Char dwellers denied health, edn services

Admin — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:34:44 +0000

Education for the children of the people of chars (landmasses that has emerged from the riverbed) of the Godagari upazila of northern Rajshahi district ends at the primary level as they cannot go to high schools located in other places due to risky and troublesome communication.
Besides, health services remain elusive for the people of the remote chars, as a result of which they have to rely on village quacks.
The marginal people complained that they remain deprived of immunization and family planning programmes, maternal health services and sanitation facilities of the government.
Char dwellers and non-government organisations blamed the government for lack of proper attention, and for the present situation which is worsening day by day.
Dwellers in the chars of Padma River in Manik, Bhubanpara, Boyarmari, Nowsera and Kanapara of Godagari upazila in Rajshahi district told New Age that poverty is forcing parents there to make their children work instead of going to school.
The children are now grazing cattle, doing agricultural work, pulling vans, working in tea stalls, etc.
The char dwellers are also victims of the severe problem of child marriage and dowry, said the char people.
Moinul Islam, a teacher of the Diyar Manik Char Boyalmari Registered Primary School, told New Age that there is a high rate of drop-out from the school. Currently it has 111 students in Class One and only 41 in Class Five.
‘Almost all the students stop coming to school after completing the primary level,’ he said. ‘There is no high school in our locality. The nearest one is about three kilometres away and others are situated on the other side of the river. Communication is risky and troublesome and costly.’
He also said that child marriage stops educational activities for children, especially girls, of the region.
Moinul said that so far, in 2012, three students of the school got married before completing primary education — Rupa of Class Four and Shema and Zarina of Class Five.
Tamijul Islam of Boyarmari char told New Age that normally children get married between ages of 12 to 16.
He said that dowry was the order of the day for char people. The size of the dowry generally hovers between Tk 40,000 to 50,000.
According to the study, Baseline Survey of Nodi O Jibon-2 Project, conducted by Concern Worldwide Bangladesh and Unnayan Shamannay, which examined the lifestyles of char dwellers in 73 chars of 24 unions in 10 upazilas of Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj, Lalmonirhat and Pabna, 66% were illiterate, 29% had studied up to the primary level, 5% to the secondary level and only 1% to the higher secondary level.
According to knowledgeable sources, there are about 5 lakh people in these 73 chars and a total of 60 lakh across the country.
Jahangir Alam, a shopkeeper beside the ghat, said they are deprived of health services and have to rely on village quacks. He said that if someone gets sick there is no end of misery for him or her.
The survey said that about 70 per cent of the char dwellers took treatment from visiting village doctors and/or drug stores, 16 per cent visit upazila hospitals and the rest go to district hospitals and private clinics.
Nazrul Islam of Boyarmari char said he had never heard anything about the government’s family planning programmes.
He also said that women of the locality are deprived of maternity services and have to rely on the age-old system.
‘In most cases during the immunization programme the vaccination workers do not come to our chars,’ he said.
Another baseline survey conducted in 2007 by Concern and Unnayan Shamannay found that 70 per cent of the chars’ women are deprived of maternity services.
SM Tuhinur Alam, Godagari Upazila’s nirbahi officer, told New Age that there could be a lack of monitoring of the service in the area due to the remoteness of the chars, but government officials try their best to serve those people.
Tunhinur said that the government is trying to construct roads in the above-mentioned chars and hoped the situation would change then. He added that he had taken charge about one month ago and would take necessary steps to provide health and education services for char dwellers.

Courtesy of New Age

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‘Religion’ saved, with it rapists

Admin — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:00:55 +0000

Gang rape victim Serafina Mardi gave up her life in protest at the settlement by the community leaders and Surshunipara Catholic Church in Godagari that forced her family to stay away from legal proceedings.
Police, family members of the indigenous victim and the community leaders said the settlement was done at a time when Serafina’s rape case was under trial and for the sake of protecting the religion.
In the settlement, it was fixed that the rapists would give an amount of Tk 1.4 lakh to the family as compensation while Serafina to wed to Nirmol Murmu, one of the rapists.
Reverend Bernard Tudu, a priest of the church, said the families of the nine rapists attempted to leave the Amtulipara village following the filing of the rape case. The local community leaders initiated the settlement in a bid to protect the village where 36 indigenous Christian families have been living since 2005.
He denied the involvement of the church while talking to The Daily Star at Rajshahi Caritas office.
Revd Tudu said the settlement took place on the church premises weeks after the rape incident on April 24 last year. He only kept the fine money to hand it over to the victim’s family on February 11.
SM Rokon Uddin, Superintendent of police (SP) in Rajshahi, said the church authorities called all the rapists to the church and performed their confessions.
The SP said police had pressed charges against all the nine accused on August 11 last year but the rapists were acquitted as no prosecution witness appeared before the court.
Police is yet to take actions against the people involved in the out-of-court settlement although the rapists are allegedly threatening the victim’s family not to file any more cases.
“We have recorded an unnatural death case following Serafina’s suicide,” said the SP.
The rapists are still at large, said the villagers.
M Noor Khan, one of the directors of Ain O Shalish Kendra, said there is no scope for out-of-court settlement during the legal proceeding of rape incidents and the involvement of the leaders of any religion in the settlement is a punishable offence.
“The entire process of the settlement was illegal as it was done to avoid court trial. All those who are involved in it must be punished,” observed Khan.
Visiting Serafina’s house at Amtulipara yesterday The Daily Star experienced a feeling of deep shock and silence among the family members. The family buried Serafina overnight.
“If the priest asks me to accept the settlement, what else can I do? I have to live here with three other daughters having the rapists as neighbours,” said victim’s father Cornelius Mardi, a farm labourer.
Revd Tudu, however, denied that he ever met Serafina’s father.
Cornelius alleged that Moheswar Soren, Lobin Hembrom, Jotin, Monir Murmu, Amin, Bhawani, Fabian Murmu, Moti Mardi were among the village leaders who forced him to accept the judgement of the settlement.
Serafina’s mother Susana Soren alleged that instead of taking actions against the rapists, the community leaders on the next day of the rape incident fined her husband with Tk 1,200 for publicly yelling at the rapists.
Godagari Pargapa Parishad president Biswanath Tudu, among other community leaders, headed the settlement. He said the settlement was aimed to maintain peace in the community. “While both the sides accepted the judgement, what is the problem here?” he wondered.
Dhonai Soren, president of Kakonhat Poura Pargana Parishad, said he walked out from the settlement protesting the fining instead of trial.
After the settlement, when the accused started roaming freely at the village again, Serafina felt humiliated. She set herself on fire pouring kerosene on the body on February 17. The poor girl was admitted to the surgery ward of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
MA Hannan, head of the surgery ward, said Serafina had 75 percent burn on her body and was referred to Dhaka for better treatment. However, her family took her home within two days of the admission to the hospital under a risk bond, he added.
In his defence, Serafina’s father said he took her home as he could not afford to take Serafina to Dhaka.
Jatiya Adivashi Parishad protested the incident of rape and the settlement and demanded punishment to the rapists and those who saved them from the trial.

Via: The Daily Star

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Char dwellers denied health, edn services

‘Religion’ saved, with it rapists