I read a very sad article in The New York Times this morning. A man who had originally been hailed a hero for turning in an abandoned baby girl was arrested last night for taking part in her abduction. The unfolding story is tragic. The girl's mother is assumed "14 or 15". She had spoken to neighbors of abuse at the hands of her daughter's father. Several neighbors were taking turns watching the baby but the father worked so many hours as a construction worker that it still wasn't enough. The mother disappeared, so the father's sister hatched a plan with her husband to drop the baby off at a fire station. 

There are many things about this story that make me angry/frustrated/sad. The first is the child- born into poverty to abusive, underage children who could not care for her. The second is the very brief mention of the allegations of the abuse against the father. The third is the mother's age. "14 or 15"?? The fourth, and probably most complex thought that I had was that this seemed like a misguided attempt to actually do what was best for the child. Her aunt realized she had been born into desperation. She had no hope of surviving in her given circumstances. Although it does not mention this, I am assuming that most of the players in this story were illegal immigrants. I say this not because their names sounded hispanic, but because of the age, employment, and lack of resources of the people involved. Contact with the police is a constant worry in the immigrant community. The baby's aunt and uncle lied to the police to try to get this girl into someone else's hands; hoping that someone in an authoritative position could save her. 

There is  link to the article below:

Please share any thoughts you have, especially if you can think of any way to try to remedy the situation.