Adaptation is the magic world, it must be, and that's the only sensible explanation that I can come up with. But what I want to know, is being adaptable a choice or is it something forced on people. Is it bliss or is it curse? I am not sure if I have any answers but I know I have many questions to ask. Anyway as I said before I can't say that I write well or even tell the best story, but all I can say is I will write a true story.

She approached me with her pale eyes gazing on the ground rarely looking up, carrying in her skinny arms a baby, and as she reached she looked at me giving me a smile and then looked at her baby "He is not fine, his umbilicus doesn't look right, also he is crying a lot and can't figure what is the problem, would you look at him."

I took her to the clinic; she placed him on the bed and started removing the layers of clothes that he was wrapped in and as I started examining him I was trying to break the ice so I told her "your baby is so cute" and here she wrinkled between her eyebrows and said with despise clear in her voice "well, not really, he looks like my stepdad."

As I turned my head to look at her she nodded and said it again "Yes, he looks like my stepdad. Well that’s what happened my stepfather raped me and my mother kicked me out on the street when I gave birth to my baby, I was only 14 years. You know what is worst , when I went again to speak to my mother when my stepfather wasn't at home she told me that she misses me and she wants me back home but she is not willing to accept me with my baby." I wanted to ask her how she is doing and stopped my stupid question and preferred to not ask her anything, I wrapped my arms around her and here she told me "Don’t feel sorry, for me, I am over it. I will not tell you that living on the street is any better, I am still raped and assaulted by people I know or I don't know, it doesn't matter anymore, but this way it's clear to me, when anyone tries to harm me on the street its normal, and I don’t feel betrayed by anyone, at least I know what to expect. Its better this way, no more lies".

I did not know what I should feel, should I feel sad or sorry for her, or should I feel mad and angry at everyone involved in putting her in this situation. Maybe I should stop feeling and try looking on the bright side; she definitely turned into a strong person. But again I ask, Should she be this strong at her age? , Would anyone want to be strong taking the same route she took? Whose fault is it? Can we accept hearing "it's definitely her fault, she allowed it to happen, and she should have stopped him." Is this acceptable? It's not acceptable at least to me and I am really hoping many share this with me.

The worst part is NO second chance will be given to her for a better life, fit for a human who has rights. The problem is us, it's the community that will never forget that she was a street girl and her child is not a legal, the fact that this image of her will stick in the mind of anyone who meets her, stigmatizing her and placing her in a certain category. The category which people prefer not to speak about, the category people pretend it never existed or the category that perverts or non-perverts like to take advantage of as she is cheap and available, therefore no one will bother to fight for her. This fact is what makes me furious and makes me wonder how double standard or 2 faced we are capable of.

This story and many others made me have a dream. This dream is only about giving these girls a 2^nd chance and treating them as Human Beings, stop categorizing and stigmatizing them. I don’t think it's too much to ask for

Shaza Zackaria.