Child abductions, paedophilia among clergy and the protection of children

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

(May 25, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) Two incidents of child abductions were reported in the past two weeks. One was of a two and a half year old boy from Kelaniya. The other case is of a one and a half year old little boy from Hendala Palliyawatte, who is still missing.The recovery of the little boy revealed a story of organized child abduction. The child was taken when the family had gone to a religious ceremony at the famous Kelaniya temple and remained missing for about two and a half days.

The mother of the child made great efforts to contact the media to publicize the abduction. As a result, information was received of a child not seen before in a neighbourhood and with the quick intervention of the police, the child was recovered. Within a very short time, the child has been abducted and removed to a location quite far away and the parents were fortunate enough to recover the child before the child was sold and sent to another location.

The circumstances of the missing boy from Hendala Palliyawatte are not known. When the guardian of the child went inside the house for a short while, the child went missing. Initially, neighbours presumed that the child fell into the nearby river, and numerous attempts were made to look into the river. However, no body was recovered. The assumption that the child fell into the river prevented the parents from being suspicious of the child being abducted and suspicions came only after the incident of abduction at Kelaniya. Thus, what has happened to this little boy remains unknown.

The abduction of children for the purposes of sale is a new phenomenon in Sri Lanka. There are some countries where, due to extreme conditions of social chaos and poverty, child abduction has been a prominent problem for a number of years. For example, in Cambodia, the abduction of children for sale has been well known for a long time now. As such, there are United Nations and human rights groups who have engaged in various activities to recover the children and ensure their rehabilitation. In some parts of India, Bangladesh and the borders of Nepal, there are stories of child trafficking; that this has also begun to happen in Sri Lanka is an alarming discovery.

Last year, there were several cases in the east of Sri Lanka where children were abducted for purposes of ransom. There were two instances in particular where the children were found dead while the parents were trying to find the monies demanded by the abductors. Information that was revealed later showed that some of the abductors belonged to armed political groups in the area.

There is also the story of a mother who revealed the abuse of her son, an eight-year old, in a Buddhist temple where the child had been sent for education. In a story publicized on YouTube, she reveals the sad story of her son’s abuse by a monk. It was later discovered that he was one of two children abused at this temple. All attempts by the mother to persuade the temple authorities to look into the matter have been unsuccessful, when pressure was brought onto the mother to withdraw the complaints.

Such stories of child abuse are not uncommon in Sri Lanka, not only among Buddhist monks but Catholic clergy too. Among the Catholic clergy, this has become an internationally known problem. Huge protests are sounding out from majority-Catholic countries all over the world, such as Ireland, calling for church authorities to take firm steps to end this practice. These calls for change found a response from the conservative pope who had been accused of trying to hush up some of these stories. When he made a statement from Portugal stating that this was one of the greatest problems that the Catholic Church faced, it was said that the church was attempting to come to terms with a long standing problem that has resulted from the policy of celibacy of its priests. Many observers say it took many decades to get the attention of the church authorities to this problem. But finally, due to attempts at raising consciousness by lay movements and sections of the clergy itself, the problem is beginning to be addressed by the Catholic Church. However, there have not been any official attempts on the part of Buddhist clergy or Catholic clergy in Sri Lanka to come to grips with this problem.

Ultimately, this is not just a question of a few sick individuals who may be engaged in paedophilia. The pressing issue is of the protection of children.

The violence that is overwhelmingly prevalent in Sri Lanka has not been examined from the viewpoint of the children, and the effect of such violence on them. All over the country, it is the children who face the brunt of violence that has prevailed in Sri Lanka. Of course, the question of the children in the north and east comes to the forefront when talking about the issue of protection of children. One report which was published recently notes that 78% of the children in some parts of the north and the east of the country have not able to go to schools as yet. Those who have been attending school after the conflict have not been able to get the proper schooling atmosphere as yet. Teachers’ associations are complaining that even the most basic facilities are not provided for the teachers to engage in their tasks, and that their living facilities are also compromised.

The problem is not purely dealing with this or that incident relating to child abduction or paedophilia or deprivation of children’s educational rights. What this comes down to is an overall concern for the protection of children in the nation. The nation has plenty of rhetoric, but what is deeply lacking is the development and implementation of policy to tackle this problem.

Policy development in many areas of life may have been seriously affected by long term military conflicts that Sri Lanka has faced in the south, north and the east in recent decades, during which civilians have experienced great violence. In the aftermath of these conflicts, the focus should be placed on the protection and upliftment of children.

Ultimately, the country needs to recover the basic aims and ideals of its society. At the moment, there are celebrations going on for the end of the war anniversary. However, the meaning of an anniversary has to be measured by the extent to which peace is enjoyed by the people. While there are some external aspects of peace made apparent by the absence of violence, there is still a great deal of work to be done. A return to a society where protections are guaranteed to all should be the fundamental aim of the nation today.

Ultimately, it boils down to the issue of rule of law. An absence of the rule of law is felt in all aspects of life and is felt most on the issue of the protection of children. When a nation fails to protect its children, there is something radically wrong with that society. Sri Lanka is one of the nations in which every fundamental aspect of life has gone awry due to the political unrest of recent decades. These issues require that, particularly members of civil society, including teachers, religious leaders and parents, become vocal and take an active stand in ensuring stable, healthy conditions for their families and their communities.

When children are abducted and sold for commercial purposes, it is clear that widespread criminalization has reached its most abject point. It is time to address the worst aspects of Sri Lankan society now.