Reflection On Article: Intermarriage 'major risk factor' in Peterborough child deaths

Original news article: Intermarriage 'major risk factor' in Peterborough child deaths

I came across this article and it's just so tragic to read about. Children are so precious and bright and shouldn't die at such a young age when they've barely gotten to see much of the world yet. Children are suffering because of their parents' actions. The reason of death was due to congenital abnormalities. 

Experts say that it is because of 'culture condition' that these tragedies happen to children. First cousins marrying each other and so on. 

In most Asian cultures, this is a very big deal because they absolutely reject the idea of marriage between first cousins and even if two people are completely unrelated but have the same last name are not allowed to marry each other.  It's a very big deal and you could be disowned for committing such 'disgraceful crimes'. 

I know if we are to look at this from a scientific view then there is a pile of scientific reasonings that make sense of why those abnormalities happened and has nothing to do with culture. However, I have to say that I am someone that has witnessed this in my family. Two of my first cousins married each other despite the disapprovals of the entire family. They'd tried to keep the two apart and keeping them apart was worser than keeping them together. I can't help but feel that it is because of karma and fate that pulled those two together. They got married and had a son and that son is already an adult but mentally he is unstable and has many mental conditions. His parents are now spending their lifetime in the countryside, protecting their son for the rest of their lives. 

Many people don't take this seriously and think: 'oh this won't happen to us. I see nothing wrong with marrying my cousin.' But I feel they just think of themselves too highly. Anything can happen and we shouldn't be so selfish as in taking the risk and ignoring the inhuman fact that we are indirectly killing a child if that child dies. 

In the article, it says that intermarriage happens more frequently in the Middle East and what drives these marriages is being able to maintain lands and property through extended family. It pains me to see that in order to preserve unsubstantial things like property...people will go to any lengths including risking the lives and health of their children. I would understand if both parties really loved each other 

It's just property guys. It's just land. A human life is nothing more but a dozen of decades and in the end how much stuff can we really take with us? Nothing.