In Honor of Zahra Clare Baker




Zahra Baker
 

Hey guys sorry school has been crazy and I wasn't sure what my next post would be about however I found time in my schedule today and I knew exactly what my post would be. My post today is in honor of a sweet little girl who was taken from this world far too soon four years ago today. For those of you who don't know here is a summary of her story. Zahra Baker was born in Australia and had survived bone and lung cancer losing her one leg below the knee and her hearing to the cancer.  Zahra's mother had given custody to her father after she was born due to postpartum depression. Zahra's father met a women from North Carolina and they got married. In 2008 Zahra moved to the United States with her father and new step mother. Unfortunately for Zahra this is where her story take a tragic turn. Zahra started out in public school but was pulled from it soon to be homeschooled after stories of abuse started appearing. The neighbor's claimed Zahra was being abused physically and mentally. Child services visited Zahra's house twice before they moved to Hickory North Carolina. Zahra's stepmom had been investigated for abusive behavior toward her own biological children. Zahra's stepmom killed Zahra and then dismantled her body spreading it around. She waited until October 9 to report her missing. However investigators learned she had killed Zahra and dismantled her on September 24. If you want to read more about her story or the case just Google Zahra Baker. Zahra was just 10 years old. The sweet little girl who had already survived so much in her short life did not deserve the ending she got. I'm sure some of you are probably wondering why I posted this story on here Zahra had a connection to NASCAR. Zahra got her hearing aids from a event called Get In Gear to Help Children Hear at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch Motorsports participated in that event and had the opportunity to meet Zahra. It wasn't too long after this event that Zahra was brutally murdered. Kyle Busch and children's charity released purple balloons in her honor a year later at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kyle had her picture on the passenger side of his truck and drove to victory. Posted below is the link to the clip of that win (unfortunately I couldn't get it to link the way the other video did) I strongly encourage you to watch it even if your not a Kyle Busch fan it's sweet the way he honored Zahra's memory. Kyle's interview starts at 2:25 and you see him tap and kiss Zahra's picture on his truck at 3:20. People may not like Kyle or dislike him running in the truck that's your opinion but you can't take away from the fact that Kyle was a class act in what he did for Zahra. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M2-s3ojoQM
Zahra was taken from this world far too soon. I look at her sweet little face and knowing that she was so young and disabled I wonder how anyone could ever hurt her. I wonder how her father could not have known something was wrong and that she was being abused and if he did know then why didn't he speak up. It makes you question and I'm sure my readers that are parents will have even more emotions about this then I do. I never had a chance to meet Zahra but she has touched my life and I will never forget her. It may be to late to save Zahra but it's not to late for other children I urge all my readers if you suspect that a child is being abused speak up. I'm posting the following link that tells how you can report suspected abuse. Don't assume that someone else is going to do it a issue as serious as this requires us all to do our part. https://www.childwelfare.gov/responding/reporting.cfm We owe it to Zahra to do our part in honor of her to make sure no child has to have the terrible ending she had. RIP Zahra you were taken from this world far to soon and in such a tragic way but your memory will live on forever. You overcame so much and fought so hard but you're in a better place now.