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| Wednesday, 9 February 2005 |
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Our orphaned children - what should be done The tsunami took lives of many a parent leaving a large number of children orphaned. The majority belong to poor families. Their uncles and aunties probably don't have the resources and the time to attend to these sons and daughters of their now gone forever, kith and kin. Many of them have their own lives to rebuild, from scratch. As many have said before, these hapless children could become easy prey for paedophiles, both local and foreign. They would also be in high demand among our own with cruel and selfish minds looking for cheap labour. They could come in many forms of camouflage that, it would be hard to isolate them from the genuinely concerned, amidst so many other matters that need immediate attention. Their task would be made much easier by the fact that, the present guardians of many of these children would also be more than happy to let go of the extra burden, under the circumstances. Therefore, a special governmental body should be formed to prevent our orphaned youth from falling into the hands of these wolves cloaked in sheepskins. A special campaign must be launched to find out where these children are living and with whom. The details of their present carers must also be recorded. Efforts must be taken to account for all the orphaned children and their present welfare and safety must be ensured. Drawing up plans for their continuing well-being and education, should start without delay. Several hot lines should be set up, enabling the public to inform the Police and other authorities of cases of child abuse. The legal and administrative procedures with regard to adoption of children have to be revitalized to cope with a possible increase in such cases. A separate counter manned by officials representing the relevant ministries must be opened at the airport to inspect travel documents of those individuals, who are leaving the country with under-aged local children, who are not their own. The Government is doing all it can to bring everything back to normalcy. It is a difficult task. We have to rebuild all that the tsunami has destroyed, fast. Yet, these children are our own and a part of our future too. They are much more valuable to us than bricks and steel. And, the highest tribute that we can pay to their dead parents is to help these children forget their tragic experience and live same lives of those who are yours and mine. And about those who are found guilty of abuse and smuggling of these innocent and helpless, I would like to reiterate what many have said before; they should be punished severely with long jail sentences and hard labour. - Laksiri Warnakula |
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