Important concerns in child rehabilitation
BY THARUKA Dissanaike
Tsunami-hit children: what does the future hold for them?
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KUMARI could not have imagined the horror that swept through her
coastal home that fateful December day. She would never have dreamt that
in a single gush of the sea she would lose both parents and her younger
brother.
At 16, Kumari's (not her real name) biggest worry was getting through
her O/L year and sitting for the exam at the end of 2005. In a day her
world turned inside out. Today, the O/L's are the least of her worries.
She is in the custody of her 75-year-old grandmother, who has no
steady income and very few assets. She relives the trauma of the tsunami
through recurrent nightmares and has been treated at the Matara
hospital's clinic for psychiatric support.
Going back to school has been somewhat a balm -within the protective
sphere of the classroom and basking in the warm concern of teachers and
friends, Kumari is coming to terms with her loss and regaining some
interest in her studies.
"I did not want to live after the tsunami. But my teachers and
friends have been kind. There has been a lot of support from my
relatives and even many others I do not even know. Some have promised to
support my education up to A/Ls. I think I can do my exam in December."
Over a third of the victims of last December's tsunami were children.
Many of the survivors lost family members, their homes, their pets,
their toys and school books- everything that a child holds precious.
The sympathetic outpouring of help for these children has been one of
the most marked and heartwarming aspects of the post-disaster phase.
There have been more offers for adoption than there are orphans.
Adoption offers have poured in from distant countries and from people
who have never before heard of the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka. The
National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) was very quick in formulating
a series of guidelines and recommendations for treating and caring for
the child victims of tsunami.
The need for counseling has been expounded by many an expert and
support systems have been- albeit slowly- put in place. Life is still no
bed of roses for these young victims, and many are the cases of
professed and promised aid not reaching the target children, many are
the instances when inappropriate aid has reached the victims.
But if one were to look at attitudes.. and contrast them with the
kind of interest shown towards the 'rehabilitation' of other child
victims, a clear difference becomes evident.
"Give new life to a Child' is the eye-catching slogan of one
newspaper's attempt at coordinating a child sponsorship programme aimed
at 'rehabilitating and rebuilding the lives of tsunami devastated
children'.
This kind of social programme was not on media corporations' agenda
until now. But previously held priorities have all been transformed by
the tsunami. Children who have been caught up in what counts as one of
the world's worst natural disasters have been described as 'desperate
and destitute', and 'battered and helpless'- living as they are in
makeshift refugee camps.
They are called the country's future assets and the treasures and the
need to 'protect' and 'nurture' these children are paramount in the
plans drawn up by the state, by NCPA as well as the Social Services
Ministry.
On the other corner of the scale are children abused by society.
Children often make the news being rescued from homes that have abused
them as servants, from paedophiles that have used them for sexual
gratification and from militant groups who have used children as cannon
fodder in war.
These children made headline news for the sensational cases they were
involved in and the dramatic manner in which they were 'rescued'. Their
rehabilitation was thought out in 'hard terms' and often than not, these
children were treated as delinquents who needed to be 'mended' and
'corrected', said an official of the Social Services Ministry.
While these ideas are fast losing currency in the new debate over
child rights and the manner in which child victims should be treated,
the tone of the entire rehabilitation exercise differs greatly between
tsunami affected and victims of adult abuse.
In the well-known refugee camp that was burned down in Bindunuwewa,
young boy recruits were being rehabilitated alongside adult surrendees
and drug addicts.
"Many of the young boys were seen engaged in manual labour inside the
camp. One could consider this another form of abuse. It is child labour
after all. They also were targets of bullying and aggression from the
adult militants," said a one-time regular visitor to the center.
The camp environment was not unlike the militarized, authoritarian
environment that the rebel military camps would have provided, he said.
"The only difference being that the children were finally free of the
fear of being used in war and they could meet their families.
Another such home for women in Nugegoda had an astounding mixture of
women with psychiatric problems, drug abuse, prostitutes, victims of
child labour and several underage recruits. This kind of
'rehabilitation' is known to be detrimental to the child's emotional and
physical well being. In the end, the victim ends up being 'punished' for
another's crime.
There is much being said in the media about protecting the 'dignity'
of children affected by the tsunami. The term 'dignity' constitutes not
only abiding by the Convention on the Rights and all its incumbent
provisions but also ensuring that children left orphaned by the tsunami,
do not 'suffer' the fate as other orphans, that they are not subject to
degrading forms of exploitation etc.
The NCPA's initial plan for these children envisaged institutions
constructed along the lines of hostels in schools to take out the stigma
of being put in an orphanage.
However strangely, the term 'dignity' was not an issue earlier with
other victims of adult abuse or exploitation. Dignity was not afforded
to child prostitutes who were 'arrested' with the paedophiles or child
soldiers who surrendered to the forces in the thick of battle. Dignity
was not considered a necessity for young teenage girls made pregnant by
incestuous relatives.
Take the case of Meera(not her real name) from a remote eastern
village. At 19, Meera has lost the use of both her legs. She was among
Karuna's cadres when the LTTE attacked last April to regain control of
the east.
In the battle Meera, who has been with the movement since 2000,
suffered gunshot wounds to both her legs and was left to die.
Fortunately for her, her camp was close to Batticaloa town and some
sympathetic villagers managed to transport her to hospital.
Since she recovered from the grievous injuries Meera was shuttled
between Homes and institutions before ending up in a half-way home for
abused children, among teenage pregnancies and victims of child labour.
She is awaiting therapy that would teach her to use her twisted lower
limbs and walk without the crutches. "I would like to go home," Meera
says.
"But until I learn to walk without the crutches I will only be a
burden in the village. I need to work and learn some skills." Until then
she keeps herself busy by taking care of the Home's younger inmates.
"She is trained and well-disciplined" the Matron says.
For Meera, and other 'UR' (Underage Returnees- in the parlance of the
international community) cases in the East and elsewhere in the war
zone, dignity has never been an issue of contention.
In fact, many of them become imprisoned at home upon return, as the
parental reaction is one of deep fear of re-recruitment mixed with
trepidation and some shame.
This is especially in the case of girls. Parents fear that their
chances of marriage and living a normal life would be hindered by the
exposure to military training. Many are married off against their will.
A mother of a UR case in Jaffna once told me, "I wont let her step
out of the compound- even to go the boutique-I cannot afford to lose her
again."
While going back to school is emphasized as a therapy for tsunami
affected children and many organizations, local and international, are
coming forward to see that the children's needs (educational) are being
met. The NCPA believes that for children who have lost one or both
parents, the familiarity of school, friends, teachers and studies will
be a first step towards normalcy.
But for those children who have returned from the ranks of a rebel
military, the choice of school is not so appealing. For many of these
children, returning to school and education becomes a no-no.
More so, if they have been with the military for two years or over
and have to attend classes with much younger kids. Many of the children
are recruited before they sit for the crucial O/L exam.
So at the end of their teen years they find themselves without the
most basic educational qualifications and without skills. While at their
transit center in Kilinochchi, UNICEF has tried to impart some skills
and vocational interest into the UR cases before they are sent back
home, many are slow to catch up and other slack the opportunities to
make use of the acquired skills.
While it is difficult to imagine an outpouring of sympathetic support
like that which followed the tsunami for children used in war, or for
that matter victims of other forms of abuse, it is important for donors
and government institutions in charge of child welfare to remember that
all these victims are children- the differences of their victimization
merely circumstantial.
Although there cannot be any grudge against the response and quick
action (at least intent for quick action) that has gone in to
normalizing the life for tsunami victims apply the same yardstick of
rehabilitation to other children as well- wherever possible.
It is hoped that the sudden and dramatic interest in child welfare
after the disaster will open the eyes of the public, donors and
administrators to the plight of other children marginalized by society
and that some of this sympathy will trickle down to them. |