Former South African President Nelson Mandela has rightly said, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”. This means that the full development of a society depends on the way it treats its children. The recent killing of three children at the Jessore Child Development Center (CDC) has definitely dragged our society, the country and the nation backwards instead of forwards. The tragic killings at the Child Development Center in this month of mourning have added to our grief. The details of the incident that the nation came to know through media sources are not only worrying, but also frightening.
Usually, if a child or juvenile under the age of 18 is involved in a crime, he or she is placed in a child development center through the legal process. The purpose of this is that since they are young and have not fully realized the importance of life, they should have the opportunity to correct themselves through the caress or counseling of the trained people. To this end, the government has set up three child development centers, including two in Gazipur and one in Jessore. But if unexpected results become visible like Jessore incident at the expense of the state, the government should definitely look into the internal environment of the CDCs. The incompetence and inattention of the administration of the center are noticed in the incident of beating and injuring 15 children leading 3 into deaths. The impression of inhumanity in the human development center for children and adolescents has made us think.
We have heard about the inhuman and degrading treatment to children earlier. The dissatisfaction of children and adolescents has been centered on the irregularities and poor quality of food provided by the authorities at Jessore Child Development Center. A further investigation into this unforeseen event may reveal more irregularities. Can the authorities avoid the responsibility of beating 15 children including 3 killing in this development center? If those who will take care of the children are themselves involved in the violence and causing the death of the children, then those officials need to be corrected first. We are of the opinion that the officials of the center do not have the slightest amount of kindness or humanity in their behavior that was needed to deal with sensitive issues like children.
To develop the children as enlightened men, 3 CDCs of the country have been carrying out their responsibilities with 600 seats. According to the Children’s Act 2013, the Child Development Center is being run with the aim of developing and integrating the normal life of the children sent by the children or parents who are in conflict with the law. These centers have a great responsibility to guide and counsel children and to rehabilitate them as ideal citizens by developing their minds. Therefore, it is essential for all concerned, including the officials and employees of these centers, to control the children with utmost prudence and flexibility. The centers are responsible not only for the care and maintenance of the children, but also for the training of children in various police stations or prisons to improve their skills, including access to justice as per the laws. They are entrusted with the responsibility of service work such as rehabilitating them in the society through physical and mental excellence. The scope of work of the CDCs is so wide that good and sound management is essential there.
Basically, juvenile delinquency does not only push the future of the child towards uncertainty, it is one of the obstacles in the way of overall development of our country. Juvenile delinquency is more prevalent in urban areas than in rural areas. In most cases, juvenile delinquency is more noticed in markets, slums, bus terminals and railway stations. Notable among the crime reasons are: conflicts over dominance among peers, conflicts over accusations against each other in educational institutions or playgrounds, eve-teasing, acid throwing for being refused in love making, stealing other people’s crops or fruits, snatching money to buy drugs and travel related crimes for not booking tickets etc.
Family, social and environmental factors alone are not responsible for the involvement of children and adolescents in crime. Their psychological reasons are also involved behind this. Adolescence is a time of great change in their emotions. They want to do whatever they want if they accumulate extra emotions at an early age. And if any kind of obstacle appears to their work, they immediately get involved in the conflict. Many times the children become vulnerable due to quarrels or separation between the parents. Lack of moral education increases the moral decay of the child as he grows older.
Children become involved in criminal activities due to the deterioration of moral, religious and social values. Excessive action film-love encourages them to be prone to crime. Again, if their parents live through dishonest earnings or misdeeds, then the child can easily find it out. Then this child gets reluctant to listen to the advice of his parents and does not hesitate to get involved in any crime. The family is a child’s first institution from which he or she can develop moral behavior. Without giving excessive pressure, parents need to take time out of their busy schedules to create an environment conducive to their human development.Besides, the orderly environment, discipline and sincerity of the teachers in the educational institutions help bring about the desired change in the character formation of a child. Teachers and seniors should always be vigilant to keep children on the right path through counseling.
Realizing the brutal incident of Jessore CDC on 13th August, the government should take strict supervision of the CDCs by managing them with more skilled and humane officers and employees. The centers should have child-friendly officers so that they can understand the mindset of the children and take necessary steps as well for their rehabilitation. Regular training needs to be arranged for the officers and employees of the centers through experts in Counseling Psychology and Criminology. It is time to take all necessary steps to ensure that no child is abused, oppressed, deprived, injured or killed in CDCs. Otherwise people will lose confidence in the safety of the lives of the children in these centers. Detaining children like prisoner is not the job of the CDCs. The success of the centers lies in bringing the misguided child back to normal life through care. We hope that on the basis of the investigation report on the murder of Jessore CDC, authorities controlling the Center will take lawful punitive action against the criminals who killed our innocent children.
(Badrul Huda Sohel is Assistant Professor, Department of English, Ishakha International University. E-mail: [email protected])
