Jeanine Esposito, Artist
Negligent
In many states in the US, if a parent running an errand leaves a child in a car for even 5 minutes, they can be arrested, jailed and charged for child-abuse, child desertion, neglect and endangerment.
Yet, as a world society, we are all negligent by not protecting, sheltering and keeping safe children around the globe who are seriously in harm’s way. Millions of children, sometimes with their families, sometimes (shockingly) alone, attempt to escape brutal, terrifying and dreadful conditions of all kinds in their home cities and countries.
Even before they start their dangerous escapes, they have seen unimaginable things that are seared into their minds and psyches forever.
In desperation, they set out or are sent alone on perilous journeys, sometimes facing further brutalization and even death through accident, starvation, negligence or murder. Even if they reach their destinations, they can face being camped or jailed, turned away and sent back to the desperate circumstances they are trying to escape.
Each piece on this wall is an attempt to give voice to these children, to their experience, their needs and hopes and to explore what we, as human beings, should feel and be obligated to do to keep them safe and to give them an opportunity to make and live a good life.
