Paradise Lost.

It's been a few days now that I haven't been able to spend the whole night sleeping.
Call it stress, call it worry, call it many things, the truth is, it's about my son.
He's doing all right, nothing to really worry about directly, but I do worry about the world he's going to be a part of.

Every night for the last month I wake up and look for him.  I either go to his room and see him sound asleep, or, when he decided to move to my bed in the middle of the night I have to check that he's there with me.

It didn't use to be like this.

I've been seeing more and more in the news the attack on civilians in Israel/Palestine, more children dying and being bombed out of existence, more and more orphans, more of the pain and suffering children of war.

At least Twenty one Children have died in Airstrikes in Gaza, children that had no vested interest in the conflict, children that were caught in the crossfire, out of 83 identified people, 21 children have been id'd and their names published

"It's hard to explain politics to children - they hear from other neighbourhood children that it’s Israel bombing Gaza again, but still I can’t give them an answer as to why," Umm Fadi, who lives in Tal al-Sultan with her husband and children, told Al Jazeera.

It makes me not sleep at night.

I can get up and check on my son, I am lucky enough that we don't suffer the struggles of war, the refugee status of the many, or the poverty of having to leave your home due to it being blasted under mortar fire, how many fathers don't have that "luxury" anymore?

That's not the only thing that keeps me awake at night anymore though.

It's at least once a month that I read that another child has gone missing in my country.  This didn't use to be the case; and I seriously doubt that it's just that the papers have taken on a Sensationalist view on publishing.
More and more children are being abducted by strangers, by their own families and in the best case scenario, are being just taken away.

Worst case scenario their abused and mutilated bodies are found weeks later.

This certainly keeps me up at night.

Accounting only from January to date, 84 Children under 18 years of age have gone missing, out of which 8 have been resolved.

Not even 10 %

Detail of the asked for statistic

Processed year:

2014

Type of period:

Per semester(s)

Processed period:

Both: January - December

Type of statistic:

Total reports (Younger than 18)

Result:

84

Percentage:

50.3%

On the basis of the total of reports during the processed period

Reports in the processed period:

167

Reports in the year:

167

Distribution by ages

From 0 to 2

0

From 3 to 5

0

From 6 to 8

2

From 9 to 11

2

From De 12 to 14

29

From 15 to 17

36

I sit on my bed at night, contemplating my kid and I worry that others are not so lucky, that reports just keep growing and more children are taken from their parents.

Today I read about a 6 year old that's been missing since Friday, apparently abused by her cousin, who not only took advantage of her but of her siblings as well.  The child, still missing will be looked for using Police Dogs.

That will most certainly keep me up at night.

I am lucky in that I get to wake up at night and walk over to my son and see him sleeping peacefully, but I certainly wish luck played no part of it.  I wish it was a certainty for all parents that their children rest at night, knowing that we, as grown ups, we as a society keep them safe and will do everything within our power to make life better for them.

I weep to know, this is all there is, luck and some well wishing among a notable few, I weep for those who's odds ran out; I weep for those that will walk over to an empty bed and mourn their loss.