When I first came to Australia as a 7 year old child, no
friends, FOP (fresh of the plane) and with no knowledge of English, it felt
pretty intimidating leaving my country of birth El Salvador and dumped into
this new and foreign place my parents had decided to call home.
As I now understand we were given asylum in Australia as
refugees of civil war. My parents made the arduous and difficult decision to
leave behind their family, their livelihood, and everything they knew to be
home to give me and my two younger brothers the chance of a better life. El
Salvador had been in civil war for quite sometime now and though I do not
remember much of it due to my parents shielding us from the terrors of war, I came
to understand through family and friends later what was really happening in our
place of birth, brutality and terror of a military dictatorship on the people
of El Salvador.
Fast forward now and my life has been very blessed, shaped
by this wonderful sunburnt country of ours that I call home. Diverse in nature
by its many different people and cultures I fell in love with so much so that I
married a beautiful Romanian women, together we have built a family of 5 and are
complemented by my three gorgeous children-Sofia, Isaiah and Rafael.
The joys of being a parent have been amazing! If anything has
shaped me more as human being than anything else it has to be fatherhood. I
have learnt to understand many mysteries that life has thrown at me, but one of
the most beautiful experiences has been the dynamic of a father and a child. I
never would have imagined the power such a little life could have on me until
that day we received Sofia in to this world, to hold her in my arms knowing
that she is a product of me and my partner falls nothing short of a miracle.
The birth of the other two has not dulled that moment; not one bit. Now they
are running around hugging me, asking me questions, mimicking in everything I do
and imagining a world that I have lost the ability to imagine-Yep they are
teaching me to imagine again.
“Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for
the future”-JFK.
Their ability to imagine and inspire new ideas has opened my eyes to see children for what they really are-they are the essence of Hope. The hope that one day they will
become the leaders of our world and if we do not build an environment that nurtures love and
happiness for our future leaders they will be unable to cope with the problems
of tomorrow. I believe that deep down there is something more profound within
us...that we are more then mere flesh and bones. And none is more clearer; and
more evident than in the potential of a child. We must advocate and learn to
protect our greatest asset, because the answers for a better tomorrow lie in
the child you help raise. No child should
bear the scars of injustice, we must give voice to the voiceless cause children can
be an easy victim. So with that I plead my case, my parents made a sacrifice to
bring me happiness and for that I believe there can be no greater sacrifice.
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for
his friends.”-JC.
As for me I will lay down my life like it was done before me for my children. That is where I shall find my place
of peace and happiness and I will be an advocate of this for my children and every other child until I have breathed my last breath.
This post is part of a series inspired by the Prevent Abuse of Children Today (PACT) campaign, hosted by Stepping Stones Nigeria. Please add your name to the PACT petition to prevent abuse of innocent children in the Niger Delta and visit the site to find out more: www.makeapact.org