Inspirations
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“The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” We wonder why mistreated and ignored young people engage in self-destructive behavior and perform acts that degrade even further the environments into which they were born and left to make do on their own. We wonder. Well, the Ethiopian proverb gives us the answer.
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The words go beyond ignored or mocked or mistreated youth. People in the workplace, in the family, around the neighborhood. Everywhere we have the opportunity to engage and accept people. We also have the opportunity to isolate and ignore or reject them. When we choose the latter, we risk becoming the trigger for unpleasant or even violent responses born of rejection.
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The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth proverb means that children desperately need connection, love, and community. ... Another version of the proverb says “If the young are not initiated into the tribe they will burn down the village just to feel its warmth.”​​​​​​​​
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Killmonger, in Black Panther, acted out the African proverb, “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth,” to the letter. In other words, a child rejected by his community is in a devastating situation that often only gets worse as the child grows.
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The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth proverb means that children desperately need connection, love, and community. If these needs aren’t met, they’ll cry out for help and even resort to destructive behavior. As members of the village, we’re all responsible for the children around us,
