On the night of Jan 20, police on patrol in a park in Guangdong, China found a six-month-old girl sleeping in her stroller, abandoned by her parents. Why did these Chinese parents abandon the baby?
The Guangzhou Daily reported on Tuesday that patrol officers in Fengshan Park in Dongguan found the baby sleeping in her stroller. They also found a bag containing formula milk, medicine, clothes, and a letter from her parents.
The authorities have since taken the baby to a hospital, where medical professionals are taking care of her.
Chinese parents abandon baby, leave note
The parents, according to the note, abandoned the baby because they had cleaned out their savings paying for the baby's medical treatments. It turns out the baby girl is suffering from epilepsy.
The note explained further that they had spent 60,000 yuan (12,340 SGD) for her medical care, but her seizures still continued. They hoped that a government welfare agency would care for the baby.
"There isn't any parent who will not love their own child. But we really can't afford the costly medical treatments. We know this is selfish of us and we do not expect others to understand us," the parents said in the note.
"All we hope is for the child to grow up safely... we hope someone can save this poor child."
Chinese parents abandon baby with epilepsy
The parents also wrote detailed instructions for feeding the child.
"If possible, please talk to her more, hold her little hands and feet," they wrote.
The baby's parents also wrote in the note that they will pay for abandoning their baby "in their next life." They also wrote that they will be "very thankful" to the person who will take care of their baby.
Chinese parents abandon baby, nowhere to be found
The Guangzhou Daily also reported that authorities are having difficulty looking for the baby's parents. The parents apparently placed the baby in her stroller at night, out of the range of their security cameras.
“What awaits her is nothing but death if she stays with us. She can’t live on her own and can’t receive the education she needs. Her whole life is ruined,” the parents said in the note.
Mounting desperation
Incidents like this have happened all the time, for as long as we can remember. We're only now realizing how widespread this problem is as more reports of instances like this are shared with the media.
The problem is deeper, and more and more parents are being driven into desperation because of the lack of available health care in countries with high poverty rates.
It is our hope that these reports will not go to deaf ears, and that the concerned government agencies address these problems by giving more support to struggling parents.
YOU CAN ALSO READ: This disabled boy was abandoned in Singapore by his father.