A friend of a friend works as a social worker, and was recently complaining about how difficult it is to obtain a court order to take at-risk children into protective care.
She also spoke of the hostile attitude of some judges towards social workers, and was greatly stressed by her knowledge of children who were suffering abuse/neglect and were being effectively ignored by the state authorities.
Which makes the recent shameful fiasco surrounding the taking into custody of Roma children with light-coloured hair all the more appalling.
Think about this. We have some racist bigot making groundless "tip-offs" on Facebook, which are then passed onto the police via a journalist. We are then treated to the spectacle of the fuzz raiding the homes of two Roma families, one in Athlone and one in Tallaght, before taking away one child from each family, on the grounds that their hair is fair and their complexions are pale.
The gardai, of course, claimed their actions were because the children were "at risk". Strange then, that they left the other dark-haired children at home with their parents while running away with the fair-haired siblings under their arms.
Keystone Cops doesn't even describe it – only it is no laughing matter that racist hysteria has once more found embarrassing expression in Ireland.
Meanwhile we have a government that is busy taking medical cards away from sick and dying children – plainly putting them in a geniune "at risk" category.
"Bizarre" doesn't really do it justice; and nor do the gardai.
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7 comments:
Hi GM, The welfare of the children of course were not an issue, as you point out they only took the fair haired kids. So it was, as you say out and out racism and/or a combination of the local plod thinking, yes I've rescued a "Madeline McCann" type kid here (remember she was snatched from her bed)- imagine the promotion I'll get.... nothing would surprise me..
To Ella and GN man, hear, hear!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGDj0B5WQaA
No, they are not "fair-haired". They are gypsy-children sold into slavery by their own parents and family members.
So, are there blond children being abducted by gypsies?
I don't know. But this shouldn't be the question, I think. The question should be: what are we supposed to do about those gypsy-kids shown in the BBC-Documentary? What are we going to do about those people who sell their own children? If they are doing this to their own kids, what ere they able to do with other kids who don't belong to them?!
Of course there is a hysteria about the case. And I will tell you why: bacause people are afraid of gypsies. If you are in trouble with them, nobody is going to help you. Not the Guards or any other authorities. You are on your own!
You have to have hard evidence if you want to investigate and prosecute gypsies. Everything else is called racism, especially by some individuals who regard themselves as the "good people of this world" and who never ever had any encounters with gypsies whatsoever.
We live in a fucked-up society where political-correctness is more important than reality!
Just my five cents again ...
While giving free medical care to kids of multi millionaires.
"We live in a fucked-up society where political-correctness is more important than reality!" Well spotted. It's far more dangerous now than it was only 50 years ago. The rush to wealth has bought off the conscience of the majority. No one thinks anymore.
The two cases cited were, indeed, about the children "looking different" from their parents, and having blond hair.
Both families live, as far as I know, in settled accommodation. As far as the Athlone family were concerned, a simple phone call to the HSE child care department would have told the coppers that the child shared his parent's genes, that he played with local kids and that he went to the local school. There was no justification for the coppers' actions whatsoever.
Whether the family were were from a majority or a minority, were settled, traveller or Roma, indigenous or otherwise, what the police did was out of order.
What is the big surprise? Ireland has a long and glorious history of fucking over the weakest in society. That is how it works.
I know, why not report the abuse to the Church. That will work.
"Ireland has a long and glorious history of fucking over the weakest in society." That's the sickening part. Children, animals, the old, sick etc. The great unwashed STILL put "their betters" on a pedestal. Doff your forelock and curse about it into your pint or magazine. Anyone one that stands up is undermined. Probably the most reprehensible population in Europe.
It's corrupt. The (pseudo) genius is that the people have fooled themselves, and outsiders into believing the opposite.
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