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....Editorial

31st July 2010
Fault of the Stigma?

The front page of the Weekend VOICE of July 17th featured a story entitled, “Crying Rape”, recounting an account, reported to The VOICE, of an incident that was brought to our attention by a prominent social activist and representative of CAFRA, Mrs. Flavia Cherry.
It detailed some abuses allegedly inflicted on a young ward of the Boys’ Training Centre (BTC) at Massade by other, older and more experienced hardened wards, with an account that was tragic to listen to.
In the present issue, again with equal prominence on our front page, we publish a statement issued by Mr. Leonard Terrance, Manager of the Boys’ Training Centre, which refutes almost every charge made by Mrs. Cherry.
We are not going to endeavour, in any way, to support or justify the claims made by either of the two opposing parties … as is to be expected, they will each lay claim to the truth and (perhaps somewhere in the middle) the facts will eventually out.
What perturbs us is that the atrocities described, whether veracious or not, revolve around children who are supposed to be in the care of a responsible society. We wish to make clear what we are stating here: whether or not there is any truth to the charges and counter-charges being made, the fact is that the institution should be so secure, so safe and protective, so healing and full of care for the youngsters within its walls, that even the thought of any of them being in danger – whether physical, moral or emotional – would not even be considered.
 
 
We realize that perfection is an unattainable state, but there are instances, especially those that involve the children among us, where such meticulous care should be taken, that even the whisper of danger to the bodies and psyches of our little ones would be unheard of.
Reports in recent times, especially since the appointment of Mr. Terrance, have indicated an enormous improvement in the conditions that exist at the BTC – and there are signs that much more progress is imminent. We realize that “Rome was not built in a day” and in that spirit, we bemoan the fact that matters had gotten so far out of hand before his tenure and that of the present staff members, that a stigma so pronounced had been attached to the Centre, so even now, hardly anything positive is ever reported about its operations.
As we pointed out, it is a pity that all the controversy should centre around the well-being of children whose fragility is in our adult hands – and who are therefore largely powerless to control what happens to their young lives.
Their destiny and guidance is in our hands and all we can do is place our confidence in those who have been mandated to care for them in our name, in the hope that one day, the reputation of the Centre will have improved to such an extent that all we hear coming from beyond its walls are glowing reports of how well our young charges are doing.

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