On the 22nd of May 2009 a fire broke out at the Armadale Correctional Facility for girls . Seven girls perished in the fire. The Prime Minister ordered an enquiry into this tragedy. The following article pojects my personal assessment of this horrifying situation and a few recommendations .
Another girl from Armadale, a correctional institution for girls, has died. The seventh in a tragedy that has left the Jamaican society reeling in grief .
Are we going to bury with these seven girls the hope for drastic changes in the affairs of our ” children in care” or has this tragedy stirred enough resolve in our spirit to demand that the rights of our “children in care” be respected?
The Government in whose hands lie the welfare, the protection, the education and care of these children should take full responsibility for the death of the fire victims of Armadale and should begin to pay special attention to the restructuring of the system responsible for’”children in care.”
The centralization of children’s affairs should be a priority As it stands, the fragmentation of the system that oversees the care ,protection and education of” children in care” creates crucial problems that have become endemic and are adversely affecting the welfare of” children in care” – thus the Armadale tragedy.
The present method of placement of children should be radically changed and the laws that enforce parental responsibilities applied.
Children who have been raped or sexually abused should be placed in an ” emergency treatment home ” with caregivers who are trained to understand their particular situation.
Children coming from a broken home should be placed in a ” Group Foster Home “. There in a substitute family setting they will be raised in an environment much more nurturing than what is offered in the places of safety.They will attend school and will not be deprived of an academic education.Their parents should be under a court order attend parenting classes in order to be better equipped to receive their children in the family fold.
Children with very dysfunctional behavioral problems should be placed in a “specialized group home” where the ratio of children to staff is such that due care and attention can be paid to the children in order to effect lasting rehabilitation.The parents should, under court order, participate in the rehabilitation process of their children in order to be prepared for the return of their children in the family fold.The children and young people with very severe behavioural problems do not belong in adult correctional facilities and certainly not in facilities where they are treated like hardcore criminals.
The overcrowded Places of Safety at this stage certainly do not offer adequate care to” children in care” and should be phased out.
At this time of our history unfortunately our” children in care” are treated as the rejects of society.Their human rights are blatantly violated by the very people in authority who should offer them care and protection when their parents have failed to do so.
A look at the Places of Safety will show beyond the shadow of a doubt that the conditions there are the source of the most horrendous and revolting forms of abuse.
The psychological impact of life in an overcrowded ,dehumanising environment stays with the children for ever. In essence the children are psychologically maimed and their development tragically stunted.
Deprived of love,of respect ,of tender care, deprived of the basic academic education, they are thrown in a mould of inferiority, helplessness and hoplessness unable to fulfill their God given right to play a role in the life of their country and attain their full potential as human beings.
When their very souls are saturated with the pain of abuse and a dehumanising life they rebel. When their rage has reached boiling point and they themselves have reached the very edge they rebel. Very sadly, however, their rebellious behaviour is curbed with further abuse in the form of the most inappropriate corrections. No one takes the time to probe, to understand and soothe the troubled minds. Brute force cannot replace love, respect and understanding.
When the physical layout of a building can accomodate forty children and ninety- two children are made to coexist in such limited space it is obvious that there is absolutely no respect given to the rights of the children.There is no respect for their dignity, their own space, their own needs ,their thoughts, their wishes and their pain, their hope and aspirations.
In these overcrowded conditions sexual aggression and deviant sexual behaviour become rampant.Girls rape each other using a piece of broomstick, glass bottles greased with “hair oil”. These attacks leave the victim with a severely lacerated vagina and a very torn psyche.When dominant girls hold a weaker one down and with a sharp object carve their mark of possession on her body that victim is marked for life. The strongest and the most violent prevail.
Boys experience sexual abuses just like the girls . Again the strongest prevail and the abuses continue in the most brutal forms.These problems are often ignored or are very casually swept under the rug.
Deprived of the most basic form of academic education these children remain functionally illiterate falling sadly into the category of the unemployable later on in life.
I have said it in previous articles we are failing our children. Their tears as blood will stain the conscience of those who abuse them and trample on their rights.
This state of affair in various child care institutions typifies the days of slavery. The” haves” the” masters” enjoy the luxury of a good life that allows them to offer care ,protection and education to their offsprings,whereas, mothers in the masses often have to turn to the state to help them care for their children. These children just like the children of the field slaves have no right and no voice. They will suffer the crushing humiliation of being “government pickney” the rejects of society till one day their “bile bag buss” and they rebel.At Armadale their rebellion was viciously squahed. The girls were tear-gassed and forced to face the inferno of the burning building behind bars.
My heart cries out when I think of the anguish, the fear, the excrutiating pain, the girls of Armadale must have felt.The questions abound: Who cares? why the tear gas? why the rebellion?What were the instructions given by the Child’s Advocate that she says were not implemented?Why wasn’t there a follow up to see that the wrongs were rectified?In whose hands lie the guilt and the responsibility ? Will justice prevail and the people guilty of negligence be made to face the law?… Time will tell…
The Prime Minister deeply moved by this tragedy has ordered an inquiry. Will the truth ever come out? Will the affairs of our” chilren in care” ever be managed with a genuine respect for their rights as children of the land?…
In closing, I would like to say a word of encouragement to the various members of staff in the system who regardless of the shortcomings serve the children with all their heart.Keep up the good work because for every child we save it is a man ,a woman we save.
To the girls who lost their lives may you rest in peace. May the tears that you shed be not in vain. May your blood be the force that will bring about changes in the affairs of “children in care.” May justice and respect prevail.