Devout Catholic parents, lose their child in Portugal after she is kidnapped... Sad story. It truly is a shame...
My question is: Who in their right MINDS would leave a 4 year old child alone in a hotel room with twin 2-year-olds - in a foreign country at that???
Granted, their religion has no bearing on the fact that this child was probably kidnapped. However, their level of stupidity does play a role - had the children been with them, she would not have been kidnapped. Chances are, the girl left the hotel room alone and was kidnapped - so as to make the crime one of opportunity.
These parents have no one but themselves to blame. But, of course, instead of taking responsibility for their own actions (or lack thereof), it is easier to blame this on EVIL...
2007-05-30 05:59:58 · 10 answers · asked by Athiests_are_dumb 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I agree to the part it was irresponsible to leave their young children unattended. We don't' do it in our own home much less in a foreign country!. Both parents are doctors, they know it takes seconds for a child to chock if left unattended. I suspect this was done by a person known to them and knew their ware-abouts and I'm not convinced the parents are totally in the dark about who it could be. How many times did we see on TV mothers crying for help to find their children to discover months after the horrific truth that she was the evil one.
2007-05-30 06:12:20 · answer #1 · answered by Jane Marple 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Really its a matter of culture. Especially in Portugal/Spain, much emphasis was put on this and it was reported like you say--as an act of stupidity.
However--in Spain and Portugal the children go out with the parents for dinner. Dinner is around 9 or 10 and the young children are out til 11 pm or later.
In my culture, we would consider that stupidity.
While I agree that a 4 yr and two 2 yr olds having no supervision is ridiculous, the parents were right in the same area. Supposedly they were within 5 min. How many times have you put your children to bed upstairs and come downstairs to watch tv, or walked down to the basement to do your hobby. How about checking the mail, or working in the garden while the kids were down for their afternoon nap? You are thinking I'm in the same house I could hear if anything happened?
But could you really? If a 2nd floor window was opened, and someone kidnapped while sleeping (so she probably didn't scream) and they went right back out--could you really hear them? Professional burglars frequently are interviewed about crimes commited while people were in the house. If you have a house on a steep hill, where both the front and the back of the house are at ground level...they could walk right out one of the doors and you'd never know it.
Perhaps they were stupid. But in America we hire teenagers to watch our children. When I was 15 I babysat frequently and was very good at it. If a man came in to kidnap those children--he would have been more than capable to taking me out. I mean I am a small woman and at 15 probably weighed barely over 100 lbs. Would a sitter have matter if they really wanted to get to the children?
I mean I agree with you that it was stupid to leave 3 children all under the age of 5 alone in a hotel room. However I also recognize that I am looking at this through my own experiences, my own viewpoint, my own culture.
As a parent it is true that you can never be too safe. However you also have to understand that you can never be safe enough either. No matter how closely you watch them, at some point they are out of your sight. No matter what you do--part of raising them is giving some independence. You can't possibly always keep them perfectly safe from evil in the world.
2007-05-30 13:10:19 · answer #2 · answered by phantom_of_valkyrie 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You know, I read the article and I was thinking it was a mistake by the reporter. The article said, they left their 4-year old daughter and their 2-year old twins in the hotel room while they had dinner at the hotel. I read that and I was thinking the same thing, why would someone leave a 4-year old and twin 2-year olds alone in a motel room. Did they really?
2007-05-30 13:08:50 · answer #3 · answered by Sherry K 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Leaving the child may have been an action of stupidity. But that did not force the person finding her to abduct her. The person could have saved her instead. So the abduction is still an act of evil.
2007-05-30 13:05:46 · answer #4 · answered by dewcoons 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Evil is evil.
Removing the religious aspects from the discussion, both the parents and the kidnappers did evil things - things that were morally reprehensible. Both are to blame although the punishment of the kidnappers should be much stronger. The parents should just have their children removed from their custody.
2007-05-30 13:08:48 · answer #5 · answered by Dave P 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
They were tempted to do something, but justified it in their minds that it would be okay to leave them for a little while. They didn't want to pay a sitter, I guess.
Too often the children pay for the mistakes of their parents.
2007-05-30 13:07:56 · answer #6 · answered by Jed 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I hear ya--what they did was really stupid--& I'd be willing to wager this wasn't the first time they'd left the babies by themselves
2007-05-30 13:11:29 · answer #7 · answered by wanda3s48 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The parents are being punished for their neglect!
2007-05-30 13:35:46 · answer #8 · answered by jasmin2236 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You just can't count on God to look after your kids anymore.
2007-05-30 13:15:37 · answer #9 · answered by LawDork 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
>>Devout Catholic parents<<
No, devout Catholics don't do IVF.
2007-05-30 13:10:04 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋