Silence is everywhere. The children miss their parents. They look at the strange faces around them, hoping to spot their parents. Their families have abandoned them and given them to rehabilitation and care centers. When the supervisor calls parents to visit their children, they say they're busy. It's a complete denial of parenthood. But how could these families forsake their children and put them in rehabilitation and care centers? Denial A 30-year-old woman, who has asked to be referred to as ‘M.S'., told Al-Riyadh Arabic daily her story. She said that her parents deprived her of education and locked her in the house when she wanted to get married. Her father told her marriage was not good for her and she'd be better off without it. “After a while, my family members went their own separate ways and I was placed in a social protection center to get rid of me. I've been here for a year and nobody came and asked about me.” A 20-year-old young man ‘K.Q' said his father put him in a rehabilitation center because he couldn't take care of him. “I've been here for years. Every time I talk to my family, they tell me they can't support me financially.” Threatened by mother A 17-year-old girl ‘S.F' says after her parents divorced she stayed with her mother who deprived of her right to go to school. When she asked her neighbors to help her, her mother threatened them and told them to mind their own business. “My mother put me here and asked my relatives not to visit me. She didn't even ask about me and every time I ask her to get me out of here she says she's abroad but will be back soon. I really miss home and my brothers and relatives.” Death of conscience Ftimah Shalabi is the director of Al-Wafa Center, which is run by the Umm Al-Qura Foundation in Makkah. She says many parents don't like to take care of their children and don't want to shoulder any type of responsibility. “Their conscience has died.” Hanan Al-Eithan is a family consultant and member of the Committee on Resolving Family Disputes in Makkah. “This is a dangerous phenomenon when parents abandon their children like that. It's more dangerous than if it's the other way around. For when a son disobeys their parent, the damage is limited to the parent but when it's the opposite, the damage, so to speak, affects the whole society.” Understanding Makkah Protection Center social expert Khloud Murtada said the best way to build strong relationships is through love and understanding. Parents should provide their children with safety, protection, social care and shouldn't get violent with their kids. Violence makes children feel estranged from their parents.”
