Letter to the Children in Cages

 💔 A Letter to the Children in Cages (and the Forgotten Ones Everywhere)

By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita

Dear Little One,

I don’t know your name. I don’t know where they took you from, or where they’re keeping you now. I don’t know if you're cold, or hungry, or if you’ve already started forgetting how to dream. But I feel you. And I want you to know something:

You are not invisible.

I see you.
We see you.
Even when the world closes its eyes, some of us keep looking—even when it breaks us.

I want to say I'm sorry.
Not because I hurt you directly—but because I didn't stop it.
Because we didn’t stop it.
Because we adults failed to build a world where you are safe just because you’re a child.

You should be chasing butterflies, not fearing footsteps.
You should be painting pictures, not staring at fences.
You should be sleeping in someone’s arms, not on a cold floor.
You should be held—not numbered.

And if no one has told you yet:
You matter.
You are not trash. You are not a burden. You are not broken.

The people who did this to you?
They are the ones lost.
They forgot how to be human.
They lost the thread of kindness.
And now they hide behind policies and borders and lies—because it’s easier than admitting they’re afraid of children who remind them what they’ve lost.

I don't have much power. I don’t have money. I don’t have armies or offices.
But I have words. I have stories. I have my voice.
And with all of that, I say this:

You are loved. You are sacred. You belong to the Earth, and the sky, and the stars—no cage can take that from you.

If you are old enough to understand this letter, hold on.
If you are too young, I hope someone who loves you reads it to you someday.

Until then, I light a candle for you.
I whisper to the wind.
I smoke pot just to breathe.
I try to stay alive long enough to tell your story—to help others remember the children.

And one day, I hope this world is soft enough for you to grow in.
You deserve that. More than anyone.

With all my love,
Tina Winterlik
aka Zipolita
A mother who still believes in miracles
Even through the smoke and tears

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