‘The onus is on you’
President David Granger meets toshaos at the opening of the National Toshaos Conference Monday
President David Granger meets toshaos at the opening of the National Toshaos Conference Monday

–UNICEF official calls on toshaos to do more to protect indigenous children

By Svetlana Marshall
UNITED Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Resident Representative, Marrianne Flach, feels that toshaos can do a far sight more where protecting the nation’s indigenous children is concerned, and said as much yesterday.“Toshaos, you are well placed to ensure that every child has a birth certificate, and to ensure that every child is free from violence, abuse, neglect or any form of sexual exploitation,” she told the scores of toshaos present at the opening of a ‘Capacity-Building’ workshop hosted by the Rights of the Child Commission (RCC), UNICEF, and the National Toshaos’ Council,
and held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre at Liliendaal, on the lower East Coast.
Noting that there is a clear need for more to be done for the nation’s children, Flach said this much is evident from the findings of a Multi-indicator Muster Survey conducted by UNICEF and the Guyana Bureau of Statistics.
According to the results of that survey, 12 per cent of Guyanese girls are having sex before the age of 15, and another 15 per cent are beginning child-bearing during their adolescent years.
Flach said that in addition to the disturbing findings of the Multi-indicator Muster Survey, UNICEF is also concerned about the reports and horror stories coming out of the various indigenous communities about the trafficking of children, sexual abuse, forced prostitution and incest.
Stressing that children must be allowed to grow up into healthy adults, Flach, whose areas of expertise are health and nutrition, said it is high time to address these issues and ensure that the nation’s children are well protected.

PROPOSED STUDY
As such, to have greater understanding of the challenges facing the indigenous population, UNICEF and the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs will be conducting a study on the indigenous women and children of Guyana.
“This study will be key in ensuring and understanding the lived experiences of indigenous women and children,” she explained.
Besides Flach, the workshop, which was designed to help the Toshaos understand the Convention on the Rights of the Child, was attended by Junior Minister of the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe; RCC Deputy Chairperson, Rosemary Benjamin-Noble; RCC Director, Amar Panday; and RCC Commissioner, Sandra Hooper among other officials.
During an interactive session with the RCC Director, the toshaos not only underscored the importance of understanding the convention, but complained bitterly about the communication gap, the need for Internet access, and the lack of health centres and secondary schools within their respective communities.
One member of the National Toshaos’ Council, who was present at the forum, said it is important to have children live with their parents in keeping with Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to the Article in question, every child has a right to live with his or her parents, unless it is ill-advised to do so. “You have a right to live with a family who cares for you,” a child-friendly version of the Convention states.

INFRINGEMENTS
However, the Council has charged that this right is being infringed upon when children have little or no choice than to live in a dorm in order to receive a secondary education.
“I see parents going home crying… And when you inquire, they say, ‘I sent my daughter to get a quality education, and now she got to drop out at 15, because she is pregnant,’” the councillor contended.
He posited that secondary schools should be erected in close proximity to the respective villages to ensure that the rights of children are upheld.
Another key issue which surfaced was that of incest, with all parties agreeing that leaders and villagers must speak out against it, as well as incidents of child abuse and neglect.
Minister Garrido-Lowe, in response to those concerns, said the government is very much aware of the various challenges facing the men, women and children living in indigenous communities across the country, and that it is currently working on ensuring that there is Internet access in all public buildings, particularly the schools.
“We believe that one of the biggest gaps right now between the hinterland and the coast is the information gap,” the minister said.

‘WE WILL FIX IT’
As for the issue of children having to live in dorms in order to attend secondary school, Minister Garrido-Lowe said she understands the situation, as she, too, had been separated from her family as a child in order to achieve a secondary education.
“The nutritional problems we have to fix; the overcrowding we have to fix,” she said, adding:
“And I can tell you that our new government has a lot of work to do; and we will correct those situations.”
She also encouraged those Toshaos present to take action against persons who are violating the rights of children.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most rapidly and widely ratified international human rights treaty in history.
The Convention changed the way children are viewed and treated, i.e., as human beings with a distinct set of rights instead of as passive objects of care and charity.
The unprecedented acceptance of the Convention clearly shows a wide global commitment to advancing children’s rights.

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