PREDA NEWSLETTER July 2002

Dear Friends,

There have been happy and positive events since our last newsletter. I thank you all who wrote your condolences on the deaths of my mother and Merle our co-founder. We pray for you all.
RTE program get positive reviews

Many of you may have already seen the documentary broadcast by RTE on the work of PREDA on April 30. There was a strong positive reaction to this by many viewers who e-mailed and wrote to us and called up the station. The print and radio media also gave positive feedback. It was a timely contribution to the awareness about the sexual abuse of children and our campaign for children’s rights. If any of you would like to get a copy of this tape or send a donation for costs please write to Friends of PREDA P.O. Box 284 Sligo Post Office, Sligo, Ireland.

Irish broadcast on PREDA’s work
The RTE Television program ran for 54 minutes. It showed pimps selling children to the highest bidder, and Fr. Shay having them arrested and charged. It showed the extensive projects of PREDA rescuing and caring for sexually abused children providing therapy, education and legal action. The Fair Trade activities were seen as prevention and a response to widespread poverty. It also explained the retaliation of the sex mafia to the work of PREDA by filing 62 false charges because of the success of PREDA curbing sex tourism and jailing local and foreign sex abusers. Father Neill O’Brien who was falsely accused of murder in the Philippines in the 1980s, the Columban Superior General and many more gave strong supportive statements to the work of PREDA and Fr. Shay.

A Libel charge against the father of abused child

PREDA staff and Fr. Shay filed a libel charge against the American who falsely accused Fr. Shay on the RTE of abusing his child. The American refused to help his 6-year-old Filipino born daughter when sexually abused by his adopted son and houseboy. After PREDA Human Rights workers rescued the child, he claimed that she was abused in PREDA contrary to overwhelming evidence. Prosecutors threw out his charges and the real abusers are now on trial for the crime. The American, on trial himself for malicious and frivolous prosecution, is a suspect in another child abuse investigation. He allegedly abused the sister of his houseboy.

Youth Theater group get standing ovation in Calgary

Last June 14 nine members of the PREDA Youth Advocacy Theater Group left for a tour of Western Canada. Their musical drama tells a fictional story of a family affected by a mining disaster in the Philippines that destroyed villages and the environment by a Canadian company. It recounts in song and dance and drama the way children are trafficked for sexual purposes. Last June 23, it received a standing ovation from the teary-eyed audience of about 160 delegates from all over the world at the Calgary People’s Summit. The theater group is invited to Switzerland next year. The training of a second troupe is well advanced, some actors coming from the PREDA Children’s Home.

Child prisoners

Manuel Flores is only ten years old and was over a month imprisoned in a tiny stench filled cell when found by the PREDA human rights workers last week in Angeles City. The toilet is a dirty bowl in the corner, no privacy and no water. Little Manuel was with three other minors, twelve-year old Felix was a month inside though they had not been charged. They were picked off the streets and jailed by the police. They sleep on the hard concrete floor infested with not enough matting.

Their parents had not been informed. One of the 17 year-old teenagers, Cameo was five months in the dark hell hole and sentenced to six months to four years for sniffing industrial glue, a common remedy to stave off hunger. Michael is on trial for attempted theft. He might eventually be found innocent but will have been

traumatized by that time. They are seldom fed, never see the sunlight, are allowed out one hour in 24 and are dressed in rags. They do not even have a toothbrush or any earthly possession. PREDA took action to ease their lot and have them released. We wrote to the DSWD to follow up their cases and to the Judge to have them transferred in the rehabilitation center. After a week, three of the four children in prison are out of jail. One was returned to her mother, the other two were transferred to the rehabilitation center. PREDA is still working on the release of the last child in that prison.

There are many children in prison, as many as 20,000 according to Newsweek, many are sexually abused by the adult prisoners. The jail rescue work aims to release them and take action to see no children are imprisoned but if convicted of a serious crime given help in a rehabilitation home. We are lobbying hard to have a just Juvenile Justice Bill passed. It is low on the legislative agenda.

Volunteers at the Canadian Klondike Trade Fair

Emma Le Beau, a volunteer from England finished her four months with the Fair Trade department. She was a great help to the department. She researched the Internet and prepared promotional materials for the handicrafts and dried mangos that will be brought to the Canadian Klondike Fair Trade in Edmonton this July 17th to 28th. The theater group will be there at the same time. Emma will also join the PREDA staff at the Trade Fair in Edmonton.

Campaigner visits PREDA

Christina Farrington, a dedicated PREDA supporter and campaigner for children’s rights visited PREDA for three weeks last May. She spent her time helping the children, teaching and joining them on outings to the beach and treated them to lots of ice cream and treats. They had a great time. Now they are all back at school.

Going for Organic Dried Mangos

This week, a truckload of two meter, tall saplings of mango and Neem trees head off to the tribal Filipinos in Botolan and Subic mountains for organic tree planting and fruit producing program. PREDA is funding the project spending the earnings from selling dried mangos. There is growing demand for organically certified tropic fruit. Presently, all PREDA dried mangos are professionally dried without the use of chemicals. The fruit is mostly produced without sprays and chemicals; instead, every fruit is grown in a paper bag on the tree. A good use of old newspapers. This keeps away the fruit flies and saves on dangerous insecticides. The needed trees will be planted between the grafted mango tress as they have a natural insecticide and protect the fruits. PREDA dried mangos are sold in Sainsbury’s, Waitrose in England, Dunne’s Stores in Ireland and in fair trade shops across Europe.

Human Rights Volunteers

With the help of Human Rights Volunteer lawyer, James Nunan from Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, who also visited the jail, PREDA launched an Urgent Appeals to the UN and other human rights agencies to protest the widespread imprisonment of children. James follows on the departure of Canadian Volunteer Olivia Bornik who did so much to advance the work of children’s rights while at PREDA for 8 months.

More Children & Youth Activities

The Youth organizing work continues with seminars on leadership and moral values, personality development training and a three-day summer camp for youth. This group, with PREDA staff is participating in a weekly radio show on social and ethical issues. Seminars are held on women and children’s rights in remote villages together with the social workers of Columban Fr. Sean Connaughton who has an extensive low-cost-loans scheme with thousands of poor beneficiaries starting their own self-help projects. PREDA contributes to the fund from any earnings from Fair Trade.

 

A Happy Ending Story
As reported in the RTE documentary several years ago Scotland Yard police asked the help of the PREDA social workers to find a suspected pedophile and murderer named Brett Tyler who had fled to Olongapo- then a pedophile paradise because local politicians encouraged this kind of sex tourism. PREDA opposed and campaign against it. We found Tyler in a house and called in the police. He was deported to England and is serving a life sentence without parole. In the house where he was staying were two 4- and 5-year old children “adopted” by Tyler. We rescued them and they entered care with the Department of Social Welfare. Last week a call from Australia told us that the boy had been adopted and was safe and well and living a happy life .He is ten years old now. It is nice to hear of a happy ending.

End