Youths who need to be rescued not condemned
The Universe
(April 04, 2004)
It was a happy day when van arrived from the prisons of Malabon and Navotas in Metro Manila and five young boys stepped down nervously and looked about in wonder.
They stared in silence at the panoramic view of Subic Bay as a red setting sun lit the sky like a beacon of hope and salvation as it peacefully sank behind the distant Mountain range of San Antonio.
They had arrived at the
PREDA Home for Youth in Conflict with the Law, a safe haven from the
cruel detention with abusers and criminals. A few days later another
four arrived.
Many months of
determined lobbying and legal action opened a window through which they
slipped out of the unforgiving legal system that allows children to be
jailed with adult criminals in the Philippines.
The beautiful sunset
across the bay was a dramatic change from overcrowded prison cells
filled with adults. I have been there many times and never failed to
feel sick at the injustice and inhumanity. These boys who were rescued
are as young as 12. I say 'rescued' because many are victims of human
rights violations and illegal detention.
Within days, our social
workers were back with some of them in the court to help resolve the
charges against them. Two were provisionally dismissed. The oppressive
system was melting with a bit of compassion - we had found a judge with
a heart.
Thousands of minors are jailed in suffocating conditions. Carefully
documented investigations show many have been beaten, kicked, handcuffed
and cursed by police and vigilantes before being thrown in the dark
dungeons without light or toilets.
The abuse persists as
they rot in prisons, their young lives wasted in these schools of
criminals. No wonder the Philippines has one of the highest crime rates
in South East Asia. Their right to see a lawyer, a social worker and
have a medical examination is usually denied. They languish in the
holding cell hungry, unwashed and without their families being informed
and no one to bring them clothes or food.
Only a few facilities
exist to care for the youth offenders and many more are needed. Some of
the children have committed no serious crime but are homeless, glue
sniffers, or petty thieves. They are sexually abused with the adults in
the overcrowd prison cells where not all can even lie down in the
concrete floor at the same time.
The nine youths I mentioned earlier are now studying, playing basketball, swimming and earning pocket money doing occupational therapy projects. More will soon follow. It's a new life for those once condemned as sinners and outcasts.
