Thursday 26 March 2009

Quick Hit: Carrying Baby

I'm not sure what to make of the story of a Samoan woman who gave birth on a place and allegedly then dumped the baby in the rubbish bin. On one hand I'm shocked at the actions, but I'm not entirely sure criminal charges are going to secure a good outcome for anyone least of all the infant. There's been plenty of mudslinging about how this woman has tarnished Samoa's reputation, which again does little to make this situation any better

Perhaps the best comment so far on the case has been from Labour MP Su'a William Sio who said the case highlighted the need for better sex education among pacific woman. However perhaps another part of the story that doesn't get much air time is that she was on the flight to Auckland as part of group seasonal workers, presumably to earn some cash for not only this baby but her child back in Samoa.

5 comments:

Madeleine said...

Perhaps you should read my comments on it for some guidance on what to make of it.

Sexist Responses to Baby in Airport Rubbish Bin case.

Julie said...

Congrats the ex-expat, this was our 1000th published post! Wohooo!

More substance on the weekend I hope :-)

Anonymous said...

There was a similar incident in Dunedin a couple of years ago, and in that case the baby died.

The sad fact is that these cases occur every so often, and it's only a matter of luck as to whether the baby is found alive or dead. Either way, a human being almost (or actually) died because of the actions of another person, and the circumstances have to be examined by a court (otherwise the police have the power to ignore a suspicious death for whatever reason).


Courts and criminal charges are not always society seeking vengeance for a crime - police detain some people to buy time to figure out how to help them, and the courts take specific circumstances into account when sentencing. I believe the young mother in the Dunedin case might even have not been convicted because it would have created immigration issues that the judge felt were disproportionate (I recall reading something like that in the court news, but correct me if I'm wrong).

M-H said...

Madeleine, I'm sorry, but these two cases were completely different. It wasn't the man's gender that made the difference, but the fact that he callously abandoned the child, in a planned way. He knew what he was doing. I am in Australia, and the outrage expressed was related to his clear, calm, planned abandonment, which was captured on CCTV. He had planned the way he was going to do it - he brought the child to Aus specifically because he imagined that would make it harder for her identity to be traced and give him longer to get away. He showed no sign of distress. The woman on the plane, on the other hand, was terrified and distressed. She has done a terrible thing, but it wasn't something she planned, as far as we can tell. To use her case to bash people who are pro-choice is despicable. And I'd suggest you take some lessons in logic - yours is so flawed it's hard to know where to begin.

Anna said...

AWicken - I agree with you that the justice system should look into this, with a inquisitorial intention rather than a punitive one, ideally.

And M-H, you've hit the nail on the head with those comments. I don't see sexism here so much as profoundly different circumstances - or understand the need to turn someone's tragedy into a cynical argument.