Those with mental illness and other mental challenges require the care of those who are blessed with better abilities. But look at us....we have systematically failed to address the needs of the mentally ill.
According to the report in haveeru (http://www.haveeru.com.mv/?page=details&id=84570) a person with mental illness or mentally challenged person was found chained in a house at B. atoll Kamadhoo by some visiting students attending a program organised by eco-care and Soneva fushi resort.
Could it be possible that the people of this island were unaware of this fact? Could it be possible that the people of this island just could not care more? What is difficult for me is to accept that the concerned authorities in the island had no knowledge of what was going on in this home. Why?
That he began to cry on seeing these visitors for me echoes as an out cry for help and clearly demonstrate he had an insight into his circumstance.
Probably, this is a person who could have had a better quality of life if he was given an early intervention....may be he has special needs or may be he has a mental illness. However, the information so far reported is insufficient to draw any conclusions about his diagnosis.
It is very unfortunate that his parents were ignorant about the available facilities in the country which could have helped him have a better quality of life. It is very unfortunate that the people in the island did not report his case so that the existing NGO's in the country could have extended their helping hands to him. It is a shame, people are still unaware that people like him can have a better life with appropriate rehabilitation or treatment and keeping one in chains to manage is just unacceptable!
It is a shame, that we as a people are failing to address the issues relevant to the most vulnerable people of our country.
We have to move ahead from the times where we kept the mentally ill chained in 'andhagondi', or in 'dhandi koshi' built in our homes.
We have to reject the philosophy of those who say that the only way these people could be managed is by putting them in chain; we have to raise our voices to protect the rights of the mentally ill and the mentally challenged.
We have to make sure that our country soon develop a comprehensive mental health policy and plan. We have to ensure that we have mechanisms to prevent the repetition of such incidents in our legislature.
photo source ; Haveeru.com
4 comments:
Yeah ..yeah!!
I beleive you have written the article - by referring to that particular cas - with the best intentions in your heart. But if you read the explanation from the family, you might have thought differently about the case. Even if we don't beleive the justification given by the family, anyone who sees these photos can observe that the room is quite clean, and the person is also kept clean. So they are not just keeping him chained and imprisoned, but also have taken good care of him.
To read the family's explanation, pls follwo the link :
http://manadhoolive.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=464:2009-06-22-04-41-43&catid=13:hot-news&Itemid=32
Thanks for the comment. Ofcourse I had read the justification. But for me this is just that, a justification. There is no reason why any one has to be kept in chains in this time and age. No matter how clean the room, the person was chained. There is treatment and rehabilitation believe me, I know.
If I was dictator, I'd have taken that as a declaration of war.
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