"Children are not goods"The social business of children

Social action


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"Children are not goods"
The social business of children

"Children are not goods!"


Magdeleine heard noises on the porch, and then separately a "toc toc" rhythmic, quite characteristic. No, this could not be it, and then it was in the middle of the night... His heart made a leap in his chest, she he was awakened by her husband: "You hear?" "Soon, I will see."

Barely out of his sleep, Joseph the caught up at the bottom of the stairs and was the first to open the door wide.


-Vanessa you're my dear! The small jumped him in the arm.

-Papa, papa! Jelly, it the serra also strong that were able to his small spindly arms. The household, in breath-holding spells, could not for long minutes articulate the less intelligible Word. Vanessa looked at Magdeleine long after kissing and asked him: "why you have abandoned me mum, why you did not came then look me down with these people?" "You left them me take..."

His love and his criticisms then it was too much for her, Magdeleine would have never thought to be a bad mother, after the loss of her son, she would have never imagined can become a mother again short.

In fact Vanessa is not his daughter, been mandate 5 years ago by the social assistance to childhood as a childminder. Small was well fallen, Bérard family was balanced, warm and welcoming fireplace. It was not a difficult child and had received an excellent education but also of filial love against which the Berard had been cautioned.

Remind you that the children who could you be entrusted are not your children had told them the Inspector of the ESA. Yes keep children is a mission that had been assigned and for which they were paid by the State. Thus children are not orphans, they live broodstock unable to temporarily or permanently take care of them.

Magdeleine and Joseph were anyway not bad to child, so this should not be a foster home as others because they had failed to happen to love it. Vanessa had quickly become accustomed to call MOM and dad and their son Antoine was his brother, they had more force contradict as they did at the beginning.

- But I came back, I came back, you see can escape.

She began to climb the stairs four to four and returned in the doomed House, big brother was not returned. Magdeleine watched the shocked drag a photo chipée in the dresser.



-Not crying MOM, it will be him also and it will again be all together.


Joseph came to join them, and they long remained so all three to be comforting. House well smelled a bit musty but she lived again, toys were able to emerge from the nothingness of their trunks, Magdeleine is almost reproached this happiness of love it for what it brought him more than for the little girl in itself.

Finally this is what told the expert of social assistance to childhood.

-It will take nothing say stated that Joseph, you know what will happen otherwise.

Magdeleine did not reply.

-It does not say nothing, not today, nor tomorrow.

Indeed, the day after Joseph had taken his leave, two days of a troubled félicité passed. Then call, Mr Rougeard ESA reported the disappearance of Vanessa, asking if, by chance, the Berard family news. Magdeleine was not able to respond, his brain was not said but his lips trembling with no word so.

-Is Ms. Bérard, Vanessa your home?

It took a hesitant voice: "Mr Rougeard, is very hard that we live..."

-I will be spending the afternoon be there, and he raccrocha, Magdeleine remained handset in hand until her husband rests. I did a stupidity, it was them, they're coming.

-He will come this scumbag? It took Joseph.

-Yes, oh my God, my God that we are going to us, that we are going to make us?

Vanessa looked at them with concern: ' who is papa bastard?"

Three hours later, Mr Rougeard sued the intercom: "you can me open the grid, ASE, I am alone". He crossed the garden, spent the perron and solemnly entered the vestibule.



-I see that Mr. Bérard is him as you you are therefore all made available for the small, he réajusta his glasses by sweeping suspicieusement of the gaze. Nevertheless I would like to inform you that I am here so that everything goes well. As you can see I'm alone, I should logically have come accompanied by a judicial police officer.



-Mr police? But I don't understand, the cut Ms. Bérard.



-Ah you don't understand? Really? Questioned accompanying the issue of repeated Chin shrugs. Let me then explain what you can and you'll thank me later. What you did there if apparent to a kidnapping and a diversion of minor, any Court of the French Republic condemn you prison for such a tort.



Stupor and grunts that Vanessa was descending the staircase.



-No, no, let me finish and there is no reason that I it is not the lesson she also, although it is obvious that it is the first victim of your actions.



Vanessa joined Magdeleine and threw a black eye to the ESA official: "it is you bastard, you want to put my parents in prison!"



-I see that the small here received the best possible education. Listen, we want that all goes well, firstly because we ourselves committed the error do not you withdraw sooner...



-How it, why would you have done such a thing?



-Mr. Bérard, your son is dead by I don't know how reckless, from there you believed natural power adopt you the child of the other!



- But it's shameful what you say! Is incensed Joseph while Vanessa yelling: "this is not true, he is not dead, he left but it will return like me!"



Rougeard sniffed common authority he settled in the follow-up show House masters, he advised a wheelchair, moved, and resumed his peroration.



- And let me say something else that you likes it or not, and I know that you'll not scandal, because if I'm going, it is the police who will directly load the case... No, I please, shut up and listen to what I have to tell you. This small comes from a family problems, very poor people, but when there is poor is worthy Mr. Bérard, is it not? However, there is a social determinism which is that if our service does not exist, this girl would be condemned to know the fate of his parents. This is that you and we had a role to play, we correct all a natural inequality and work in the general interest. It was your duty, between parentheses well paid by our services, and therefore your duty as a citizen to ensure your host family functions and this stricto sensu.



- And this is what we have responded the Bérard.



Red anger retracted, the ESA official continued to voice stronger and poorly controlled.

-Of which you trying to make fools you? This girl takes you to his parents, you encourage him, you love him pretend you. But get your cloud, it is not because you have of the money that you can pay you a girl. The citizens you? Let me laugh, it is your interest happening before the community, so I will tell you you take everything for goods, everything is purchased for you and this girl also... You thought we were going to accept that you acquired it with a beautiful Shack, beautiful toys and a love larmoyant us series? Children are not the goods!

It was mounted in the acute to scream by throwing his briefcase on the carpet of the show.



Bewildered, spouses Bérard, remained standing opposite him, have looked. Magdeleine began to quietly cry, Joseph could no longer.



-I have not hear your bullshit under my roof.



-Oh that if Mr. Bérard, I told you that my approach was in your best interest and in that of the small, you still wouldn't like that this is going poorly and that it ensure more traumatized again?



Vanessa is desperately agrippa to the size of Joseph, she hoquetait by constantly repeating: "Let not the bastard take me dad, does not like the last time."



Rougeard without paying the slightest attention to little crying, wanted to conclude a "bring me his affairs and take to my car."



Crying muèrent then in a real crisis of nerves.



To calm her down, but also because they in had long spoken informally, Mr. Bérard was mine to comply while stating to make a formal request for adoption of Vanessa.



- But you understand therefore nothing, screamed Rougeard prey to "Holy Fury", painted A of PARENTS. It is clear that, even if you also buy her parents, we do not adopt children like this, it would be placed in a centre of the DDASS. To all intents and purposes also be aware that we will give an unfavourable opinion in any application on your part for any child. I think indeed that you perfectly entered why.



>- but then cried Magdeleine, can at least have a right to visit.



-This is not your daughter Madame, I repeat you again and again, no right to visit, not the right approach him or disturb the family placement, this is better in the interest of Vanessa.



Twenty minutes were quite arduous, Vanessa was hidden in the House, the Bérard did not have the heart to put in the car of the bastard. Finally Rougeard the débusqua and took him force all pointing him although if she again was Joseph and Magdeleine would go to jail.



Twenty minutes between parents and their daughter was not their blood. Twenty minutes during which Magdeleine was locked in his room and Joseph had intended to crush his fist in the mouth of Rougeard, indicating output to pump banged in the ass.

Twenty minutes of infernal and lifetime during which neither it, neither he, nor small have submitted this day.



Xavier PREGENTIL, December 25, 2003



PS: In 2005, is two years after this story, the media referred to the abduction of a child by the State to its family of expenses for the delict of love it too. It was Benard family.



The social business of children

Numbers 391 and 392 of the journal "Economics and statistics" of the Insee study a causality between the placement of children and the situation of SDF.

I spend on views bourdieusiennes without the slightest interest, for focus me on the effect of the placement of 150 000 children every year in France.
I would also do not drown the fish by (UN) reasons said investments cause disasters on children become adult first. This because the reasons are in fact relied upon by social abuse and endorsed by the judiciary, are therefore be ascertained.

What appears however is quite particular socialization of children a family context stable. In this regard it is clear that the placed child lives his situation such as that of a surrender with the influence it can have on self-esteem. Contact with other children more or less disturbed by their situation is also highly anxiety‑producing as homes are also places of violence and abuse of all kinds, that host families do not have the right to attach to the entrusted children. The relationship to the adult is a-family, child welfare officials being anything but family referents and models to identify. At best the child is created the universe and its own benchmarks, at worst he suffers severe abuse in indifference, even with the complicity of those who are supposed to protect it, grow and are for him images of errant authority. Is thus understand reports to control difficult, and even the anomic behaviours adopted by a number of these children become adults; their rejection of any system socializing beginning with the world of work and sometimes even family structure as a load of impossible to assume responsibility.

Thus the output of alienating circuits of services "help the children" often leads to marginalization and further this placement was long: 40% of 18-24 years who have had a placement found a time given tramps, compared to 2% of the total population. Worse still, this population clochardisée of victims of the ASE (child welfare) often develops mentally and a heavy dependence on assistance. Homelessness is therefore not a way of life its autonomy, but an inability to assume responsibility even when a pole is tense. This population is therefore highly stigmatized but the young become beggar is not a slacker or simply a scrap of society but a victim of social abuse. It is simply incapable of easily out of the representations that he imposed his educators by social conceptions their, but also the status they have imposed. The frequency of suicide in this population is therefore obviously double the average frequency of suicides in France. These dramas may also take place during investments, a study by sociologists Pronovost and Leclerc conducted in Quebec shows that 54% of suicides are consecutive to refusals to investment by the young, attached to the family environment.

The remaining children placed 60% more fit worse would be difficult. But they remain in general highly dependent on assistance and are affected by psychological disorders. In the conceptions bourdieusiennes of analysis produced on behalf of the INSEE, is mentioned a desire to build on a health capital whose failure would be an asset as it "opens right to benefits or allowances, for example accident at work or adult allowance disabled". It would have been much easier to say that the adult become child seeks to attract attention by its suffering and was conditioned in support of its needs. Of course we are all more or less in a welfare State which dulls the accountability and individual initiative.

Finally remember not in these 60%, children affected by the effect of resilience and made stronger in their events. However the function of the ASE and judges for children is not to make social Darwinism by irreparably breaking half of children who spend their hands to create a small elite.

We sensed the monstrosity of the system put in place for "assistance to childhood" in our flesh, with hindsight statistics confirm this hunch, while blurring reality and responsibilities by the use of sociological jargon nickname. But the observation made, closes the folder as if we were in a better way.
Ah this is true, it is not the State services which will cut off the branch on which they ask their prose. It has to be EUR 8 billion per year to live all this small world and ensure the reproduction of poverty and misfortune, this is where the livelihood of the ASE and a certain magistrature which range to their positions despite families : They are so poor that they create hundreds of thousands.



Xavier COLLET, January 31, 2011