L-R: Christopher, Alexander and cousin Tiffany, then aged 5, frolicking with Daddy in 1-Utama.
A long time ago, I wrote in Inspirations that the most beautiful word in the world is Home. I have not changed since. Home is still that one most fundamental element in life. To some it means a safe haven. To another it may mean a dream house. To most Home is family and loved ones.
It is therefore with great sympathy this morning that I read the story of Li Qifang and his wife, Pu Caiju who lost their 4 year old son to child trafficking, a growing problem in China. After 2 years of heartbreaking search they finally had a breakthrough and located him 2,000 km away from home but just as they were on the verge of bringing their son home, he disappeared. Absolutely heartrending story. The mother is still keeping her child’s toys safe for when he comes home.
On a similar note, here is a most riveting account of the life of a stolen child, Huang Xiu Xiu.
I remember how each time we were on holiday in Malaysia I would get awfully paranoid about keeping a close watch on my kids. One day, when the kids were 5, I was busy setting up an outdoor bbq stove when Christopher came running to me with a stricken look on his face, “Mummy, Alexander is lost!!!”
Alexander had been coming out of our apartment with his aunt and a few other family members when a lift door accidentally closed on him. Though it happened in the relatively secure confines of a condo block in Gohtong, we just about panicked and spreading out, we searched frantically on all 18 floors. Daddy and Auntie LY finally found him alone and frightened outside the lift on one of the upper floors. At the sight of his Daddy, the poor frightened child burst into tears and howled in his father’s arms.
Alexander set off for camp at Normanville with his school this morning.