A group of Colombian children between the ages of 5 and 12 years old, occupied a terrace of the Social Protection Center that fosters them, denouncing abuse and pledging to be adopted.
For several hours, the youngsters rebelled, occupying the building’s terrace, and throwing rocks, sticks and metal rods to the adults trying to control them. The children, aged 5-12 denounced systematic abuse from care-takers; most of them wearing their pajamas, demanding to be taken to a different orphanage, or simply adopted.
Police called to the scene refused to do anything until units from the local Infancy and Adolescence Police showed up. The children hurled rocks, sticks and metal rods at any authority figure they saw, but when a neighbor approached them and tenderly asked them questions to attempt to mediate and learn “their demands” the children carefully lowered pineapples and other fruit as gifts to anyone that would listen to them.
The “mediator” neighbor told reporters that the minors told him care-takers abused the children physically and verbally; he said that the occupation, more than an act of rebellion, is the direct result of a love-less, family-less and abusive upbringing.
Personnel from the Social Protection Center hid indoors throughout the event, and refused to give a statement to the press.
