Merry Christmas Cezar. What do you want from Santa this year Sahara? And a very merry Christmas to you too JJ.
At least it might have been a merry Christmas for these young ones if they were still alive. Or would it? Given the horrific end that these young kids came to, December 25 would most likely be just another miserable day in the world.
Think of six-month-old Cezar. Still too young to even roll over when his mother's partner James Hemana shook and beat him so violently it rattled his brain to a bruised pulp. Sahara was only six when she died. And if two-year-old JJ was still here he would have perhaps been at the stage of comprehending the fact that Christmas day is a special day - one of presents, lollies, and love. For most of us that is.
In a recent Herald article about the rates of child abuse in New Zealand it pointed out that 166 children had been put on the "abused" list at Starship this year - up from 157 in 2011. That figure has no doubt already gone up given the frequency with which kids are getting belted and beaten by adults. Child Youth and Family's official figures are also on the rise this year.
And come Christmas time child abuse - and domestic violence in general - tends to escalate given the added stresses of the festive season.
The good news, say the experts, is that despite the rise in child abuse more people are being turned in by those witnessing the abuse. Still there are those families who continue to close ranks, or turn a blind eye, to protect the culprit.
