Kids of Rakhine state in Myanmar are still inaccessible to clean water after 2012 deadly floods

Natural calamities take a toll on lives and habitation; but the scene becomes worst when it affects poor economic countries. Dealing with unfortunate happenings in between of development process can be no worst; this is the live of every child of a small state Rakhine in Myanmar.

Heavy rain as part of the monsoon season caused flooding in many parts of Myanmar starting in the beginning of August 2012. Up to 6,000 people were left homeless after the Salween River in Karen State

The Moei River along the Thai border burst its banks following days of heavy rain. In the Irrawaddy region, the Darka River overflowed its bank, affecting 12,000 people. In northern Shan State flooding started on 19 August, killing several and leaving hundreds homeless.  

Children in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are still recovering from the sectarian violence that erupted in 2012. Many live in camps, where they are vulnerable to both water shortages and floods. Although government is currently helping flood affected families to access clean water, but when we visited in early June, they faced the opposite problem water shortages caused by a prolonged period of drought.

25 year-old Nour Hartu arrived at this camp with her youngest daughter, after fleeing from the Muslim-majority Paukio Taw Town. Her husband migrated to Malaysia more than a decade ago and a few years later her parents-in-law followed in his steps. “They secretly took my eldest daughter to Malaysia,” Nour Hartu reveals. “Every hour of every day I miss my village. I had a big, strong house and a small business. All my memories of my oldest child are there.” 

Less than an hour boat journey separates Sittwe, capital of Rakhine State, from A Nauk Ywe village, where over 1,000 Muslim families were relocated after the 2012 inter-communal violence in Rakhine State. Although the camp for internally displaced people was set up a few steps away from the waterfront, it faces a serious problem of water shortages every dry season. 

Rakhine is one of the poorest states in Myanmar and families are less likely to access basic services than in other parts of the country. People are working with the State Government and partners to ensure that every family in Rakhine has access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, regardless of their ethnicity, religion or legal status.

“Every child has a right to safe water, although the way government supports families might differ, depending on the situation they live in, such as camps, communities or remote areas,” explains doctor Bishnu Pokhrel. “In order to build a peaceful society, we need to ensure that all families can access services and live with dignity and equal opportunity.”

These two families have found a solution to access drinking water, but for both of them someone is still missing: “I don’t want another husband or family, says Nour Hartu. “I only have one dream: to have my eldest child with me again so the three of us can live together.”  

Name: Anjali Jha 

Course: MACJ

Not Available…….

Not Available…….

Child trafficking is not prostitution. The existing law ITPA (Immoral traffic prevention act) 1956 would state prostitution becomes an offence when there is commercial exploitation of a person. Limiting myself to child trafficking alone, I would consider a child when sexually exploited and any person has a monitory gain out of it, then it would amount to commercial sexual exploitation and it is a punishable offence. Therefore, child trafficking is nothing but recruiting, contracting or hiring an individual for commercial sexual exploitation purpose with the sole aim of making money.

            The Charvaka philosophical system of thought would stick to the fact ‘Eat Drink and make merry for tomorrow you are going to die’. The people who hold this philosophical school of thought very dearly to heart as a gospel truth would go to any extent in order to pacify their needs. The individual who promotes child trafficking is so untouched and dormant to the act itself that as long as the person gets the required amount there is no problem. The factors that define child trafficking could be such as displacement of a child from one place to another, sexually exploiting the child in a displaced for monitory gains and the like.  

            However, Child trafficking could happen for various reasons such as for developing pornographic content, to promote sex tourism etc.,  nevertheless the tragedy is it is often done by the known individual to the child the so called relatives and friends. Here he so called caretaker becomes wolf in sheep’s clothing. Child trafficking is huge racket that we can confidently say it is an organized form of crime against children the vulnerable lot of our society. A Child who is abducted is actually detained is transported to different place sometimes to different country in an organized way. A Child easily falls prey to this ruthless trap simply because a child is vulnerable in nature. The Indian penal code has sanctioned section after section to protect the child in particular from the mammoth of child trafficking. Nevertheless, the security system in our country has certainly failed drastically when it comes to give hope for the citizens of our country when it comes to abolishing of child trafficking.  

All the same the law can come to effect and indeed take its course only if every individual renounces openly child trafficking by co-operating with the security system as a whole. It is high time that we tight-lipped about this issue and curb the children from being child trafficked. The law should in-fact, take child traffickers to task and make our vicinity a safe place to cohabit happily.    

Mascrine Lawrence Victor

           MACJ

I am Human…..not a TOY…

I am Human…..not a TOY…

According to the world health organization, “Child Sexual abuse is the involvement of a child in a sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend”. Child sexual abuse has indeed become a perennial problem in the global village that we live in. to limit myself statistically and regionally I would rather consider to dwell within the boundaries of my country India.

            Whenever we speak about our country we make sure we speak of its rich heritage, its rich cultural treasures, the freedom struggle and so on, in-fact we speak of its to such an elaborate way that supposing if we have to pen them down than it would run into volumes. However, when it comes to highlight the problems,  sexual atrocities, mishap etc., in our country we prefer to push it under the carpet. Child sexual abuse is one such perennial problem, which indeed requires immediate attention and broad coverage. The statistical data about child sexual abuse/ crime against children sexually reads 53% and this is very mush openly seen in our society today. Nevertheless, the irony is not one wants to speak about this in the broad day light. If we consider that voicing this atrocity openly in the broad day light  will lead in the tarnishing  of  one’s social image than we are left with no other option than to infer that we live in a society which is nothing but hypocritical in nature.  

            The Mathura rape case on 26 March 1972 was an incident where in a tribal girl who was a minor was allegedly raped by two policemen on the compound of  Desai Ganj police station in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. This incident was a revelation incident to all the people in our country especially those in the vicinity. The police officers after committing the crime sought to take shelter under the law by stating that it was not rape but consensual sex. Nevertheless, the people did not keep this argument lying down, they moved out from their comfort zone and made sure, justice is met and the accused convicted for the treacherous crime they have done. In fact, the people’s response to the incident and their cry for justice made the Indian law bring in a paradigm shift in the law itself to certain extent. Since then child, sexual abuse is not tolerated and there is no compromise on it; for instance, people at their personal level and social institution such as CRY and others have come strongly against the atrocities on children. The culprit is made sure is nailed for the inhuman act done. However, the underlying problem is it remains as a major threat for our society. Just giving punishment to the child sexual offenders will not bring in a long-term solution to the issue. What is required of us to find out in certain is what makes these child sexual abusers to act in such an inhuman way. Probably the search for solution will lead every individual to enter into a deeper quest, with practical solutions and make this place a better and safe place to live in especially for the children.  

Mascrine Lawrence Victor

          MACJ

              

Not the Digital world but water…………

Not the Digital world but water…………

Today every citizen probably is crooning to the tune of making India digitalized. The government is consciously engaging in encouraging entrepreneurs to invest in information technology both in the rural and urban belt of our country. The Government in this newfound melody is so much taken up, mesmerized and engrossed by the concept of digitalized India that, it has vowed to invest in a mega way, by investing in building up the infrastructure of internet and providing internet facility to every citizen. While promoting this good work it has forgotten an important development factor, negligence of which could be life threatening. The rural belt in our country faces a severe crisis of clean drinking water and this should be in fact first in the priority list of those in authority. Unfortunately, it seems to be that those in authority are least bothered about it and are busy bridging relationship with other nations while the people pay the price.  However, the grownups have adapted themselves to the situation thus have better immune system; there is nothing much for them to worry. Nevertheless, the sad part is the children are the victim of this scarcity and they easily fall prey to water borne diseases.

            Statistical data of child mortality rate due to absence of clean drinking water is in fact vey alarming. Every year about 1.7 million children die due to diarrhea alone excluding death case in other water borne diseases. The constitution of India article 47 vehemently confers the duty of providing clean drinking water on the government. It is true the government has designed various plans to cater to it and end this menace of child mortality caused because of absence of clean drinking water. However, this problem stands as a penknife on our heart because it has become perennial in nature.

            Making India a digitalized country is only broadening the horizons of free India but providing the rural India with the basic necessity of clean drinking water is giving India a gift of life. If we believe that, our Children are the future of our country than it would be right for us to save them from this life threatening danger. The problem of lack of clean drinking water is waiting like a hungry roaring lion at the door, anticipating, to take, more innocent lives, especially of the children. Well its time for us to prioritize which one is important whether to make India digitalized or save life of the children especially in the rural belt.

Mascrine Lawrence Victor

             MACJ

Child Fruit of passion only, Success is all……….

Child Fruit of passion only, Success is all……….

Success is all. The passion and zeal to reach the zenith point is the trend and it is in very much in vogue today. The advent of globalization, liberalization and industrialization, has chipped in better avenues and made life comfortable with varied and better opportunities. Nevertheless, to tap these avenues and opportunities and enjoy so called better standard of living, (which one actually does not enjoy because of the tedious work schedule where in home becomes a place only to come and sleep most of the time).  Work becomes the full time priority of the individual and the rest of the things, gloriously forgotten including the children. The parents along with the children are usually, culled out from the joint family situation and forced to come to city and live in a nuclear family. In this newfound place, the entire family is struggling to form its own niche. The parents are busy trying to make both ends meet and in the bargain, the children are often neglected. To cater to the needs of the children the parents usually baby sit them, or put them in a residential school, or just simply leave them at home to be taken care by the domestic staff or house cleaner.

Very often, children miss the love and care of their parents. Since they are brought up in the situation where in, parents do not even get chance to meet because of their tedious work schedule and even if they meet, it is only at the level of just few minutes in a day. The child cannot move around outside freely, nor can they play openly like in the vicinity of villages. The children are often stuck between the four corners of the house. This makes the child more frustrated and behave irritatingly which becomes the starting point for the temporary caretaker to use violent method to sober down, the so-called errant child.

The child becomes so scared of the temporary caretaker that the child fears even to express what one needs. The child is psychologically doomed. The child becomes dull, and introvert day by day and does not want to be in touch with the others because of the negative experiences in life at a very early stage. The parents often fail to recognize, the inner conflict in their child and thus often goes un- noticed. Timely help if not given, the child falls prey to these social evils, which can have drastic repercussion in the future. One cannot exactly point out who the culprit is whether it is the parents themselves or the temporary caretaker. Of course, the parents have a very genuine idea of improving their standard of living on the other hand the temporary wanting to have control over the child instead of responding to the child is reacting to the situation. However, nobody has made any genuine effort to understand the child that is where the problem exactly lies. The government should in fact come up with efficient methods, which should be deployed especially to cater to such children in the society. The all round development of the child could be planned and materialized actually. Supposing the child is not given enough attention at the right time than it can grow up to be a nuisance in the society because of the bitter childhood experiences. Therefore, parents should make sure that they do not born the child and forget but make sure they give enough time for the child’s constructive growth as well.

Mascrine Lawrence Victor

MACJ

Child Labor? Not my Cup of Tea

Child Labor? Not my Cup of Tea

What causes child labor? Is it absence of good school? Is it because of poverty? Is it because educational institutes have become money making institutions. Probably it is an consolidated factor of all these above mentioned factors, and those factors not included in here which promotes child labor in our country today. Emphasizing the fact what child labor is all about we could come to a definite conclusion that the practice of having children engage in economic activity on part time or full time basis is child labor.  The repercussion of child labor is actually seen in the child’s all round development. The practice of child labor in particular deprives the child from enjoying their childhood, they do not get equal opportunities to develop physical, emotional, intellectual, and psychological needs. The children by default are not ready to engage in tedious form of labor because they possess fragile body structure susceptible to tiredness. Moreover, the children who are victims of child labor do not enjoy a decent dietary plan. They are often poor, and just cannot afford good food. The poor condition they live in and the exposition to hazardous industrial chemicals makes the children prone to diseases.

            The irony of life in our country is we visualize a country where in there would be 100% literacy level and try to compete with other countries in the world, but on the other hand we do not make any effort to  abolish child labor. Children, who labor, can never improve their standard of living and they are doomed, from womb to tomb. This sipped truth will be true from generation to generation come what may.

            To curb this social evil of child labor our country has promulgated various law and penalties. She has also come with directives and corrective measures in order to protect the child and give it a platform to grow confidently. National policy is formed in order to protect the child and rehabilitate them. Many religious institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations have also come up sharply on child labor simultaneously; for instance, DON BOSCO’S Home in Bangalore addresses this issue by getting such children to their institutes and empowers them with education. However, in spite of all the efforts we still find a child employed in a garage as a helper, in a chai wala dukan as supplier, in the truck as cleaner and so on. All though we are aware what to do supposing we find a child employed in a particular place, we consciously ignore it and move on. Some of them even justify this act of not bringing to the notice of local authorities stating it’s not my cup of tea I am busy with my work and I have no time for it, while others say we live in a democratic country and everyone has the right to do what one wants to do. This is the trajectory of life, as long as I have no problem I can live my life peacefully. If this is, the dictum each individual embraces than abolishing child labor will only be a dream that cannot come into being. The trend of I, me, and myself, turns out to be the anthem of every individual with which we cannot overcome child labor. Well the ball is in our court, it all depends on how well we play it.  

Mascrine Lawrence Victor
MACJ