April 17, 2011
The issue of conversion has been making news in the undivided Dakshina Kannada district for the past few weeks. As of now arguments, defenses, accusations and counter-accusations are going on about the legality or the illegality of running orphanages and institutions that take care of young children and it is left to the authorities concerned to deal with the issue as per the law of the land.
Of course, in most of these alleged conversion cases, especially the recent ones, it is the children who are in the centre of the entire issue, because the main allegations of the so-called self-styled police were that these children were being converted. However, it is pitiable to note that, children are caught in the controversy not because of their own volition but out of circumstances. The conversion issue has become a huge conundrum and is sure to remain that way. So leaving the issue of conversion aside, it is necessary to spare a thought to the children and what they undergo when they find themselves in the centre of a highly explosive and sensitive issue like conversion.
Considering that most of these children are young and oblivious to the goings on concerning them, their sudden exposure to unwanted controversy, to observation homes (remand homes), questioning and quizzing by various people, including the unknown moral police, is sure to have a deleterious impact on their mental bearing and personality.
In the three latest incidents of conversion which have been flashed all over the media extensively, the children are central to the controversy. In the recent controversy involving an orphanage, there were 41 children whom the activists interrogated when they were in the bus, all set to go to their homes for their annual holidays. These days when so many unpleasant and unlawful incidents are common, including that of trafficking of children, one cannot grudge if someone felt it necessary to alert the authorities (not to take the mantle on them) when they saw so many children in a bus or saw something unusual as in the case of Haleyangadi Prayer home. May be such watchfulness on the part of the citizens would go a long way in curbing illegal activities going on in this part of the district. But unknown people interrogating children all of a sudden with all sorts of questions that too in a public place, are sure to create panic and instill fear psychosis among children.
That is exactly what happened to these 50-odd children whom the officials of women and child welfare department and the police officials sent to the Observation Home at Bondel. Faced with a sudden exposure these children looked totally lost and anxious and many of them started crying looking at the police and the activists. Prof Rameela Shekar of School of Social Works, Roshani Nilaya, who is also a mental health professional, says, "Usually parents instill some fear in children (as an act of deterrent) when they are small that policemen would come and take them and therefore, children have that fear about police instilled in their psyche. So the moment the police are involved the children are scared and naturally it would leave a bad scar in their minds."
Prof Rameela Shekar feels that even for adults, when faced with sudden interrogations and when unknown people start questioning, it is unpalatable and creates unnecessary stress. So one can imagine the mental trauma and turbulence these children undergo and the kind of ordeal they face due to such incidents. It can have a lasting impact on them. "If not counseling, what these children need is a process to help them overcome their inhibitions or readjust. They need to go through a process where they need to ventilate their feelings so as to eliminate that fear in them through interaction” says Prof Rameela Shekar, who feels sorry for these children.
One can imagine the mental status of these children who are caught in such situations, be it the incident of Ebenezer prayer hall of Haleyangadi or the Youth Social Service Charitable Trust of Bejai. Unlike normal children who live under the protective wings of their parents these children who stay in the orphanages, away from their loved ones, have a troubled childhood either due to abusive and alcoholic parents and some of them might be orphans also. Their background is also very complicated most of the time. So many of them are anxious children, anxiety arising out of their troubled family lives, some of them even suffering from compulsive disorders and mild depression and other common disorders these children are usually prone to.
All these children who were caught in these horrid incidents of conversion controversy recently were huddled into the observatory home at Bondel by the officials of women and child care department, and many who visited the place when all these children were housed there talk about the appalling conditions of the Observation Home (OM). It is said that there are only two toilets in the OM for the 50-odd children and the situation got further compounded because troubled children have a tendency of frequent urination. The OM resembled more like an underground dungeon and in such a milieu the children were naturally frightened and many of them stood there mum-chance by the unfortunate turn of the events.
Prof Hilda Rayappan of Prajna Counseling Centre feels that it is unfortunate that children get entangled in the quagmire of conversion controversy. "If people feel or see something amiss or wrong they should take into task the management or the people who manage such institutions and spare the children from the agony they are subjected to in such situations," she contends. In the Stella Maris incident those who felt it was necessary to alert the officials, should have first alerted the officials and diverted the bus to the orphanage and asked the management to answer to the officials so that the children could have been spared of the nightmare of answering the many questions posed by the moral police.
A few girls of Youth Social Service Charitable Trust of Bejai were sent to Prajna Counseling Centre after the incident as these girls were about to answer their SSLC examinations. One can but imagine the tribulations of these students and their mental status at a time when they were all set to answer an important examination of their life.
According to Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 and the amendment Act of 2006, the police are supposed to follow certain rules while dealing with children. They are supposed to go in mufti when they enter into such homes so that children are not frightened. People involved, including police, officials and activists are also not supposed to use the word ‘remand home’ in the presence of children (the refined version of it is observation homes). But in the recent incidents one could see police in Khakis, which is quite frightening to children. May be the police responded with alacrity when they were alerted and had no time to pay attention to such details. Newspapers and television channels have flashed pictures of policemen in Khakis escorting these children to the OM and other places. Fortunately, some of the children have been sent back to their homes with their parents by the officials. This insensate folly, knowingly or unknowingly on the part of the police and other officials itself is enough to make the children shudder with panic and leave a long-lasting fear in their impressionable minds.
Anybody running institutions for children violating the law of the land or those ill-treating children taking advantage of their poverty or difficulties need to be dealt with, as per law and no sane person would support or come to the rescue of such people who play with the lives of innocent children. Jungle law would prevail if everyone assumes the role of the moral police and tries to take law in their own hands, merely presuming that conversions take place. No person can claim immunity under the pretext of riding a high moral horse under any circumstances. Moreover, it would be in the best interest of our children to keep them away from such controversies as much as possible and save them from further adding to their cup of woes which is already brimful, considering their pathetic background and family atmosphere.
A troubled childhood often leaves children emotionally crippled and drained, etching a permanent scar of fear and anxiety. Let us be humane and more considerate in dealing with children because what they need is quality life which would transmute into quality human resource. It is not enough to lead a life, but how one leads a life is what matters. Let us not allow children to be the sacrificial goats in the hands of grown up people and let them enjoy their normal childhood, which is the most pleasant and enjoyable stage in the life of a human being.
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