Left alone

When I was really little I was left alone a lot. My father went off on his own, and I was left alone for hours at a time in wierd places. Shelters, dinky rooming houses, the car, wherever we were at the time. We stayed at cheap boarding houses and homeless shelters, at strange people's homes and slept in the car occasionally. My father wanted time to himself, I have no idea what he was up to but it probably was not good, so I was left alone in these places and it was scary. I hated it. There were times I screamed and cried out of fear and loneliness, shrieking at the top of my lungs if no one was around. Once, some neighbors came to ask me what was wrong and why I was crying. I wiped my tears, put on a smile and said that nothing was wrong. They left.
No one did anything. NO ONE DID ANYTHING! As I write this, I shake with pain and anger. How could people witness a 4,5,6 year-old little kid alone and scared, and later on some people knew that I was being physically abused, and not get involved? This is so painful, so incredibly painful for me today. I look at my own little boy, how vulnerable and innocent he is, and can't imagine that anyone can watch or hear a child suffer and be so passive? Perhaps it wasn't blatantly obvious abuse all of the time, but with a bit of thought it should have been clear to most that something was very wrong.
Parents are the primary abusers of children, and although most parents are loving and considerate, there are some that are not fit to take care of a child. It was clear to many people that came into contact with us, as I have had people contact me once they saw me in magazines or on TV telling my story, and the apologized for not doing anything. One couple actually told me that they knew I was being abused, but that their religious leader said that they shouldn't do anything "drastic" like go to the police. Huh? It makes me want to cry and scream.