Don't get me wrong. I am not crazy enough to think or say that it is fun being born in a prison. But prison-born babies are babies too. Having some fun is every baby's birthright, in my humble opinion.
Back in the good/bad old days when Hong Kong was still run by a pragmatic British administration, "prison babies" were everyone's angels behind bars, as witnessed by my mother who was an officially-appointed visitor checking on child welfare. She speaks fluent Putonghua and Cantonese on top of English. Along with a pediatrician, she made sure that every "prison baby" was in good hands. She was rarely disappointed.
Technically, "prison babies" were born in public hospitals. After birth, they would be back in their jailed mothers' care until they're three years old when their future welfare plans had been worked out, thanks to the Social Welfare Department. My mother once showed me a Radio/Television Hong Kong documentary on these "prison babies." However, this documentary is nowhere to be found today.
My mother is still missing her "prison babies."
Author: renqiulan
This Google image is in the public domain.
