The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| The role of state services in preserving the right of a child to be raised in a family setting Posted: 05 May 2014 11:48 PM PDT In 2013, a qualitative research involving desk–based research, case studies and interviews was conducted over a period of three weeks. Through this research, it was found that discriminatory child policies and ineffective state services place children living outside of a family setting at a greater risk. The overarching question of "How effective are state services at preserving the rights of a child to be raised in a family environment?" has drawn attention to particular challenges and vulnerabilities faced by children that place them at the risk of living outside of a family environment. The subsidiary question "Are state services aimed at preserving children in a family environment failing them?" and if it is, "Which children and why in regards to child rights?" have helped to identify groups of children that are at risk of living outside of a family setting and the cause of their vulnerabilities. According to the data gathered, it can be safely said that the state in line with their commitment under the Child Act 2001 (CA) and UNCRC has taken various initiatives to prevent children from being raised outside of a family setting. Approaches taken by the state are: the provision of psychological support, financial and material assistance, outreach, awareness programmes, service centres and alternative care (SWD, 2008). Even though necessary state services and protection are in place, the quality and accessibility of these services that influence their effectiveness have yet to meet satisfactory standards. More focus needs to be paid to developing services throughout the country for all segments of the society. One of the main concerns that emerged throughout this research is that children's probability of being separated from their families depends on their socioeconomic status and particular living condition. Certain populations of vulnerable groups fall through the gaps of these services. Among these vulnerable categories that are prevalent in Malaysia are poor children, children living in rural areas, disabled children,children born out of wedlock, children with perceived moral and disciplinary problems and older children in need of care. Factors identified in this study that contribute to the vulnerabilities of these groups are difficulties faced in registering a child at birth, lack of services or services that are physically not accessible, the lack of awareness of services available and their rights in receiving these services, services that do not meet the needs of the clients, irregular services and discriminative laws. Other than that, non-citizen children such as children who are at risk of arrest and detention, children living on and off the streets, trafficked children, refugees and asylum seekers, undocumented migrant children, stateless children, and abandoned babies are main groups of concern (CRCM, 2012). Children who are undocumented in the country receive little support and protection from the government leaving them exposed to all sorts of vulnerabilities including being at risk of living outside of a family setting (ibid). Local NGOs working closely with marginalised communities pose a glimmer of hope for these children. However, state collaborative efforts with NGOs are very restricted in its target population. The state is constrained when it comes to providing services that may be politically sensitive such as catering to the needs of children out of wedlock, street children and undocumented children (Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, nd, p4). A few government ministries are involved in the effort to prevent family separation; however services provided by the state are stand–alone. Services need to be holistic and should aim to tackle the root causes of the problems in order to be sustainable (ibid). Centralising these services can promote better case management so that each individual case will receive all the necessary services needed in order to prevent children from being deprived of a family environment (Unicef, 2006: p15). Findings of this study also suggest that a deeper understanding of the target population and their needs have to be established among service providers in order to make a bigger impact (Unicef, 2006: p.16). It appears that some of the services lack a client centered and a child friendly approach – for example, taking into account illiterate persons during the birth registration process or creating a welcoming environment for children and families in drop in centres. Service providers and staff need to be more sensitive towards the needs of their clients by looking into the root causes of the problem rather than trying to provide a piecemeal solution to their problems that are not effective. One of the main reasons for family separation is that often parents are often unable to take care of their children (Kang, 2007: p.10). More methods of supporting the family and greater emphasis on maintaining the family unit should be put in place to move away from the practice of institutionalising a child (ibid. p.25). Even though the state has taken the initiative to replicate a "family environment" in some of these institutions (DSW, 2008), studies of children in these institutes and feedback from the interviews suggest that it is far from attainable. Many children remain within the four walls of an institution up to the age of 18 due to various reasons. The government should encourage other alternative care methods such as foster care and adoption which is not widely practiced in the country, especially for children who have no chance of being reunited with their families (Kang, 2007: p30). Other than that, young mothers should be educated on their options rather than feeling pressured into giving up their children (ibid p10 &31). Based on the Tenth Malaysian Plan and the government's enthusiasm in building on the rights of a child in the country with a special focus on family (Economic Planning Unit, 2010: p184), there seems to be no better time for the country to move forward children's rights. – May 6, 2014. * Katrina is a child policy and advocacy manager at Yayasan Chow Kit. |
| Migration steals the magic from China’s mountain shamans Posted: 05 May 2014 05:08 PM PDT "To see a spirit, you have to practice the ancient rituals," said Zhao Fucheng, 74, who claims he communicates with the spirit world from his wooden hut in southwestern Guangxi province. He is one of the estimated thousands of shamans – locally known as "spirit masters" – who are called on as healers in a centuries-old tradition among ethnic groups in the region. "If something bad is going to happen to you soon, and your luck is running out, I can change your luck," Zhao said, who belongs to the Yao ethnic minority. "If medicine doesn't work, then you need to ask a spirit." Zhao – who lives in the remote village of Qiuka, accessible by a dirt track which rises high over mountains patterned with rice fields – receives a steady stream of villagers who profess to believe in spirits. "Sometimes if you go to the hospital and see a doctor and it doesn't work, you need to look for a spirit master," said 38-year-old farmer Zhao Jintai, who like many in the village are surnamed Zhao but not related to the shaman. "Spirits will make you ill, but they won't eat you or anything like that," offered Zhao Deqing, 13. He admires the motorbikes that older peers drive back from their jobs in nearby towns, and plans to leave the village as soon as school finishes. When he does, Zhao will join the largest migration in human history – which has seen more than 300 million Chinese people move to cities over the last 15 years – and leave the elderly shaman behind. The shaman Zhao says he specialises in healing and telling fortunes. "I do some communicating with ghosts, beating drums and blowing cow horns – I can do the little things," he said. On a spring morning he agreed to make predictions for a visitor. Armed with the client's date of birth and wearing reading glasses, he scrutinised a lunar calendar printed in red ink. Mouthing a series of calculations, he reached for a book he says is hundreds of years old, its crumbling pages lined with Chinese characters. "When you reach 39, things won't go smoothly for you," he declared, as his increasingly red-faced client nodded. The shaman pointed his dirt-caked fingernails at the characters, reading aloud and adding: "It's nothing to be scared about." The Cultural Revolution, a decade of political upheaval launched in 1966 by China's then-leader Mao Zedong, saw violent campaigns against "superstitious" practices in which spirit masters were beaten and abused. Shamans in Qiuka said they hid their books during the turmoil, retrieving them only when campaigns relaxed in the 1980s. Demand for their services surged in the following decades as market reforms undermined China's public healthcare system and medical costs skyrocketed. Even in a tiny village like Qiuka, with just a few hundred residents, several men identify themselves as spirit masters. "People will look for me if they get sick," Zhao Fukai, a grey-haired man in his 60s said, cradling a thick yellowed tome. "Ancient people left us this book," he said, adding: "To attract spirits, you need to use blood. It can be a little scary." But in the mountain villages of Guangxi one section of the population is visible by its absence – young people. Nearly all of the remote village's youth leave after graduating middle school, looking for work in cities which pay better than local jobs in farming or forestry. China is set to add 300 million to its urban population over the next decade, a process bound to leave thousands of villages virtually empty. Shamans in Qiuka said they feared no one would learn the rites passed down to them. Village traditions elsewhere, from theatre to martial arts, face the same threat of extinction as China urbanises. "You can obviously make much more money working outside the village, you can't earn much doing this," shaman Zhao Jintai said. He looked at his middle-aged son, who remains in the village due to an industrial accident but claims "not to believe" in the magic practised by his father. Yang Shengwen, a local researcher who has studied shamanic traditions in the region, said the practice would suffer as villages empty. "Shamanism hasn't vanished, but it's a trend we are worried about, especially because of young people going to cities to work," he said. "In 30 years, they will be there, but after that, it's hard to say." From his mountaintop perch, Zhao admitted seeing fewer patients in recent years, giving a cryptic explanation. "The spirits have left, so I communicate with them less," he said. – AFP, May 6, 2014. |
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