We have just arrived home from a wonderful weekend at a huge brocante that once a year stretches for 5 kilometres through the woods.
We always start at 4.30am on the Saturday morning and no matter how many times you walk the 5 kms you find something you haven`t seen before.
The hotel was fabulous and the rain held off which was a miracle.
I would normally today be showing you all my latest treasures which are piled high and I absolutely adore them all.
But something happened that I absolutely cannot forgive myself for. I let something happen and I didn`t intervene and now I am beating myself up.
On the Sunday morning after the main day of the brocante some new dealers arrive so we always have a slow walk up the length again just to check before we leave. Many dealers from the day before simply cover their stock with sheets and bed down in their vans for the next day.
At 7.30am we started to walk and it was Soooooo cold!! We arrived at a van where a family were unpacking and a small pale little girl in a summer dress was sat on a chair in the cold. I noticed her as she was about 4 years old and had a dummy ( comforter) in her mouth. I thought she was perhaps a little old for it but "hey ho" who am I to say?! I did think someone could have given her a sleeping bag or blanket though to cover her bare legs as it was so chilly.
I thought no more of it and continued.
On the way back down about an hour later, her father, a small wiry rough looking man, was unloading his stock onto a plastic sheet on the floor. The little girl walked across the sheet and he shouted loudly at her which caught my attention. He then picked her up and threw her so she skidded on her hands and knees onto the gravel.
I stopped dead and couldn`t believe what I had seen as did a few French couples. Initially I thought I had imagined it. He then went over to her dragged to her her feet, knelt down and yelled and yelled right in front of her face. Her knees were bleeding, he took no notice and he pointed to the van telling her to go and get in. She never cried one tear and just stood there pale and shaking.
No one said a word. Including me and now I cannot forgive myself. I don`t know if I could have found the French words quick enough - as if that matters.
It is easy to say after the event but why didn`t I go and stop him or at least tell him I had recorded it all on my phone and was off to tell the gendarmes.
Why didn`t some bigger guy just pick him up throw him in gravel to see what it felt like?
Why didn`t I just knee him in the groin- you don`t need French words for that?
So, that little pale girl is stuck in my mind and I know I should have done something although I don`t know what.
Why on earth didn`t I do something?
A demain mes belles
xxx
You were overwhelmed about what you saw....
RépondreSupprimerI can imagine.......oh that poor girl.
Did you bought many nice treasures....?
In what place in France this lovely weekend was....?
Fine evening
Shirley,
RépondreSupprimerDon't worry I can tell by your description of the event that you will intervene next time. I would of approached him and told him very loudly what an absolute little man he was to do that to a child. Most likely he would of poo-pooed it off and called you a name but it will cause him to think twice before doing that again. I can only imagine how he behaves when he isn't in public.
Carol
Thats made me feel sick, and I am so sorry you have to live with that now. It is all too easy to think afterwards what we might have done, and beat ourselves up over it, unfortunately unless you could have removed that poor little girl from her home, I suspect anything you may have done, might even of had worse percussions for her later behind closed doors!. God I hate it when kids are hurt, so sorry Shirley xx
RépondreSupprimerLynn xx
Unhappy people do behave this way, I have learned in life. There is no excuse for this man, a sharp word would have been sufficient. That poor little girl and to know there are many more out there like her. Very sad. Just the fact she never cried makes me believe she has grown used to this behavior.
RépondreSupprimerShirley, I would have stayed frozen, as well. You simply never know what to do in these situations. I guess, like you said, I would have acted as if I was calling someone about it. If he was even looking your way to see it.
Perhaps you saw this one to know if you see another what to do.
Think of it that way. xo Rhonda
I suspect that nothing you did, short of calling the gendarmes would have had any effect. If he was prepared to treat her this way in front of many people, he obviously wasn't in the least worried about being observed. That poor, poor child. I feel so sorry for her - as Sea Angels said, reading this made me feel sick. But sorry for you too Shirley, because you won't ever forget what you saw, or stop wishing you had acted. Many years ago I saw something similar - and in a hospital, a nurse literally force feeding a child. When she saw me looking, she told me he was trash and the reason he wouldnt eat was because he only ever ate burgers and junk. I didn't do a thing - I was young and shocked...and had been brought up to believe that the medical profession were Gods who always knew right. As you will be able to tell from my story, I have never forgotten, and never stopped wishing I had done something. So, I feel for you. xxx
RépondreSupprimerShirley, you have done something, you have told others about it, and made us think about what we would do, so that if it does happen in front of us hopefully we will have thought about what we would do.
RépondreSupprimerDid you video it on your phone (if not I understand because you would have been in shock), but if you did, post it on youtube, take it to the local gendarmes, or the event organizers.
Next time girls get the phone out.
No.....sadly I didn`t even have my phone but he wouldn`t have known that. However, I will never forget their faces if I see them again
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