Children's Update
Here's
how the story unfolded, according to a mix of local and international
reports:
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1. Giving in to pressure from irate, ignorant parents
who have withdrawn their children from the school where HIV-infected
Bency and Benson have studied for barely a week, the Kerala government
announced that it will would arrange for the children to study
at home.
2. In an attempt to sort out the controversy over the
admission of the two HIV-infected siblings in the Kaithakkuzhi
Lower Primary School in the Kollam district, the Kerala government
announced that it would arrange for a `special school' at the
children's home, where they could continue their studies undisturbed.
3. The decision, announced by Education Minister Nalakath
Sooppy in Thiruvanthapuram, followed the government's failure
to convince parents that their children were at no risk of contracting
AIDS if they studied in the same school as seven year-old Bency
John and her five year-old brother Benson.
4. The issue was debated at a meeting of the school's
parent teacher association, elected representatives and social
workers, convened by the district administration in Kaithakkuzhi.
5. While social workers and nominees from NGOs, including
one from Belgium, argued vehemently in favour of allowing the
kids to remain in the school, most parents resisted the idea of
their children sharing a classroom with the two children.
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6. The school stayed closed for several days after Bency and
Benson were admitted, following Chief Minister A.K. Antony's intervention,
as parents of other kids in the school refused to let their children
attend classes at the end of the academic year.
7. School Headmistress Jameela Beevi said that the more than
hundred children registered at the school had all stopped attending
classes, leaving the orphaned brother and sister as the only pupils.
The headmistress insists that her school does not have a problem with
the two children studying there.
8. But C Chacko, of the school's parent-teacher association,
said that parents were unwilling to put their children at `risk'. "None
of us is sure how AIDS spreads. Even doctors make conflicting claims
on the issue," he said.
9. The Chief Minister had directed that the children be admitted
to school after they staged a sit-in, along with their grandfather Geevarghese
John and other well-wishers, in front of the state secretariat last
month.
"These children are outcasts in society," says their 65-year-old
grandfather, who has fought for their right to lead a 'normal' life.
"It is with much difficulty that I managed to secure admission.
They had been consistently refused admission to various other schools.
Now there has been a mass boycott by parents of other students and local
residents of the area. They (the siblings) have acquired the virus through
no fault of their own," he says.
10. Bency and Benson were born HIV-positive. They lost their
father to AIDS in 1997, and two years later their mother also succumbed
to the disease.
11. Sooppy said the special school for the children was being
set up on humanitarian grounds. They will also be provided financial
and medical assistance. An official said a `sensitisation' drive would
be launched in the village to correct misconceptions about the spread
of HIV/AIDS.
Source: BBC News, March 3, 2003
keralapost.com, March 3, 2003
thestraitstimes.asia.com, March 5, 2003
12. The BBB news next reported that Bency and Benson had begun
attending a bible school when their local Mar Thoma church admitted
them to their ten day bible class.
Molly Jacob, the vicar's wife told the press the church faced no problems
letting the children attend the classes.
13. The Australian AIDS Fund Inc contacted the US headquarters
of the church and was given the contact details for the local bishop.
We have written to him and asked if he would pass on our affirmation
to the local church and also if he would put us in touch with local
AIDS care groups so we can monitor events.
14. The Nkosi Foundation in South Africa has joined with us
in our efforts to keep the focus on Bency and Benson and we welcome
their links to us and their valuable support.
15. At the end of March, Kottaram George, the founder of the
Kottaram Charitable Trust, announced that he was going to open a school
in MANGALORE CITY for HIV affected children….to which children
from any part of India would be accepted.
The
Australian AIDS Fund is presently in touch with Kottaram George and
awaiting further advice.
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