Chennai: “I don’t want to ever go back to that home,” 18-year- old Susheel* tells us showing the injuries on his legs caused by older boys at Kelly’s home. Memories of two months at the observation home still haunt him.
“I was a good student, I want to study further but my parents have no money,” he says wearing a faint smile. His vendor family was forced to leave their house from a small hamlet near Thirumaalpur following a murder committed by Susheel’s elder brother. Susheel was taken to custody suspecting his involvement in the crime.
“There are about 8 –10 older guys at the home who are repeat offenders and have been there for long period. Whenever a new juvenile is lodged at the house, he gets badly beaten up by them,” he added.
Susheel recounted the stories of how the older kids lodged at the home manage to bribe caretakers and get them to buy bidisand Hans gutka for themselves.
“Security officials grab a maximum share from the pocket money received by children. As it is tough to possess a match box, boys burn the towels and bedsheets in the bathroom, which stays ignited for more days,” revealed the 18-year-old.
“Despite bad financial condition, I gave Rs 400 to my child to escape harassment. He had to give away all the money to them,” said a parent whose child was at Kellys home for a week.
Their day starts at around 6.30 where they exercise and get ready for an unappetizing breakfast. After two-odd hours of listening to Thirukurral classes, they have their lunch, which is dragged away by the older boys. “I regretted my deeds. All I thought was about my family,” said Zaid* who was lodged at Kellys home for stealing a mobile.
Zaid slipped into a phase of inferno, after constantly teased by the inmates. “They would take away the pillows we got. If we oppose, they would use swear words and start hitting in private parts,” said Zaid, fighting back tears.
Recovering, Zaid said: “Most of the counselors are students from some colleges akka. All they say is to be good. But after suffering lewd comments from inmates, they stopped coming too.”
To forget the past and start a new life is a difficult task for Zaid as his past haunts him every day he comes to the Chengalpet magistrate home to sign. “I want to study Bcom akka. I hope no one in the college would now about my dirty past. I cannot take any more indifference,” he said, waiting for a fresh start.
Asked about what was the most difficult part of having stayed at the home for two months, he says: “We could not fight back the older inmates. We had to wash their clothes, and give them money. If they were disobeyed, they beat us with broken tube lights. Also, the food is pathetic, and the counselors are no good, akka.”
Treating juveniles like criminals unacceptable, say activists
In a midnight operation carried out by the government officials, over 29 boys from Kellys observation homes were shifted to various homes in Chengalpet, Cuddalore and Thanjavur, defying the directions of Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) earlier this week. Members of JJB said that they were oblivious of the act.
"This complete violation of section 96 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. We are doubtful of if the parents are aware of it" said A. Narayanan, director and child rights activist.
"Once the boys reached the home at Thanjavur they damaged the property there. They were being treated like terrorists which must have panicked them. The terrorised boys did not know where they were being taken in the middle of the night, " he added.
It is learnt that 15 boys hailing from Chennai are lodged at Cuddalore and Thanjavur. 19 boys hailing from Kanchipuram district are kept in Chengalpet home.
"They are not fugitives, they wanted to go to their home, so, when they escaped Kellys home, they went to their homes or their friends' homes. They are not criminals to run away," said another activist.
'Creative activities help keep minds engaged'
When a child is put in a juvenile home, he should no to be left idle, but made to participate in creative activities and reflect on that act which brought him there, says experts.
''Juvenile homes with trained counsellors should be able to understand under what conditions did the act that way, and why he did not have another choice, '' said Dr. P. Manorama, former Child Welfare Committee chairperson.
She added that once a child is found committing any such act, behaving modification changes should be adopted, which must involve active participation of his/her family. ;; When it is a first-time offender., it is easy to bring a change in mindset, If such behaviour is not attended to, it makes them repeat the act,'' the child rights activist, who runs a home for HIV infected kids, continued.
Experts also geel that the Juvenile Justice Act is different on paper and on ground reality.
''Proper counselling and creative activities jelo keep the yound minds and bodies engaged, otherwise, they live with the mindset that they are criminals,'' according to Virgil D Sami, executive director of NGO Arunodhya.
''The JJ Act mandates regular counselling through well-trained counselors and activities to engage them, but it doesn't happen. It is also largely because the staff fear if the children are let of for activities, they would excape.''
Activist A. Narayanan feels that the conditions and behaviour meted out to the inmates is what forces them to run away, ''Keeping them within 20-ft-high walls, covered by barbed wires, will only make them believe that they are criminals,'' he added.
''At all times, a child should have a home to go to, someone to talk to and food to eat, ''said Dr Manorama. ''Once in an early morning check at bus stations across the city, we caught a 16-year old performing oral sex on an older man. Upon asking the teenager; he said that he had run away from home as there was no food, and as the man had bought him food, he had to give something in return,'' she recounted
