While everyone is ga ga over India’s 10% pa economic growth, and cell phone companies are valued at $ 25 Billion, little children are killed for their organs while the parents are still searching for them a year later. And now a new report says that Goa is taking over from Cambodia and Thailand as the child prostitution capital of the world. What’s going wrong with our society ?
Goa is THE destination of the Indian Elite for Christmas and New Year. All the people that care have to do is say “We will not visit Goa unless this abuse of our children by foreign tourists is stopped and the local goverment takes immediate action”.
Then watch the local hotels owners themselves force the local goverment to take action as they lose bussiness.
Check this site :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6230957.stm
shekhar
Apna Ghar official suspended
TNN
PANAJI: The women and child department has suspended the superintendent of Apna Ghar, Merces, and initiated disciplinary proceedings against
her.
The director of the women and child department, Sumedha Bolekar, confirmed that the superintendent, Sumedha Bolekar, has been suspended. He, however, refused to give the reason behind the move.
Sources said that the department was facing constant embarrassment as juveniles housed there often fled from the home. The escapees, when caught, would always complain of ill-treatment at Apna Ghar.
10 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
They didn’t really need a reason to torture her
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The first time she was “burnt” was for not doing the dishes. But the sad part is that there was no work to be done, all the dishes had
already been cleaned.
This is what a ten-year-old maid tortured by her employer has told the police. In her statement, the girl has also said that she was often beaten up or kicked in the stomach.
The girl, who incidentally belongs to a scheduled tribe, was also taunted about this. And now her alleged tormentors—Porvorim resident Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar, a civil engineer, his wife Minaxi and sister-in-law Tina—face charges under the Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act apart from charges under the IPC and the Goa Children’s Act.
While Audumber was arrested and later freed on bail, Minaxi and Tina are absconding.
Sources said the minor, who lost her father last year, was originally from Gadag, Hubli, but was living with her grandmother in Goa. About seven months back, a neighbour approached her grandmother and brought her to the Pednekar residence to work as a domestic help.
“She told us that initially the family was fine and she was asked to do all the work. The torture started a month later, when Tina allegedly started hitting her with a wire for not cleaning utensils or not mopping the floor or for failing to wash clothes on time.”
The girl would then be forced to sleep in the balcony. Her employers would lock the door from inside and open it only in the morning, sources said.
According to the victim, she was first “burnt” for not washing utensils even when there was no utensil in the sink to wash. “The girl said that Tina took a hot spoon from a stove and put it to her face,” sources said.
The girl was once allegedly kicked on the stomach by Audumber for failing to remove a stain on his trousers. “When she fell on a stone slab in the bathroom (used for washing clothes), she was further beaten with a pipe from the washing machine,” say police sources.
The final straw, the police said, was when the girl drank the couple’s seven-month-old twins’ medicine. “I was feeling very sick (with fever) and still had to do the work. As they were not giving me any medicine I took the children’s medicine,” the girl told the police.
When Minaxi learnt of this, she told the minor that she would have to burn her. The girl said that Minaxi then closed the door and windows to ensure that no one heard the girl’s screams and placed a heated flat steel spoon on her leg, back and hand, leaving burns and blisters, police said.
Even as the girl—without medical attention—writhed in pain for days, the family forced her to work. On Saturday, when Minaxi was feeding the babies and Tina had gone to the bathroom, the girl ran away.
“Since the girl is from a scheduled tribe, we have added Section 3 (1) (11) of Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act, besides sections of the IPC and Children’s Act against the three accused. Investigations have been transferred to DySP Gundu Naik,” said police spokesperson SP A V Deshpande.
Meanwhile, the girl, who had suffered burn injuries on her back and thighs, is recuperating at Goa Medical College and Hospital.
GMC doctors on Monday said she had suffered “simple injuries”, but didn’t specify the amount of injuries on her body.
Unhappy with this, the police have written to the GMC dean requesting a complete medical examination. “The dean has constituted a medical board that will examine the girl on Wednesday for all possible injuries, both old and new,” added Deshpande.
Pednekar’s advocate Damodar Dhond said, “The girl’s medical certificate has opined that she has simple injuries. This is not a serious offence. I am not aware that a new section has been added. We have filed for anticipatory bail for the two women and will wait for the reply from the police,” he said.
“We will oppose the anticipatory bail application of the two co-accused. We are also going to file a revision application against the bail granted to Pednekar,” said Deshpande.
29 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Do her pictures tell a story?
Preetu Nair, TNN
Photo courtesy: Rajtilak Naik
Panaji: We have seen only those scars on her skin,but there might be others deep down, inflicted by pain much more acute.
As she recovers from the torture allegedly inflicted by her employers , the child maid has for the first time in her life laid her hands on books and crayons. Cocooned inside a GMC ward , away from the cruel world she has so far experienced, the ten year old is learning the English alphabet, tutored by the policemen guarding her.
And she is drawing pictures. Neat, bright and colourful pictures. But amidst all the vibrancy might be lurking her worst demon-loneliness.
Most of her pictures are of her are of her house in Gadak, Hubli , surrounded by green fields and a girl standing alone. The minor says she is the girl in her sketches . In some sketches, along with her own name she has written the word ‘Audrey’ . Audrey Pinto is director of SCAN , an NGO, and has been with the girl since the day she was rescued.
Drawings can be used as a way of understanding more about what a child has gone through, how they view their past, present and future, says psychologists.
“Children express their needs and environment through the pictures they draw. From the pictures she had drawn it appears that she feels lonely. Perhaps after what she has gone through he family probably has no role to play in her environment as she cannot identify with them,” said clinical psychologist Dr Mita Majumdar. However, she added that these are presumptions and one can arrive at a final decision only after interacting with the child and seeing her pictures.
Incidentally, the minor doesn’t talk much about her family. “She doesn’t talk about her mother or siblings. She told us very clearly that she doesn’t want to go with her grandparents and mother. She told us that she wants to study,” said Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR) member Ezilda Sapeco.
August 1, The Times of India, Goa edition
im student,doing research in child trafficking in goa, where do i get the stastical figure of the data?
It is really funny you should come up with this because I had been just thinking of it the other day. You’ve depicted my views exactly.