A Tonight Special: Duchess and Daughters: Their Secret Mission November 5th, 2008 by Lisa McGarry. UPDATE: One of the film makers left a very informative comment below in which he revealed that after filming this documentary, the Duchess Of York is building a huge clinic that will support mothers and stop them abandoning their children. If you wish to support this project please go to http://www.romanianrelief.org In this hard-hitting special investigation, Tonight follows Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and their mother Sarah, the Duchess of York, on a secret mission as far removed from an official Royal visit as possible. Leaving their Royal titles and entitlements behind, Beatrice and Eugenie join their mother on an incredible journey, travelling from the suburbs of Bucharest to the streets of Istanbul, to uncover the hidden lives of children living in orphanages and institutions for the mentally and physically disabled. Prepared to do whatever it takes to discover the truth, Sarah and her daughters join ITN’s Chris Rogers and the Tonight team’s hidden cameras in a number of institutions. In the first part of the programme, Sarah and Eugenie travel to Turkey to help investigate the treatment of mentally and physically disabled children. Turkey is the next country likely to gain European Union membership and its application is being supported by the UK government. But many observers are concerned that Turkey does not meet EU human rights standards. For the first time, a British journalism team exposes the conditions inside state-run orphanages and children’s homes. As part of a reporting team led by Rogers, the Duchess goes undercover in one of Turkey’s worst institutions – capturing images that will shock and horrify. In the second half of the programme, Sarah and Beatrice travel with Rogers and Tonight to Romania to discover whether its state-funded orphanages are now meeting EU standards. The Duchess, who has worked with children’s charities for more than 15 years, watched a series of reports by Rogers three years ago, which showed that orphans were being poorly treated. She wanted to find out herself if improvements have since been made. “Everybody always rushes to what the front page says or what’s sexy or the glamorous Hollywood party where you’re raising money for paediatric aids which is fantastic and a great job but there is still a child in Romania saying ‘help me,’” says Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. Sarah and Beatrice visit a state group home that the government has set up to improve the lot of orphans and disabled children; and they interview the gypsy mothers who feel they have no choice but to abandon their babies. Mother and daughter accompany the Tonight undercover team to film inside Romanian institutions. Thursday, 6 November 2008, 9:00PM – 10:00PM ITV1 You might also like: Nick Pickard: “Cindy’s not right for Tony” Last Night’s TV – Canoe Man Chris Moyles says he didn’t deserve a pay cut LinkWithin Follow us on Twitter! Get the latest news and chat with @unrealitytv Chat about this on the Unreality TV Forum » Posted in Factual Read more » Fergie Defends Her Secret Mission Shows You HAVE To Watch Next Week! The Duchess In Hull: ITV Sign Sarah Ferguson Duchess Of York To Get This Morning Job? The Duchess of York Returns To ITV1 For ‘The Sarah Ferguson Project’ Russell Brand To Star In Channel 4 Show With Princess Eugenie? 14 Responses to “A Tonight Special: Duchess and Daughters: Their Secret Mission” LISA SCOTT says: November 6, 2008 at 10:41 pm I WORK WITH CHILDREN IN CRISIS IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND, I CANT WRITE VERY WELL AT THE MOMENT AS I AM IN TEARS, UR PROGRAMME HIT ME SO HARD I WOULD LOVE TO HELP. I DONT HAVE MUCH MONEY AND HAVE A 9R OLD OF MY OWN BUT WUD LOVE TO HELP YOUR CAUSE, I HAVE SPEND A LITTLE TIME IN TURKEY AND HAVE MINIMAL LANGUAGE BUT ALL I CAN OFFER IS MY TIME AND CARE. I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR REPLY….. LISA SCOTT julie yildiz says: November 6, 2008 at 10:52 pm I MISSED THE PROGRAME DOEA ANYONE KNOW WHEN IT WILL BE REPEATED X Naomi says: November 6, 2008 at 10:55 pm Fantastic programme. Unfortunately Romania is not in a position to change, just yet. It has improved massively since I lived and worked there, however it has a long way to go and as usual, the rich get richer and the poor stay poor regardless of the imput from foreign countries. Romanian are, by nature, very generous and will literally give you their food for the day, for the sake of hospitality. Those who work in the orphanages are largely ignorant and it is simply a way of life for them and what they do with disabled/handicapped children… not too dis-similar to some care that is given in our country… it’s a job and not a passion for those in need. We need to look at how we support countries such as this, I have stopped donating to the shoe box appeal because when I was out in Romania, I saw how the staff emptied the boxes and took the contents home, rather than it reaching those in need. When I worked in a home, people at first sponsored the English charity, but when they saw that the money was not reaching us in Romania, sent it directly to me – this needs to be addressed! As I stated earlier, the rich get richer and this is not fair. I, and my husband, would desperately love to help Romanian children but at the moment do not know how to do this best – any ideas? laura says: November 6, 2008 at 11:15 pm I have just watched the tonight special programme and am shocked and disgusted at what I saw, I remember when this problem was first brought to our attention years ago and I and i’m sure many others were reduced to tears by this complete disregard not only for human rights but for children who have been born into families that do not believe in abortion or contraception and then given basically a death sentence, I have been to turkey a few times and my view on this what I thought was a beautiful country has changed, I would love to help this cause that has been highlighted by sarah Ferguson and her daughters and I think more people should also think about this, we take so much for granted in our everyday lives and dont realise how fortunate and lucky we are to have what we have instead of moaning about what we havent,how do we get on board and start helping these causes ?? Gill says: November 6, 2008 at 11:16 pm I remember being upset the first time i saw the terrible conditions and cruelty towards the orphans in Romania and was hoping there would have been some improvement. I just wish I could help in some way. I have not been lucky enough to have children and it breaks my heart to see suvh beautiful little children treated in the most appalling way, surely this cannot continue to go on. We treat animals better than that, it is so degrading for them. Please put on the website how people can actually help, not with money but by going out there and doing something. LOR-RAINE says: November 6, 2008 at 11:21 pm TO THE POWERS THAT BE WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES > NOT > ROSE MANURE MORE LIKE! IS THIS THE 21ST CENTURY…..? WHERE IS THE CARE…. ? WHERE IS THE RELEVANT MEDICAL ATTENTION….? WHERE IS THE EMOTINAL SUPPORT (STAFF INCLUDED)…? WHERE IS THE LOVE…? SUCH A PITTY IT’S TAKING A HIGH PROFILE T V PROGRAM TO OPEN OUR EYES AND TUG AT OUR HEART STRINGS WHEN WILL THE POWERS THAT BE STOP POINTING THE FINGER AT EACH OTHER? FOR THE TOTAL LACK OF EVERYTHING THESE CHILDREN / ADULTS ARE ENTITLED TOO WHO WILL DIVERT THE ENERGIES OF THOSE POLITICAL PAPER SHUFFLERS INTO ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING PRACTICAL AND POSSITIVE? HOW LONG DO THESE CHILDREN HAVE TO EXIST IN SUCH CONDITIONS? I SAID >>> HOW LONG ?? << PLS pLS FOLLOW UP ACCEPT MY ADMIRATION FOR THE YOUNG PRINCESSES + MUM PLEASE PLEASE GO WITH IT > HERE COME THE GIRLS LOR-RAINE WOMBOURNE UK Daphne Murray says: November 6, 2008 at 11:36 pm I echo this comment completely. I want to help but have no idea how to really contribute or support. Could something be put in place such as a reward for the number of healthy children following some training and education for staff? The staff have probably lived their whole lives without any incentive or hope of legally improving their lot for so long, they might respond very positively to being shown new ways of becoming, once more, aspirational with vision and goals and rewards (in contrast to a lifetime of monotonous work without identity or ownership). It is as if a whole cultural shift is needed for the staff, and re-education into a new way of seeing life and looking forward to the future. If the staff are aspirational instead of resigned, this might help the children. We could probably do with something similar in the UK, lifting the care of children out of the list of ‘dead-end’ jobs by giving more appreciation, recognition and reward for the people who do care for children. It seems like some people cream off the rewards (emotional and status as well as financial) while leaving others to do the donkey work on very small wages because they are not deemed sufficiently ‘qualified’. I would like to see this work distribution altered and more ‘ownership’ of employment as a carer put in place, with the one who cleans and feeds having also executive responsibilities and wages . Starting with incentive and support in Roumania. Unreality Primetime | » Fergie Defends Her Secret Mission says: November 6, 2008 at 11:36 pm [...] Duchess of York has strongly defended her undercover documentary to investigate state-run orphanages in Romania and [...] Janet McCall says: November 7, 2008 at 12:08 am This programme brought tears to my eyes, the public need to be made aware of these atrocities, and the government should not be allowed to sweep this under the carpet in order to bring these countries into the EU for political reasons !! coco says: November 7, 2008 at 12:33 am how can the romanians and turks treat these children worser than animals just because the have a disability..mothers giving up there babys because they cant aford to feed them its a disgrace..this has been happenning for years and nothing has or will be dun.. as its the ignorance of the people in these countrys they choose not to care.. Monica Mc Daid says: November 7, 2008 at 8:05 am I thought it took a great deal of courage for the Duchess and her daughters to visit these institutions in Turkey and Romania and bring the living conditions of these unfortunate young people into public view. I have first hand experience of working in Romania and nearly twenty years on we are still working there. I have appealed to the EU on many occasions to look into the living conditions for many of those who are incarcerated in institutions in Romania, but no one seems to want to know or care. Many Romanian institutions, are still as bad to-day as they were in 1990 with hundreds of young people being forgotten and left to die. It is not always a case of needing money to help these young people, but educating those in authority, providing training courses in working with the disabled and psychiatrically disturbed and supporting those NGO’s who are making a difference to their inadequate system of caring for the disabled, would be a huge improvement. An example of what could be achieved can be seen from the work of the Romanian Challenge Appeal in Siret, Suceava district. They have been working alongside the Romanian charity O Noua Viata and they have made tremendous strides in offering rehabilitation to those who once lived in what was considered one of the ‘Black Holes’ of Romania. All this work was only made possible by the generosity of hundreds of volunteers over the last eighteen years. If the Charity had not worked there, several hundred young people would surely have died. I mention this because since 1990 very little support from the State or the EU has been given to the Charity, but THEY have made a difference. Why is it no one wishes to acknowledge there are still massive problems relating to the care of Romania’s disabled and abandoned young people? It takes the courage of Non Political people, like the Duchess and her family to highlight once again, the atrocities that continue to exist in these new countries that have joined the EU, or who are hoping to do so, whilst those representing us in the EU deny that these problems exist and one good example of that was Baroness Nicholson when she was the rapporteur for the EU. Thank you to the Duchess and her family for raising the publics awareness of the ‘Forgotten Children’ languishing in institutions. Kate Walsh says: November 7, 2008 at 9:54 pm How can I help? sm:ash says: November 7, 2008 at 10:43 pm The atrocities uncovered have been there for years… even more-so in Bulgaria.. another EU state… What the world doesn’t see they don’t bother about… (how can they) it’s the narrow minded attitudes of these countries… where the sole motivation is money… it’s true the rich get richer and the poor get forgotten… The mentality of the East will take at least 3-4 generations to change (so that’s about 100years)… I spent 3months in Romania, and what I saw ranged from mothers using their children (from as soon as they can walk), forced to beg in the streets and roads (to stationary cars stopped at traffic lights)… whilst the parents looked over them from a distance…. even as far as mothers offering sexual favour’s to the same in the streets and roads, still holding their babies… Worse still, to see children sleeping in door ways and heating ducts…. As the Bulgarian mafia are ripe in Romania (owning the majority of casinos), the two countries are so so similar in their treatment to the less fortunate… and both EU countries… When I was in Romania, before they joined the EU, the British government predicted 5000 Romanians would apply for visas to the UK soon as, so the UK embassy issued the necessary paper work from their embassy 3 mths before they actually joined (to prevent a back log) too which 15000 Romanians turned up… If the Romanian nationals want to leave… it makes it obvious they all understand the conditions of their own country… and search for better elsewhere… the shame of it is.. they bring with them their traditions (forced marriages) and narrow mindedness to treat such children with abuse… only recently in the UK (can’t remember the county) though the police raided a gypsy marriage between a 9yr old girl and 11yr old boy… where the Romanians proclaimed to police ‘it’s their tradition’… Abuse of any child is wrong… though years and years of mind messing; the East still think it’s normal… in any form…. Yes it’s true child cases are reported in the Western world, though it stands; it will never be as rough or dire as it is in the East. In the East it’s a way of life .. a death sentence… To change a country and make it civilized (Westernized – which is the forced standard), in order to include it into the EU, doesn’t just take rules and regulations to be followed, it takes a state of mind of the people to be changed… something that will take generations to materialise from these nations. I’ve traveled a lot and seen so many different cultures; by road from the UK as far as Vladivostok (zig-zagging through Europe), and have seen the bright lights and the dark sides of many countries… The dilemma is everywhere… some cases worse then others.. it’s true to coin the term “same problem, different country” During my time traveling I have supported two main charities, and offer my help to any organisation that needs it… from organising charity events too raising much needed funds… My own thoughts (which I have thought about many times) is to highlight the plights in Russia and the Ukraine… families forgotten & living in the forests near Moscow, too children and adults in dire conditions in areas of the Ukraine… (communism maybe dead, or so we believe) though the thoughts of it’s generation live on, strongly… and is ripe… Within any generation there are good and bad normalities…. what changes is from where ‘we’ view it from… I commend the Duchess and her daughters, to bring about an updated reality check to those that watched the program, as ever so often these issues get raised… then forgotten.. then raised… again; what we don’t see or hear about.. we don’t know… what we covert will be forgotten about… In an ideal world.. and given the era we live in.. the plights of all these children all over the world should be at the fore front.. for those governments to be forced to stand up and be counted for… A recent visit to the Ukraine I witnessed a massive protest against the EU (millions piled the streets) of Kiev, to prevent their government joining the EU (which apparently will be done by 2012).. the reason for this was the EU, the western world, deny technological advancements to the country.. technology.. yeah.. technology comes before the welfare of the nation… were it’s so obvious; if they had the technology they wanted, it would enable those government bodies to get richer and the poorer would suffer more.. as a power struggle would inevitably occur… and as always.. the less fortunate are trampled upon.. These countries ‘need to prove’ they can live together as one within their own nation primarily, to a standard of life all live, that is transparent (for the outsider).. before ever being considered for any EU involvement… It makes me ashamed to be passionate about cultures, that treat their children & adults with such contempt. Disabilities, standard of wealth and the inevitable abuse is not a way of life, its a state of mind.. and regardless of such, equality should be fought for, care, attention and the correct support needs to be fought for (yet it shouldn’t have to be this way, it should be a natural occurrence as human beings to support each other, especially those that are in need), giving the same opportunities in life to all, be it specific to that nation, or the collective that is the EU. chris rogers says: November 8, 2008 at 10:09 pm Hello all, I am Chris Rogers, the journalist who took the Duchess and her Daughters to Romania and Turkey. Thanks you so much for the feed back below which I have passed to the programmes team and to the Duchess. It is wonderful to see feed back like this after working so hard to bring the film to the public. It was not easy. I am happy to take your emails at chris.rogers@itn.co.uk but many of you ask how you can help. The Duchess is building a huge clinic that will support mothers and stop them abandoning their children. If you wish to support this project please go to http://www.romanianrelief.org Thank you Chris Rogers
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