Coil: Guyana unfit for Children?

by Vidyaratha Kissoon

Man in the minibus shows the driver his phone.

“Look nuh”.. in a voice which looked like it was a mix of a little horror and plenty fascination.

Driver says.. ‘whuh stupidness is dis’…

Man with the phone says.. ‘she is nine years old.’

Man show me his phone.. it is a picture of a child.

The child ‘poses with underwear’ and her hands are lifting up the top in ways which are not about play.

And no, this is not going to be a discussion about whether pornography is in the head of the viewers or in the head of the people who encouraged the child to pose and to share the picture on the internet which is available in Guyana.

I tell the man to delete the picture and stop sharing it.

Man says’ is not me., is facebook it deh pun, I cyan delete it’

I tell him that it could be a crime to give it life by sharing it around. People share around and celebrate women who pose similarly so somebody probably thought is good to teach them young to be sexy and so and share on facebook and that one day somebody will pay the child turned woman to be sexy.

It was the week when the Telecoms Liberalisation Bill passed. If without telecoms liberalisation people could do madness with sharing almost pornographic pictures of children, what will they do when there is liberalisation ?

Telecoms liberalisation is expected to improve economic activity in the information technology sector.

Another version of teach them young was taking place this week.

Karen Abrams and her family motivated a series of Robotics training camps to teach children about robots and coding for programmes.

The launch of 4G and so has been advertised, pushing young people and children to say farewell to the library and to be consumers of digital content produced in other countries.

Guyana needs basic literacy and numeracy skills, and competence in logic and skills programming to take advantage of the opportunities offered by information and communication technologies.

Karen Abrams at every session encouraged the children to understand that they too can create solutions not only for Guyana , but for the world.

This kind of intervention in children’s lives is different from the horrors of life for some children and their relatives in Guyana. The stories from the beginning of May 2016 include :-

• Somebody or bodies kill 15 year old Jaikarran Chandradeo, his father and his uncle while they were fishing in the back dam at Black Bush. There is an eerie reminder of the murder of 10 year old Mervyn Barran and his father , and another man in Enterprise in 2001. The technology is used to share pictures of the body of the 15 year old child.
• Joshua George and Antonio George are buried after dying in the care of the State. There is no news of any immediate improvements to the other state care agencies. There is no evidence or assurance of the work being done to ensure that the other agencies have protocols, fire drills, inspections. It seems that night, two adults were in charge of 30 children of different ages.
• A 16 year old, reportedly at risk, using drugs, is arrested for killing a man who reporters say is his ‘step-father‘. There are no known drug rehab centres for children and young people where people can go without some payment. There are no plans it seems for access to such places for children and others who might need them.
• A 16 year old kills herself. People sensed all was not well but could not find support. There might be other children who have attempted or thought of suicide.
• A man is charged for rape of a nine year old girl.. Another man might be charged for the rape of three girl children who he put out of the house. Another man is convicted for the rape of a 13 year old. A woman is arrested for molesting two boys. The news of convictions do not give the extent of those which are probably not reported.
• A boy with a disability sits with his mother to beg on Regent Street. The mother and the boy look healthy otherwise. Some children appear at traffic lights with sheets to sign up for donations. Adults are putting children to beg still in dangerous ways.
• Other children , during the ‘Summer’ are selling water and drinks at the traffic lights. It is not clear this is the kind of entrepreneurship which is being promoted where children dodge between vehicles which could move at any so as time to help their families out of poverty.
• A man ties a rope around a 13 year old girl and walks her down the road. It seems that the State was aware of this man’s inability to look after the child.
• About 13,000 children between 10 and 12 years old who wrote the recent exam probably feel that they failed since they didn’t make it to top schools. There doesn’t seem to be any urgency in making every secondary school a school of excellence in Guyana. There is no urgency to ensure that every child who leaves the primary school system can read and write. There is no urgency it seems to ensure that the 13000 could become successes as the Saraswati Vidya Niketan wrote last year.
• School is reopening in September and children could still be beaten in schools. There is more guarantee of licks it seems, than it is of being able to read and write at the end of the appropriate year.
• This week, an appeal was made to the participants at the Social Workers conference to provide the services so that children with special needs could go through the education system.
• There is no news to say whether or not the man who shot 16 year old Onika Luke was found There are probably other people thinking of killing or harming children. Children are not immune from bandits. Bandits continue to use children to threaten families.

The horror stories are known because they are reports in the media. There are probably many more which are not reported.

There are more billboards about the telecoms services which people could use to share , gawk and express horror at pictures and stories of children who are not part of the good life, than it is to let people know what can be done to prevent child abuse.

There are other initiatives – camps, training activities – like the Robotics camps in which citizens are trying to ensure Guyana is fit for children. The youths of the Central Seventh Day Adventist church recently had a session on prevention of child abuse at the end of their Sabbath. The Stabroek Leos Club has a three week Saturday programme to motivate fathers to look after their children.

There is a problem though, when the leaders do not seem as committed to a Guyana fit for children as those who elected them.

Leadership to prevent child abuse

President Granger it seems, has dismissed Red Thread and the individuals who think that Minister Lawrence should be replaced as Minister of Social Protection. The President is probably relying on the internal PNC democracy and some kind of majority referendum to convince him that the Minister’s inappropriate handling of the allegations are not inconsistent with building a Guyana fit for children.

This is not a PNC issue alone.

The nominee of the PPP Minister of Human Services, Minister Manickchand to the Rights of the Child Commission also faces unresolved allegations of child abuse.

There is some kind of oppression in Guyana in which the main political parties have proved that party politics are more important than accountability for a culture of child protection. Cheddi and Burnham’s legacies it seems are the creation of laws, but not the attitudes and behaviours which demonstrate a real commitment to child protection.

The Rights of the Child Commission is a constitutional body which promotes the Rights of Children. It is expected to include representatives of different agencies responsible for children’s well-being.

I resigned from the Rights of the Child Commission due to the lack of resolution of the allegations against the then Minister’s colleague.

The July 15^th 2016 Editorial in the Guyana Chronicle concludes that ..”, the Child Rights Commission [sic] — whose role is, among other things, to oversee national policies, provide recommendation to enforce and strengthen existing laws, and to create new laws — is comatose. It is a crying shame on Guyana, whose record has been one of pioneering child rights and breaking barriers in this regard, not to have this commission performing at its optimum.”

As far as I could see, the Commission has not responded to the Editorial.

Many organisations try to provide services, public education, and support for children. The institutions like the Childcare and Protection Agency and the Rights of the Child Commission have been established by law.

Is the lack of serious leadership in resolving allegations of child abuse against party colleagues a blight on the work being done to create a Guyana fit for children ?

The State is responsible for the implementation of laws and initiatives to improve child protection in Guyana. The people who have taken up that responsibility have to demonstrate consistent commitment for a zero tolerance for child abuse.

The laws have other mechanisms which could help. One mechanism is the National Task for the 

Prevention of Sexual Offences. It was never seriously convened and resourced.

It seems no journalist as yet thinks it is in the Public Interest to ask the President about the National Task Force . Section 87 (quoted here) of the Sexual Offences Act outlines the functions.

“(1) There shall be established an inter-agency task force to be known as the National Task Force for the Prevention of Sexual Violence which shall have the duty to develop and implement a national plan for the prevention of sexual violence.

(2) The President shall appoint the members of the Task Force, which shall include the Ministers of Legal Affairs, Home Affairs, Human Services and Social Security, Amerindian Affairs, Education, Health, Local Government, Youth, Sport and Culture, senior public officers with responsibility for law enforcement, health and human and social services and persons from non-governmental organisations.

(3) The Task Force shall carry out the following activities either directly or by one or more of the constituent ministries as appropriate –

(a) develop and publish within a reasonable time of the coming into force of this Act, a National Plan for the Prevention of Sexual Offences, which shall include the necessary steps to eradicate sexual violence in Guyana;

(b) develop initiatives for prevention of sexual violence;

(c) co-ordinate the implementation of the National Plan;

(d) commission and co-ordinate the collection, publication and sharing of data among government agencies;

(e) establish policies to enable the Government to work with non- governmental organisations, faith-based organisations, community-based organisations and other elements of civil society to prevent sexual violence and provide assistance to victims of sexual violence;

(f) provide guidance to the Sexual Violence Unit;

(g) develop national policy guidelines and protocols for victims of sexual violence and address matters relating to police services, prosecution, medical services, social service, probation service and prison service;

(h) monitor the implementation of this Act, the National Plan and the National Policy Guidelines and protocols;

(i) co-ordinate national education and awareness programmes;

(j) focus special attention on the issues of sexual violence in remote areas, including access to police support and medical attention, court services;

(k) determine the effectiveness of public awareness exercises and measures to be taken to ensure effectiveness;

(l) provide guidance on the development of training programmes specified under section 91;”

The children at the Robotics camp were excited when the robots moved and at learning new things. 

There was frustration when things did not work out at the first try, and joy when they fixed the code or the robots. That is the kind of frustration and joy which would nurture the potential of every child in Guyana.

No child in a Guyana fit for children should be exposed to violence or any other form of abuse which could inhibit their potential.

No leader in a Guyana fit for children would be ignoring calls for accountability when it comes to resolving allegations of child abuse against their colleagues. No citizen who wants a Guyana fit for children should refuse to demand that accountability.