Suicide, poverty and desperation among children
Seoul (AsiaNews) "I know what I'm doing is a terrible thing to do to my dear mother. But she'll have less expenses without me I wish I had been born an orphan or blade of grass on the side of the road or fistful of sand at the mercy of the wind." These were the last lines written by Jeong, 15, in her diary before taking her life.
After school Jeong didn't have to time to chat with her friends, who remember her as kind-hearted. At her poor home her mother waited for her, as she was suffering from a brain tumor. Jeong also took care of her two little brothers the whole time she was not in school. Her father had died two years ago.
The news of Jeong's tragic end was a shock to public opinion. The Korean Herald wrote an editorial about her, seeing in Jeong's unhappy life a reflection of many children living in miserable poverty.
Last year thousands of South Korean parents abandoned their children, since they were unable to care for them. Some parents even killed their children or committed suicide.
In an analysis appearing in the Joon Ang daily sociology professor Dr. Cho Heun-shik observed that in South Korea "the huge gap between the rich and the poor is on the rise".
"The breakdown of the family, due to unemployment and other financial difficulties, is truly making life painful for many children. One million, that is 9% of the all children, live in extreme poverty and and hopelessness. If they are not offered the chance to have a good education, they will never leave their poor conditions", the professor said.
Unfortunately the expense of children's education has become a problem even for middle class families. According to figures released by the Korean Central Bank in 1997, the year of a huge economic crisis, elementary school cost 302,000 won (220 euro) each family. Today that same expense has risen by a third to 462,000 won (335 euro).
"Now's the time to light a candle in every part of the nation to find a way leading to the liberation of children from the chains of poverty," the sociologist urged, perhaps alluding to the famous candle-light procession led for President Roh Moo-hyun.
Dr. Cho Heun-shik's wish, while directed to all South Koreans, is above all aimed at politicians who, last year, instead of committing themselves to resolving the nation's problems, concentrated their efforts on launching a bitter and spectacular attack to oust the country's president from office.
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