Stung by the tragedy of one or both parents succumbing to the virus, thousands of children stare at an uncertain future, if they have one
Even as the country braces for the third Corona wave which experts feel would be tougher on children, the pandemic has already taken a toll. On June 1, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) reported in the Supreme Court more than 9,300 Corona orphans in India. These include more than 1,700 children who lost both the parents. The actual figure could be many times this number as the data is yet to be collected from across the country.
Unfortunately, as of now, the Government does not have a plan in place to rehabilitate these children. Let alone a plan, it has not even identified these children yet. Many children have been orphaned due to circumstances created by the pandemic. Many people lost their lives while going back to their hometowns during the lockdown. They carried children in their arms or dragged them on wheeled suitcases. Many never reached their destinations and the children were left in the middle of nowhere. Who can forget the pictures of a toddler trying to wake up her dead mother on a railway platform? Of course, these children would not figure in the Government data of Corona orphans.
The pandemic has already killed the dreams, aspirations and hopes of the Corona orphans. Their number is now in thousands, if not lakhs, after the second wave. Many people who succumbed to Corona could not even have the last word with their children. Some children are still waiting for their parents to return. They are fed on lies that their parents have “gone to work” and will “return with goodies”. The day they find out the truth would be shattering for them.
Often, especially in the second wave, both the parents died within a few days of each other. The child was left alone without any support system to fall back upon. Even those survived by a single parent do not have the normal childhood left for them. The person who got them toys, played with them, attended their PTMs is gone. A bleak future and hardships await them; the innocence all set to yield at the altar of the real world.
Corona took away the children’s childhood as it did their innocence. Most people at a tender age wilt under pressure. If it is a child, the chances of her/his being altered for life are high. For children, losing parents is traumatic. Parents fulfil not only the needs of a child but give him a sense of security which is important in the growing up years. Most of the behavioural traits of the children get consolidated in the first seven years. Losing parents during that time scars children, changing their worldview forever.
It is the time when we, as a nation, need to step up our efforts to take care of such children. The parents cannot be replaced but, in the least, the child can be given a sense that there is someone who cares and provides him support. It could be his relatives, adopting parents, non-governmental organisations, or the Government itself.
The moot question is, what next for these children? Indeed, adoption comes up as the most natural way these children could be given a second lease of life. But there are some inherent dangers. The chances of fake adoptions are high. Child traffickers see it as an opportunity. Often, the children get adopted by traffickers and sold off.
The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) handles adoptions in the country. Strict guidelines govern the process of adoption in India. Any adoption without following this process is illegal. It puts children at high risk. Many adopted children are exploited, trafficked and abused. Moreover, the adoption rate in India is rather low. Only around 4,000 children are adopted every year; so few children would find a family that way.
An abandoned child is an easy prey for traffickers. In this situation, it becomes the responsibility of each one of us to help a child in distress. At the least, one could call children’s helpline number (1098) and inform the authorities about the child in distress. Or, one can also contact the district Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) or inform the local police station. The CWC decides the fate of these children — whether the child needs to go to a long-term or short-term shelter or for adoption. The Prime Minister has announced that such children will get a monthly stipend once they turn 18 through a corpus fund of Rs 10 lakh under the “PM-CARES for children” scheme. But the important question is how a child, says age two, survives 16 years to take that stipend!
Foster care is another option that can be explored and encouraged. The kith and kin of the deceased can take care of the child. But then that, again, is not free of problems. Many a time, the children end up working as domestic helps, their education stopped, their rights curtailed. There must be an agency to monitor such cases. There is an urgent need to tackle this issue on priority so that these children do not fall into the wrong hands. We, as a nation, have to think out of the box to help these children of a lesser god!
(The writer is a columnist and documentary film-maker. The views expressed are personal.)