Previously we have reported on efforts made by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling to help raise awareness and change regarding the plight of orphaned children in Eastern European countries. A founder of the Children’s High Level Group and active with the Children’s Voice campaign, Jo has written on her website in the past about the plight of disabled and mentally handicapped children locked in cages, and her commitment to seeing conditions improve for these orphaned children. Today, UK newspaper The Sun reports that Jo is continuing in this effort as she and the wife of UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown will meet with the wife of visiting Romanian President Calin Popescu-Tariceanu in London. The paper reports
The plan is to help tackle health care problems in the East European country that can lead to disabilities.Mr Brown also wants to support efforts to stop babies being abandoned at hospitals.A Downing Street insider said: “This is an issue which Sarah and JK are passionate about.“They’ve been grateful for the willingness of the Romanian government to engage in serious discussion about it.”
UPDATE: There is a new report online now, from the British Embassy in Bucharest, Romania, with a photo of JKR at this meeting. The press release says The participants at the meeting agreed on the impressive progress that Romania had already made and on the importance of further collaboration and exchanges of best practices… A second outcome of the meeting is that Bucharest will host a seminar gathering officials from child protection fora, NGOs and business representatives, later in the year.The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown commented: “I am delighted that this meeting has taken place today. Although there is still work to be done, Romania is helping to show the way on how to tackle the challenges faced by children with disabilities. Britain and Romania will continue to work together in this important area.”
Readers will recall Jo made a trip to Romania several years ago, and visited some of these children; photos from this previous trip are available here in our galleries.
It’s adressing the symptoms instead of the real problem. The cage beds might seem cruel, and indeed they are, if kids are left within for hours (and they probably are, for the reasons I mention next). They could be useful if used only for short whiles, e.g. when a child with mental problems, that could posssibly cause harm to himself, has to be left on its own for a while because the nurse or whoever is occupied for a while. The beds are for the kids safety. The real problem is, that there aren’t enough people to look after them. If one person needs to look after let’s say 10 kids (I’m making this number up, I don’t konw how many it is i reality, I just know there really is a lack of employees), he or she can’t properly look after all of them and guarantee their safety (I’m talking about kids with some disabilites, mental disorder etc.) But JKR is making it sound (for years now) like if stopping using the cage beds would solve the problem. They can’t really do that at the present state of affairs, it would endanger the very safety and life of the kids. The whole system needs to be reformed (e.g. obligatory placement of young abandonned or ophaned children into families, or at least more people to look after them (don’t you think that with a mentally ill kid, one or two kids per nurse are enough?)
My comment about helping the orphans from Jersey Island wasn’t to bash Jo and I definitely wasn’t suggesting one nationality deserves her help more than other. On the contrary, I felt bad for Romanians, who you were basically bashing for being primitive and heartless, ignoring the horror which happened in your own country. Two things horrify me in this post – first: nobody, including Romanians, seem to mind this kind of racism towards Eastern Europe, and second: nobody even knows the Jersey Orphanage has been closed years ago.
I think nobody bashed Romanians…I mean, some people bashed the Romanian foster children care system…in fact, all foster children care systems have room for improvement. Anyways, those who think that Romanians are primitive just by judging their orphanages should think better about it, check their own countries orphanages and be surprised by what’s happening right in their backyard.
@margooo,
maybe from your point of view. I do not say it´s wrong to care about children. I work at an orphanage. It´s my daily bread though. It`s just mean you HP fans only see Mrs. Rowling. Not the whole picture. It´s not depending on one person. And the informations about Romania given by The Sun and the website Joanne Rowling supports are not representing the today situation of Romania. I have to say: most of you people simply have no clue. The Update was of course awkward necessity for LC. Of course Romania has changed ALREADY.
Many charities and NGO’s petitioned the EU delegation a few years ago about the human rights issues facing children and, now, young adults in institutions and on the street across Romania and the need to close these institutions.
Unfortunately the size of the problem was ignored by the delegates and totally inadequate funding was granted to Romania by the EU to support them resolve these human rights abuses.
The fall out of Ceausescu’s decree 770 in banning abortion, contraception, enforced fertility checks by the securitate, taxing famlies who did not have over 4 children and encouraging families to hand their children over to the state so as to increase the Romanian population by 50% in a decade has had a lasting legacy on both the population and economy. There are many Romanians who care immensely for these children but do not have the resources to act.
This is why Romania always hits the headlines. But the history behind the issues is rarely adequately reported.
Good on J.K Rowling for highlighting these continued human rights abuses – we are all human beings regardless of race, culture or disability.
It does not matter where it is happening, the fact that it is happening and we are aware of it is enough reason to act.
Recently I voluntered in a Romanian hospital and took care of the abadonded gypsy babies.
It was an experience of a life time and really opend my eyes to Romania’s forgotten unwanted children.
The gypsy people know the system, and use the hosiptial to drop off and pick up their babies to their convienace.
The comment from Sarah above is correct, the government and healthcare system are corrupt.
I can introduce Jo to some amazing Directors for Foundations in Romania without involving the corrput governent and Helath care system
Corruption seems to be the biggest problem and you cannot trust anyone.
If International Adoption was open, I think many of their problems would be solved.
If you ever had any desire to volunteer in a hospital, or help build houses in a gypsy, village, In Brate is a fantastic Foundation which operates in the city of Oradea. (Western Romania)
As a British national, I lived in Romania for several years in the early 1990’s, volunteering in one of the most notorious and largest childrens psychiatric institutions in the country. I have returned once or twice a year since to jointly oversee the founding of our project which continues to work with these still institutionalised and damaged young adults.
Yes, there is a lot of corruption in the country, but my experience of the Romanian people has been that the majority are extremely generous and trustworthy people. There are officials who are more concerned about lining their pockets, but equally there are many warm, generous and caring people trying to fight and survive in the system they are caught in.
Although a difficult issue, I feel the right decision was made in banning international adoption at the time. Many Romanian orphans have ended up in the care system in the countries which they were sent to as their adoptive parents could not cope with the level of damage they suffered in infancy. I am also acutely aware that many have been sold into the sex trafficking industry abroad, although many have also benefited from adoption.
Unfortunately it is a very complex issue which needs to be thoroughly looked into and adequate international systems of child protection in place first to ensure the safety of these vulnerable children.
Greetings from the Mamta(lovely) Childcare Trust(MCCT), Nepal with grace and peace to you in lord Jesus. I am very glad to sharing with you about my vision and my mission here in Nepal. I am working in Nepal for the poor and orphanage children since 2004.we have kind “Mamta(lovely) Childcare Trust” which is registered in the Nepal’s government as well as in the social welfare council. we have providing physical and spritual needs for the 16 orphanage and poor children.All the children are very lovely and happy in our trust. I am really very happy to serving for these helpless,homeless and hungry children.For the details about me and MCCT, Please ! please !! visit our website: www.mcct.org.np and read our vision for Nepalese homeless and hopeless children…....I am giving my whole life for serving the poor and orphan children.. please join your lovely helping hands ! your lovely little supports can makes the beautiful future of our trust’s children !! or
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Posted by Mamta childcare Trust on March 17, 2008, 04:45 PM
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I say go Jo! I’m doing a project on this whole cage beds thing for school.
I don’t think that cage beds is a good thing for anyone… how would you like to be treated like an animal?
I also have a question about someone calling himself Kelvin Dominic. He says he has an orphanage in Nigeria, but is in the UK trying to raise money to fly orphans from the orphanage to the UK for surgery. He tried to get me to loan him $1,000.00 and when I refused he bacame very upset. After that he went to the next approach of asking if I have a Bank of America account, which I do. He wanted to have "someone" wire $10,000.00 to my account which I would send to him and he would reimburse me when he got back to the US (Trenton, NJ which he said was his home.) Can you help me? Is he a scammer or for real??? I’ll appreciate your input. He contacted me on AOL IM. Thanks.
I forgot to mention in my first email that I didn’t give Kelvin Dominic(?) my bank info. He hasn’t contacted me since. I wish the person who previously asked about Kelvin Dominic would contact me so we could share information.
I met a guy named Frank Diggs, i think is the same Kelvin Dominic, he also told me the same things that he said to Verle. He also said that he is from Trenton, he gave me the same tel numbers. He also shew me pics of the orphans. Please help to stop him. He is an scammer for sure….!!!!
Calin Popescu-Tariceanu is the Romanian Prime-minister, not the President…