"During the past years I have traveled the world and seen these children, so many of them, leading lives of tremendous pain. And yet, they retain their sweetness and their patience; their eyes reflect a deeper understanding, an awareness that this is not as it should be. They deserve better - a life of security and opportunity and freedom and peace of mind. Most of them have never experienced such a life, but they sense its absence. The eyes say it all... And ironically, as we move into another century, perhaps that is what ultimately unites us as a world: the fact that, no matter how prosperous a nation, how developed, all share the plight and embarrassment of having so many suffering children. We are united by our neglect, our abuse, our absence of love. Have we forgotten about the children, and thus forsaken the next generation?"

The text has originally been taken from the introduction to "Betrayal: A Report on Violence Towards Children in Today's World".