cathy, spread it on Facebook with a “Letter to the boy.” The rest is history, as the viral effect of Facebook friends' and fellow Tweeters' efforts helped send the message to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), who took action the following day.
The response in the next few days showed that many are ignorant on child abuse and child protection laws. Child Abuse is not just physical or sexual, but also psychological and emotional. I think that's what some people are not getting, hence their indifferent attitude on the whole incident. This nonchalance makes it the more heartbreaking! Revillame is trying to frame the debate as “poor versus rich” to divert attention from the real issue, which is alleged child abuse. Even the parents of the boy claim there was no child abuse. Of course, parents believe in their hearts that they are giving the best for their children, but they may also not be aware of the scope of child abuse.
My friend, Chino Fernandez, asks “Is Filipino culture generally unkind to children? It may seem that way in.... He was made fun of by the adults, adults who are supposed to guide children and be good examples. Instead, the adults were corrupt and exploited a child, bringing him to tears for their own personal enjoyment. Very cruel and exploitative.”
Dr. Honey Carandang, in an interview by Cathy S. Babao, says that “she has often observed in many television shows nowadays that very little dignity of respect is shown for the child perhaps because of the myth na 'bata lang iyan,'” which she says is a complete fallacy. “A child’s dignity and respect must never be violated, it becomes worse when he or she is rewarded after being ridiculed or shamed. What message are we delivering to the child, more so to the audience?” A study that profiled hundreds of prostituted children showed it was really the money factor that degraded the child. “They cannot dwell on, in the children’s words themselves, the 'kabababuyan' that was done to them, because they were rewarded for it, which makes it doubly hard for the therapist to penetrate into the layers of the trauma that has taken place.”
Most think that the six-year-old boy is just a child. But there you see, this child, all of six, could not speak. But through his tears, viewed by thousands, he was the only one who saw how this was all so wrong. Who will speak up for him? I know that his tears will not be wasted if we all take action and speak up against this deplorable incident.
We can all work together to ensure that no other child or minor will ever have to suffer child abuse. To allow this incident to go without question is to encourage child abuse, child neglect, and the exploitation of minors. Stand up and speak up on children’s rights. Let a child be a child.
