Dreaming of a world free from violence against children

 

About one billion children have faced various forms of violence in the last year, according to the World Health Organization. (Image: Pixabay)

The recent brutal killing of three children at a state-run juvenile correction facility in southwest Bangladesh has brought to the fore state violence against children in the country.

At first it was reported the children died at Jessore Juvenile Development Center following a clash between two groups of inmates on Aug. 13. Later, a police investigation found the children died from injuries resulting from merciless beatings by staff. Public shock quickly turned to fury and strong calls for justice.

On the day, a guard of the facility — which holds 280 boys either convicted or awaiting trial for juvenile delinquencies including theft, rape and murder — allegedly ordered some boys to have haircuts, leading to a scuffle. The attack left the guard with a broken hand.

In response, the staff held a meeting and decided to beat up the children “to teach them a lesson.” Some 18 boys were allegedly sorted out, tied with ropes and had their mouths gagged with towels. They were beaten for an hour with steel pipes, sticks and cricket stumps before they passed out.

The seriously injured children died before they were rushed to a local hospital. Police detained five staff for the assault and launched a probe into the incident.

Such inhuman treatment of children in state-run juvenile rehabilitation centers is not new. In 2015, some 20 children cut their wrists protesting torture by staff in another juvenile center, forcing the government to suspend the head of the facility.

Child rights activists have complained on many occasions that these facilities were more for punishment of children than rehabilitation in the absence of effective correctional mechanisms and monitoring.

Extrajudicial killings are no mark of a civilized society

The scourge of extrajudicial killings has become commonplace in South Asia. (Photo supplied)

A group of rights activists defied the scorching sun on Aug. 3 and took to a busy street in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka to stage a silent protest, holding placards to demand an end to the reign of extrajudicial killings in the country.

“Is Bangladesh a crossfire state?” read one placard.

“Crossfire” is a common euphemism for extrajudicial killings by law enforcers in Bangladesh. Other terms including "encounter," "gunfight" and "fire-in-self-defense" have a similar meaning.

The activists were enraged over the latest and one of the most talked about extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh in recent times.

On July 31, a police officer shot dead Sinha Mohammad Rashed Khan in Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar district. Khan, 36, was a retired army major who once served as an officer of the Special Security Force that provides protection to top government officials including the prime minister and foreign dignitaries. 

Police said the firing was in self-defense as Sinha pointed his gun when police sought a routine inspection of his vehicle and asked him to come out at a checkpoint. Police also allegedly found drugs in the car including 50 pieces of yaba (methamphetamine), a drug produced in Myanmar.

On numerous occasions, law enforcement agencies have presented similar stories of firing in self-defense and possession of drugs after crossfire deaths. It is a too common story in Teknaf, a beautiful coastal area just across from Myanmar and close to Rohingya camps sheltering over one million refugees.

Remembering a shepherd who smelled the sheep

A nun greets Archbishop Moses Montu Costa, CSC on his 22nd Episcopal Ordination anniversary in 2018 (Photo: Chittagong Catholic Archdiocese)

About three weeks after Holy Cross Archbishop Moses Montu Costa’s sudden and shocking demise, Bangladeshi Catholics at home and abroad continue to remember him online and offline every day by posting his photos, prayers for eternal rest and sharing memories.

After apparently recovering from Covid-19, he died from a brain hemorrhage caused by multiples strokes on July 13 at the age of 70.

Head of Chittagong Archdiocese, the cradle of Catholicism in Bangladesh, from 2011 until his death, Archbishop Costa earlier served as the bishop of predominantly indigenous Dinajpur Diocese from 1996 to 2011.

As secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB) for more than a decade, he also served as chairman of the episcopal commissions for liturgy and prayer, youth, seminary and healthcare.

The prelate was a strong candidate for the post of archbishop of Dhaka in the nation’s capital to succeed Archbishop Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario, who is set to retire in October.

His death is indeed an irreparable loss, not only for Chittagong but also for the whole Bangladesh Church.     

It is common for minority Christians in South Asian countries to revere their bishops and archbishops as demigods.

Archbishop Costa won the hearts of many thanks to his extraordinary life and work in the services of the people of God for about four decades (including 24 years as a bishop) in various roles — a pastor in parishes, a director of future priests and teaching psychology and pastoral theology in the major seminary, and then as the head of Dinajpur and Chittagong dioceses.

He was able to overcome his human follies with great love for people as a model of a good pastor and church leader, very much in line with Pope Francis’ version of “a shepherd who smells the sheep.”