I’d strangle my kids, if I had the choice.

By Teresa — Mother of 8. Came with a maggot wound in eye.

I had a home; well, I lived outside one. A guy fed me every day, till one day I got pregnant. See … his neighbors didn’t want me to give birth there. So I’d to leave. I didn’t have food and I was tired. I found an old drain that I holed up in, and on a night somewhat colder than others, I gave birth.

I learnt that you can go hungry for days, but seeing your kids cry for food even once, rips your heart. I went out to rummage through a garbage pile, and couple of guy started throwing rocks at me, all while they laughed. It was a sport for them. Their idea of fun. One of them got me good; right in the eye.

As a stray, there’s hardly any chance that you’d get the treatment you need. My wound got maggots and they ate my eye. But I lived. It’s not a choice when you have mouths to feed.

The kind guy that used to feed me, came looking for me. I think it was the first time I saw him tear up. He got me and the kids to Peepal Farm. I’m getting treatment here, and they tell me I’ll be fine. I’ll be “released” they say, back to where they picked me from. Me, and my kids. The hell where they beat me, and took my eye.

I’ll strangle my kids, and kill myself if I had the choice. It’s better than seeing them die … one after the other. For my kind, it’s not even about giving birth to a girl or a boy. All my kids are unwanted, just like me.