Life continues to be cruel to Romania's young orphans
Life continues to be cruel to Romania's young orphans ; Despite the numerous public assertions to the contrary, life in Romania's orphanages remains grim for many children, writes Elaine Keogh
The Irish Times
February 28, 2002
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Ruby is 14 and constantly bangs her head off the wall. She looks about seven years of age, is stick-thin and her temples are bruised from the abuse she has given them.
When John Mulligan lets go of her matchstick hand she forms a fist and violently punches herself in the face. She does it again and again until he takes her tiny hand again, then she falls silent as if she is not used to a hand that does not inflict violence.
The majority of the 184 children with whom Ruby exists in the Negru Voda orphanage near the Romanian border with Bulgaria is under 18.
The physical conditions in the orphanage are grotesque and degrading. Although John and others from the charity Trade Aid have been travelling to Romania for the last 10 years and to Negru Voda since 1995 doing essential repairs, he claims it is a modern-day concentration camp and should be demolished.
It is 12 years since the fall of Ceaucescu but time has not touched all the orphans of his time. Their plight touched thousands and resulted in worldwide fundraising and numerous international adoptions.
Tonight, RT television's Would You Believe programme, Forgotten Children Growing Older, visits Negru Voda in a stark reminder that the welfare and urgent needs of these children have not been addressed.
Transition year students from Mount Sackville Secondary School in Dublin form an important part of the programme and have, with John and fellow aid worker Eugene Garrihy, formed an organisation, Focus On Romania (FOR).
"This is the first charity taking a political angle. The charities beforehand fundraised and did a lot but we need to stop this [neglect of children] for good. It cannot be allowed in 2002 in a country that wants to join the EU," says 16-year-old Julie-Anne Hanley.
The appalling reality for these children is easily shown; in a presentation to their fellow students, Julie-Anne and Aoibhin Garrihy point to a picture of a girl who looks about four-years-old but is fact 16, the average age of the transition year schoolgirls.
Negru Voda is for children with a mental or physical disability but FOR alleges that many develop their disability after they arrive. The pictures show children who have been left in cots or bedrooms, with absolutely no sign affection or stimulus.
For tonight's programme, John brought reporter Gemma McCrohan and a small camera into Negru Voda. They found a boy, who appeared to be about 12-years-old, on his belly underneath a cot-bed licking something off the floor. It could have been spilt food, it could have been vomit. There was no way of telling what it was. There was no adult to be seen to be caring for him.
Many of the children sit on beds and rock back and forth. John said the building smelt of bleach, which was quickly brought out and used, on the arrival of the programme team.
He says the arrival of any international charity or inspectors prompts an immediate clean up of the children's environment and he is highly critical of the year's notice the Council of Europe gives of a visit.
He believes this is so a positive report can be written and the powers that be can believe that the Romanian government is addressing the problem. "The EU gives Romania around EUR6 billion a year in adhesion and other funding. If 1 per cent of this was diverted it could address the 30 or so orphanages that require urgent attention," says John.
The campaign for these children, and those that may follow them is being moved to the political arena by FOR. It wants the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, or Junior Minister Liz O'Donnell to propose that future EU funding to Romania is linked to childcare improvements.
"The Ministers have it within their power to sort out this problem and can start it by raising the matter at the Council of Ministers level. But there are no votes in it, if there were votes they would be doing it," John says.
Perhaps the most disturbing prospect is what the future may hold for these children. The Child Protection Agency is the Romanian body overseeing their care. With international funding it is building smaller group homes for children under 18.
The programme shows us one such home; it is clean, bright and properly staffed. The children are smiling, laughing and clearly happy. FOR says it was built with funding from a French charity. What the children do not know is they face being returned to orphanages like Negru Voda once they reach 18.
The CPA wants to remove the younger children from the orphanages and into these homes, a welcome move. However when they reach 18 they will no longer be legally classified as "children" and will be sent back to the orphanages for the rest of their lives.
"On paper the Romanians will have solved the problem but in practice they have created a bigger problem. All the children we know will be back here [in Negru Voda] but classified as adults and will be with the same staff, administration and living in the same misery," says John.
FOR is determined this will not happen and has a list of measures it wants enforced by the EU so the Romanian government addresses, not disguises the problem. They are: a complete freeze on all adhesion and other EU Structural funding; placing Romania on the "list of shame" along with Turkey, deferring their accession to the EU until this violation of human rights is addressed and a No vote in any proposed expansion of the EU that includes Romania.
While the campaigning continues Ruby still bangs her head off walls. Another young boy keeps sticking his fingers in his eyes. A possible explanation for these self-inflicted injuries is the stars the children see in front of their eyes as result of abuse but it's probably better than reality. Now is the time to change things for Romania's forgotten children.
Elaine Keogh is a freelance journalist
FOR can be contacted at focusonromania.net