The parents of Victoria Climbie, a six-year-old girl horrifically murdered decades ago have forgiven the perpetrator, who is set to be released in the next few weeks.
25 years ago in February, Victoria was put to death after being tortured and abused by Carl Manning and his girlfriend, Marie-Therese Kouao.
The case went down as one of the most devastating child abuse incidents, leading the pair to be imprisoned for life.
RELATED STORIES
READ ALSO: Drake calls out ‘rap beef’ with Kendrick Lamar in new album
According to a Daily Mail report, the little girl was tortured by Manning and his girlfriend, coerced into sleeping in a black bin-liner filled with her own excrement, burnt with cigarettes, scalded with hot water and then starved.
She was tied up and beaten with bike chains, hammers, shoes and wires, and was also forced to eat like a dog.
It was reported at the time that her race was one of the reasons police did not initially consider the incident serious before her family were later afforded justice.
The death of the little girl was one of the first cases of its kind and it led to a public inquiry that found Victoria was failed by many state agencies including police and social services.
Victoria died in February 2000 of hypothermia and was found with 128 separate injuries and wounds to her body due to the torture.
Manning was later sentenced to life in 2001 and ordered to serve a minimum of 21 years.
However, there’s been a new turn of events, and the now 52-year-old has been granted a third hearing after making a new bid for freedom with the Parole Board.
Reports indicate that a panel of experts are looking into his case to analyze his behavior in prison, seeking to determine whether he is remorseful for the death of the little girl.
In many instances, the aggrieved family often hopes the perpetrator is denied parole.
However, it seems the parents of Victoria have forgiven the murderer of their child.
Francis and Berthe placed Victoria into the care of Marie, who brought her to England from the Ivory Coast to be given education and future training.
The parents have revealed that though it has been a tough ride over the years, Manning and the various agencies that failed their murdered girl have their forgiveness, but not Marie.
‘Initially, when we first heard about Victoria we could not forgive. We are human beings and no human being is perfect’, the couple wrote on the Forgiveness Project.
‘We were tormented by guilt, anguish and hatred, and could not understand how our daughter’s life could have been destroyed by someone who had promised to take care of her. Victoria was very, very precious to us.’
‘We had so many expectations and so much hope for our child. Even so, from the very first day we heard about the death of Victoria, we began praying that one day we would be able to forgive.’
‘If you want to live happily and at ease in this life you have to learn to forgive. It shouldn’t matter if the person is unable to ask for forgiveness or even acknowledge that they’ve done wrong, because forgiveness cannot be based on conditions.’
‘So we’re not waiting for Marie-Therese to ask for our forgiveness: whether she asks for it or not we have forgiven her.’
‘But while Marie-Therese has shown no remorse, her boyfriend, Carl Manning, did ask for our forgiveness. The sad thing is he hasn’t achieved freedom – not in his body, his mind or his soul. We can’t ignore their culpability.’
‘Whatever wrong people do in life there will be a price to pay, but it is not for us to punish. The legal system has its way of dealing with people who are not fit to live among humans.’
‘We have also been able to forgive all those agencies and individuals who were shown through the public inquiry to have failed our daughter.’
Their statement also explains how Victoria was released from their care as parents.
‘First, the child is murdered, but if you as the parent then focus only on retribution, you extinguish the very spirit and memory of your child.
‘Many people in England have asked us why we gave Victoria away. I want to say that we didn’t give her away. In African society children are not just the children of their parents, but the children of their aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers, brothers and sisters,’ they said.
‘The greatest privilege of all is for a relative to offer to educate your child abroad. In Africa we are only able to survive because those who are successful feel a duty to help those who are not. What comfort is revenge? Our greatest desire is that something positive should come out of this tragedy. That’s why we’re opening a school in the Ivory Coast.
‘It will be a centre of excellence providing education for children from all around the world. The sole reason for Victoria coming to England was to get an education. This school is our way of immortalising the spirit and the name of our child,’ the family added.
On social media, many have been left stunned by the heartwarming decision by the parents of the girl murdered 25 years ago, as they seem to have prioritized peace after many years of pain.
