BP: A sorry lack of basic humani

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

June 4, 1998


                                     



                              Commentary

                             by Sanitsuda Ekachai


              A sorry lack of
              basic humanity

              Peeping Toms have a field day every day in front of the
              Thanyaburi Women's Shelter. At 7 a.m. and again at 3.30 p.m.,
              motorcyclists gather to watch the female inhabitants queue for
              their two minute bath - stark naked in full public view.

              While motorcyclists must crane their necks for a peek, people in
              the six-storey building nearby have a full view just by looking
              down. Such is the punishment for the crime of poverty. These
              women are not criminals. They are merely poor, homeless folk
              who have been rounded up for begging on the street. But
              because they are poor and powerless, they are treated like
              cattle.

              It escapes me how on Earth the shelter superintendent - a
              woman herself - could be so heartless. Where's the empathy?
              Cruelty is sinful. Poverty is not. Who's the real criminal here?

              These ugly circumstances became public when angry neighbours
              felt the shelter authorities were violating the occupants' human
              rights. They also fear that some Peeping Toms might get the
              wrong idea and break into the compound to rape the women.

              The inhumanity at the Thanyaburi Shelter, where some 200
              women are being "rehabilitated", is not an isolated case. It is
              typical of the human rights violations in state homes which
              operate like prisons and treat the inhabitants like criminals. The
              Department of Public Welfare's state homes are notorious for
              their oppressive rule, be they orphanages or rehabilitation
              centres.

              In the orphanages, the officers' convenience and routine often
              come before the children's need for individual attention. Sexual
              abuses are a hush-hush issue in homes for older children. The
              term "rehabilitation homes" - be they for juvenile delinquents, sex
              workers or the homeless - is just a euphemism for "prisons".
              That's why the activities there aim to dehumanise the inhabitants.
              That's why we often hear of escape attempts. It's not because
              the escapees are a violent lot but because the abuses have
              become intolerable.

              We must put an end to this oppression.

              The authorities would surely cite the necessity for standard rules
              and regulations when dealing with large groups of people. In the
              case of Thanyaburi Shelter, we can also expect the standard
              excuse of scarce funds and personnel.

              They might even argue that military-like discipline is not all bad.
              If it is, why do we allow schools to be run like military camps,
              what with the soldier haircuts, the emphasis on mass conformity
              and the many other authoritarian rules?

              Oppression in state homes and schools grows from the same
              seed as dictatorship in our hearts and minds. It's why we cannot
              hope to see improvements in state homes, or schools for that
              matter, by giving them more money and personnel. Change must
              start with how we view education, power and relationship
              patterns in order to maintain peace and harmony.

              If we believe that power and control are the most effective
              means to create order, then we will educate our children to be at
              home with a militaristic culture. In the same manner, we will
              accept that force is necessary to deal with misfits. But if we view
              education as a process to bring out the best in people, schools
              will become a nurturing ground for our children's creativity. And
              rehabilitation homes a place to equip the weak with self-esteem
              and skills so they can return to society with dignity.

              As for the Thanyaburi shame, it's the authorities there - not the
              women - who need re-education, particularly on the subject of
              humanity.

              * Sanitsuda Ekachai is Assistant Editor, Bangkok Post.
              sanitsuda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 




                                     




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