Saturday, December 12, 2020

"Child 'Auschwitz' in Pleven: In the 'Mother and Child' home — the stench of urine and 16-year-olds weighing 16 kilos", news article in Posrednik News, from April 6, 2012

Source:

"Детски „Освиенцим” в Плевен: В дом Майка и дете - воня на урина и 16-годишни по 16 кг", article by Veselina Kirilova, dated 6 April 2012, Посредник (Posrednik)



Above: A series of irregularities were found behind the doors of the Medical and Social Care Home.


Above: Employees of the Home show Minister Atanasova the schedule for the weekly menu.


Above: At first glance, everything is normal in the kitchen.

(photos courtesy of Radoslav Hristov)

The article:

Детски „Освиенцим” в Плевен: В дом Майка и дете - воня на урина и 16-годишни по 16 кг
Написано от Веселина Кирилова
Петък, 06 Април 2012

В Дома за медико-социални грижи в Плевен, популярен като „Дом майка и дете” 16-годишни деца тежат 16 кг. Това стана ясно от внезапната проверка в петък на министъра на здравеопазването Десислава Атанасова, назначена от самата нея, по сигнали на неправителствени организации. Здравният министър беше в града по хубав повод - дипломирането на 72 абсолвенти от Факултета по “Обществено здраве” към Медицински университет - Плевен. По средата на церемонията започна да се носи слух, че след събитието ще се прави някаква проверка, но каква точно и къде, никой не можеше да каже. Всички се втурнахме след министърката, а дестинацията стана ясна в движение. Разбрахме още, че дори в Регионалната здравна инспекция - Плевен, в лицето на директора й - Атанас Гарев, не са знаели за тази проверка. Когато пристигнахме огледът на здравния министър и зам.- министър Десислава Димитрова вече беше започнал. Над 2 часа чакахме отговори. Накрая делегацията се появи, а Десислава Атанасова с ясен жест, без думи изрази заключенията си, а именно, че ситуацията там е под всякакво ниво. Г-жа Атанасова заяви, че с нейна заповед е била назначена друга проверка, която вече е приключила, но резултатите от нея още не са окончателни.

Персоналът в заведението наброява 174 души, а децата са 152, което според здравния министър предполага много по-адекватна грижа. „В отделенията на дома видях деца, които са на 16 години, а тежат 16 кг, това е нечовешко”, заяви г-жа Атанасова. Тя продължи с това, че се е сблъскала с още по-ужасни неща, като това, че 10 годишни деца тежат 5-6 кг.

Според думите на здравния министър персоналът на заведението е знаел за проверката, тъй като чаршафите са били чисти и децата са носели памперси. Защото след като делегатите са слезли в пералното помещение са установили, че там има чаршафи, които са мръсни от урината на децата. А това говори, че персоналът не поставя памперси, въпреки твърденията, че го правят, обясни г-жа Атанасова. Освен това стана ясно, че в складовете се намирало дарение, което счетоводителят на заведението не е знаел от кого е и какво точно е то.

Здравният министър каза, че до 1 седмица ще има окончателен доклад и ще предприеме незабавни мерки, а междувременно е обявен конкурс за директор на дома, тъй като предходният такъв е уволнен миналата година. Мерките ще бъдат дисциплинарни, особено за хората, които носят материална отговорност, заяви министър Атанасова.

Повечето от децата, които са в Дома, са с увреждания, но има и такива, които са здрави. В момента те са били с чисти дрехи и чаршафи, но цялата сграда мирише на урина, каза още Десислава Атанасова. Персоналът твърдял, че стъклените шишета, които здравния министър е видяла, са само за вода, но според нея това не е вярно. От предварителният доклад на проверката става ясно, че децата се хранят максимум по 5 минути. Трите хранения се смесват в шишето, което е с биберон и така се поднасят на децата, без значение на колко години са те. Здравният министър е установил, че деца, които са на 3 години не могат да ползват самостоятелно до тоалетна, не могат да ходят и да говорят.

Как е изтекла информацията не става ясно. Не става ясно и защо 16-годишни деца се намират в Дома, който, както е добре известно, е със статут за деца до 3-годишна възраст. Проверката по случая продължава.

Затъмнението ни се изясни

Екипът на „Посредник” някак не е изненадан от разкритията, направени от здравния министър в Дома за медико-социални грижи. Защо ли?

Защото преди повече от месец - на 22 февруари, ви разказахме за опитите на екип на „Последник” да влезе в Дома („Пълно затъмнение над Дом „Майка и дете”, бр./ 2012). Не просто от любопитство, а за да научим на място какво се случва там. Причината - през септември миналата година дългогодишната директорка на Дома Иржина Костова беше дисциплинарно уволнена след проверка на Държавната агенция за закрила на детето. Проверяващите тогава са констатирали редица нарушения - неглижиране, неадекватни грижи за децата с увреждания, непредприемане на навременни действия за прециризиране на диагнозите им, което увеличава риска за здравето и живота на децата.

Ето заради тези констатации и дисциплинарното уволнение на Костова поискахме среща с вр.и.д. директора Анелия Цанкова. През февруари. За да установим, че не можем да влезем в Дома и не г-жа Цанкова категорично не желае да разговаря с екипа ни. Разговорът с Цанкова и посещение на екип на „Посредник” в Дом „Майка и дете” не бяха осъществени и след публикацията - в сградата стигахме само до... охраната, а при опитите за телефонна връзка с вр.и.д. директорката чувахме многократно едно и също: „Няма да ви кажа нищо.”

Е, сега вече сме наясно за мотивите на ръководството на Дом „Майка и дете” информацията за това как се отглеждат децата там да е строго пазена тайна.

English translation:

Child "Auschwitz" in Pleven: In the "Mother and Child" home — the stench of urine and 16-year-olds weighing 16 kilos
Written by Veselina Kirilova
Friday, April 6, 2012

At the Medical and Social Care Home in Pleven, popularly known as the "Mother and Child" Home, 16-year-old children weigh 16 kilos. This became clear from the sudden inspection on Friday of the Minister of Health Desislava Atanasova, appointed by her, on signals from non-governmental organizations. The Minister of Health was in the city on a good occasion — the graduation of 72 graduates from the Faculty of Public Health at the Medical University of Pleven. In the middle of the ceremony, there was a rumour that some kind of inspection would be carried out after the event, but no one could say exactly what and where. We all rushed after the minister, and the destination became clear on the move. We also learned that even the Regional Health Inspectorate of Pleven, in the person of its director, Atanas Garev, did not know about this inspection. When we arrived, the inspection of the Minister of Health and Deputy, Minister Desislava Dimitrova, had already begun. We waited for answers for over 2 hours. Finally, the delegation appeared, and Desislava Atanasova, with a clear gesture, without words, expressed her conclusions, namely that the situation there is below any level. Ms. Atanasova said that another inspection had been ordered by her, which had already been completed, but the results were not yet final.

The staff of the institution numbers 174 people and the children 152, which, according to the Minister of Health, implies much more adequate care. "In the wards of the home I saw children who are 16 years old and weigh 16 kilos, this is inhuman," said Ms. Atanasova. She went on to say that she had encountered even more terrible things, such as the fact that 10-year-old children weighed 5-6 kilos.

According to the Minister of Health, the staff of the institution knew about the inspection because the bedsheets were clean and the children were wearing diapers. Because after the delegates went down to the laundry room, they found that there were sheets that were dirty from the children's urine. And this means that the staff does not put diapers on [the children], despite the allegations that they do, explained Ms. Atanasova. In addition, it became clear that there was a donation in the warehouses, which the accountant of the establishment did not know who it was from and what exactly it was.

The health minister said she would have a final report and take immediate action within a week, and in the meantime a competition has been announced for the director of the home, as the previous one was fired last year. The measures will be disciplinary, especially for the people who bear material responsibility, said Minister Atanasova.

Most of the children who are in the Home are disabled, but there are also those who are healthy. At the moment they were in clean clothes and bedsheets, but the whole building smells of urine, said Desislava Atanasova. The staff claimed that the glass bottles that the Minister of Health saw were only for water, but according to her this was not true. From the preliminary report of the inspection it is clear that the children are fed for a maximum of 5 minutes. The three meals are mixed in the bottle, which is with a pacifier and served to children in that way, no matter how old they are. The Minister of Health has established that children who are 3 years old cannot use the toilet on their own, cannot walk and talk.

It is not clear how the information leaked. It is also not clear why 16-year-olds are in the Home, which is well known to have the status of having children up to 3 years old. The investigation into the case continues.

Our eclipse cleared

The team from "Posrednik" is somehow not surprised by the revelations made by the Minister of Health at the Medical and Social Care Home. Why?

Because more than a month ago — on February 22, we told you about the attempts of a team from "Posrednik" to enter the Home ("Complete eclipse over the Home 'Mother and Child'", issue / 2012). Not just out of curiosity, but to learn on the spot what's going on there. The reason — in September last year, the longtime director of the Home, Irzhina Kostova, was disciplinarily fired after an inspection by the State Agency for Child Protection. The inspectors then found a number of violations — neglect, inadequate care for children with disabilities, failure to take timely action to clarify their diagnoses, which increases the risk to children's health and lives.

It is because of these findings and the disciplinary dismissal of Kostova that we requested a meeting with the acting Director Anelia Tsankova. In February. To find out that we can't enter the Home and Ms. Tsankova definitely doesn't want to talk to our team. The conversation with Tsankova and a visit of a team from "Posrednik" in the "Mother and Child" Home were not carried out after the publication — in the building we only reached... the security, and in the attempts for telephone communication with the acting Director, we have heard the same thing many times: "I will not tell you anything."

Well, now we are aware of the motives of the management of the "Mother and Child" Home, the information about how the children are raised there is a strictly kept secret.

"The girl out of the cage — The nightmare of KEPEP Lechaina is over", news article in Patris News, from January 23, 2019

Source:

Το κορίτσι έξω από το κλουβί — Τελειώνει ο εφιάλτης του ΚΕΠΕΠ Λεχαινών, article in Patris News, dated 23 January 2019




(The unnamed 18 year old girl exploring her new room. Photos courtesy of Ethnos newspaper)

The article:

Το κορίτσι έξω από το κλουβί — Τελειώνει ο εφιάλτης του ΚΕΠΕΠ Λεχαινών
23 Ιανουαρίου 2019

Αίσιο τέλος είχε η ιστορία του 18 χρονου τυφλού κοριτσιού που από τα επτά του χρόνια, ζούσε σε κλουβί στο Κέντρο Περίθαλψης Παιδιών με αναπηρία στα Λεχαινά Ηλείας, και η οποία είχε προκαλέσει τις έντονες αντιδράσεις της κοινής γνώμης του περασμένου Νοεμβρίου. Εδώ και λίγες μέρες η 18 χρονη σήμερα κοπέλα ζει σε ένα δωμάτιο που κατασκευάστηκε ειδικά για εκείνη, με παράθυρο και τοίχους καλυμμένους με μαλακό υλικό ώστε να μην κάνει κακό στον εαυτό της.

Όπως επισημαίνεται σε δημοσίευμα της εφημερίδας «Έθνος», η ίδια δείχνει πιο ήρεμη, ενώ πού και πού ξεστομίζει κάποιες λέξεις. Το ίδιο συµβαίνει πλέον και µε τους άλλους 5 πρώην έγκλειστους σε κλουβιά, που ζούσαν υπό συνθήκες βασανισµού στο ΚΕΠΕΠ Λεχαινών, το κολαστήριο των εγκαταλειµµένων.

Με τη µεταφορά τους σε δωµάτια µειώθηκαν οι αυτοτραυµατισµοί και οι άνθρωποι δείχνουν πιο ήρεµοι. Μετά τη δημοσιοποίηση της υπόθεσης τον περασμένο Νοέμβριο, το κράτος κινητοποιήθηκε µε ταχύτητα, ενώ ταυτόχρονα η οµάδα παρέµβασης του Ινστιτούτου Υγείας του Παιδιού (που µε χρηµατοδότηση της ΜΚΟ Lumos έχει ιδρύσει η Βρετανίδα συγγραφέας του Χάρι Πότερ Τζ.Κ. Ρόουλινγκ), η οποία είχε αναλάβει το δύσκολο έργο να βγάλει από τα κλουβιά τους τελευταίους έγκλειστους (τους είχαν εκεί για να µην αυτοτραυµατιστούν), κατόρθωσε να αποκαθηλώσει όλους τους ασθενείς.

Επιπλέον, µέσα στο ΚΕΠΕΠ Λεχαινών δηµιουργήθηκαν σε σύντοµο χρονικό διάστηµα τρία ειδικά δωµάτια (soft rooms) για τη φιλοξενία τέτοιων περιπτώσεων, ώστε κανείς να µην κλείνεται πια σε κλουβί. Στις 10 Δεκεµβρίου δηµοσιεύτηκε ΦΕΚ µε κοινή απόφαση των υπουργών Έφης Αχτσιόγλου και Μαριλίζας Ξενογιαννακοπούλου για την πρόσληψη 15 ατόµων διαφόρων ειδικοτήτων στο ΚΕΠΕΠ Λεχαινών, οι οποίοι θα συνεχίσουν το έργο της οµάδας παρέµβασης, και 8 ακόµα για το Κέντρο Κοινωνικής Πρόνοιας Αττικής.

Επίσης, µε υπογραφές των αναπληρωτών υπουργών Θεανώς Φωτίου και Γιώργου Χουλιαράκη, δηµοσιεύτηκε στις 12 ∆εκεµβρίου και η απόφαση για την έναρξη της αποϊδρυµατοποίησης, οι προϋποθέσεις ίδρυσης και λειτουργίας «Στεγών Υποστηριζόµενης ∆ιαβίωσης Ατόµων µε Αναπηρίες», τις οποίες θα µπορούν να δηµιουργούν φυσικά ή νοµικά πρόσωπα δηµοσίου ή ιδιωτικού δικαίου.

Σύμφωνα πάντα με το δημοσίευμα, όταν δηµιουργηθούν οι Στέγες, θα βρουν καταφύγιο έξω από τα σηµερινά άσυλα άτοµα µε αναπηρία που διαθέτουν υψηλό, µέσο ή χαµηλό βαθµό αυτονοµίας, ηλικίας άνω των 18 ετών. Δυστυχώς για τα ανήλικα παιδιά µε αναπηρία δεν έχει ακόµα προβλεφθεί ανάλογη δοµή, µε αποτέλεσµα οι άνθρωποι που ασχολούνται µε το ζήτηµα να εκφράζουν επιφυλάξεις. (αποκλειστικές φωτογραφίες από το Εθνος)

English translation (bad, I don't know Greek):

The girl out of the cage — The nightmare of KEPEP Lechaina is over
January 23, 2019

The story of the 18-year-old blind girl who, from the age of seven, lived in a cage at the Center for the Care of Children with Disabilities in Lechaina, Ilia, had a happy ending, and which had provoked strong reactions from the public last November. For a few days now, the 18-year-old girl has been living in a room built specially for her, with a window and walls covered with soft material so that she does not hurt herself.

As it is pointed out in an article in the newspaper "Ethnos", she seems calmer, while here and there she utters a few words. The same now happens with the other 5 former inmates in cages, who lived under conditions of torture in the KEPEP Lechaina, the hell of the abandoned.

With their transfer to rooms, the people's self-injurious behaviours have been reduced and they seem calmer. Following the publication of the case last November, the state mobilized rapidly, while at the same time the intervention institute of the Institute of Child Health (founded with the funding of the NGO Lumos, which was founded by the British author of Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, undertook the difficult task of getting the last inmates out of the cages (they had been put there so that they would not injure themselves), they managed to release all the patients from their suffering.

In addition, three special rooms (soft rooms) were created in a short period of time in the KEPEP Lechaina to accommodate such cases, so that no one would be locked in a cage anymore. On December 10, the Government Gazette was published by a joint decision of Ministers Efi Ahtsioglou and Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou for the recruitment of 15 people of various specialties in the KEPEP Lechaina, who will continue the work of the intervention group, and 8 Communal Centers.

Also, with the signatures of the Deputy Ministers Theanos Fotiou and Giorgos Chouliarakis, the decision for the start of the deinstitutionalisation was published on December 12, the conditions for the establishment and operation of "Shelters of Supported Living for Persons with Disabilities", which can be governed by public or private law.

According to the publication, when the Shelters are created, they will find shelter outside the current asylum people with disabilities who have a high, medium or low degree of autonomy, over the age of 18. Unfortunately, for children with disabilities, a similar structure has not yet been provided, with the result that people involved in the issue have reservations. (exclusive photos from Ethnos)

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

"In a hidden corner of the EU, defenceless children are suffering unimaginable cruelty", news article in Independent, from November 16, 2007

Source:

In a hidden corner of the EU, defenceless children are suffering unimaginable cruelty, article by Dominic Lawson, dated 16 November 2007, Independent


The article:

In a hidden corner of the EU, defenceless children are suffering unimaginable cruelty
By Dominic Lawson
Friday 16 November 2007

Tonight the BBC broadcasts the annual appeal for Children in Need. It's a cause few of us can be unaware of: last year the show raised over £18m for British children in a single evening. This Sunday, however, BBC2 is to broadcast a programme which reveals children completely forgotten not just by the outside world, but by their own country, where they have been systematically neglected and fatally malnourished. This country is not in Africa. It is in the European Union, allegedly the most civilised body of nations that has ever existed.

Bulgaria's Abandoned Children is a one-and-a-half-hour long documentary directed by the extraordinary Kate Blewett, who 11 years ago brought the world's attention to some of the horrifying consequences of China's one-child programme with the film The Dying Rooms. Now she has turned her unflinching directorial eye to the treatment of disabled children in Bulgaria, having spent nine months in an institution for such unwanted infants in the remote village of Mogilino.

Kate Blewett tells me that she found this experience even more distressing than what she witnessed in China. Having watched her film, I can understand why. We see the children effectively incarcerated, locked up and left alone at night. There is a playground outside, but it is unused, full of rust and weeds. The inmates are fed disgusting, colourless slop, unrecognisable as food. As a result, those least able to fend for themselves are emaciated to such an extent that they resemble skeletons more than humans. Before they die, their bones begin to break.

Kate Blewett films one child, Vasky, visibly wasting away, whose leg is clearly broken: she is screaming in agony. A member of staff treats this by rubbing powder into the disfigured leg, which only causes Vasky to howl even louder. “Can't you see her leg is broken?" Blewett tells the white-coated “nurse”, through a translator. “It's her disease”, says the unmoved assistant. In fact Vasky entered Mogilino with only one thing the matter with her: she was born blind.

That is true of a large number of the 75 children in Mogilino. Many of them were not severely disabled when they entered the institution, but, completely starved of any form of stimulation, let alone education, they have become profoundly disturbed — with the inevitable result that some of the stronger children begin to attack the weaker ones.

Perhaps the most affecting case is that of Didi, an almost beautiful teenage girl who has been abandoned by her mother. When we first encounter Didi, she presents as someone on the mild end of the autistic spectrum. She protests that she does not belong in a place like Mogilino. We see her writing endless letters to her mother, asking to be let back home. The letters are never delivered. The staff know that the mother does not want to deal with Didi ever again — and indeed, she chose Mogilino because it was the institution furthest from her own home. By the end of the film the formerly articulate and bright-eyed Didi spends her days rocking backwards and forwards, silently, like most of the other children — those, that is, who are not tied down “to protect themselves.”

You might wonder why the institution was content to let Kate Blewett in with her film crew, given the terrible sights which lay in store. As she says: “Most of the staff were fairly welcoming, and showed no shame for the way the children's bodies and limbs were wasting away. It was as if all was fine. This was something I witnessed in China when making The Dying Rooms — the staff were not embarrassed to let us film dying children, as it seemed the norm.”

The Director of Mogilino, admittedly, does come across as a cold and selfish character: when finally confronted by Blewett, she complains that none of it is her fault: the staff, she complains, “have let me down.” While it is true that the evident plumpness of all the nursing assistants somehow seems disgusting when set against the malnutrition of the children — presumably that's how the food budget gets allocated — they do not seem to be cruel people. Like guards in a concentration camp, they probably go back to their own children at the end of the working day and treat them with love and kindness. They have convinced themselves that the disabled children in the institution are somehow not human at all.

Perhaps the same could have been said of many such institutions in this country 100 years ago — or perhaps more recently than that; and, just as used to be the case here, when children are born with disabilities in Bulgaria the parents are invariably told they would be best advised to abandon their new-born — to forget about them, in fact. That, presumably, is why Bulgaria has more children in such institutions than any other country in Europe.

The Bulgarian government has reacted to Kate Blewett's investigation in the way you might expect — with a mixture of denial and fury: which is to say, shame. One of its functionaries, Christo Monev, declared that “the film was made because of the policy of the British Government who are against Bulgarian immigrants”. Mr. Monev went on to say that he could make a film about the English showing “drunken men and nymphomaniac women”. He concluded that “Bulgaria does not need English nannies to come and tell us what to do”.

Underneath this bluster we can sense the deep embarrassment of the Bulgarian government. They were understandably very proud of the fact that this year their country became a full member of the EU, nothing less than a formal acknowledgement that they had joined the elite of European nations. Britons are flooding into Bulgaria, spending lavishly on skiing trips and holiday homes. Kate Blewett's film — a glimpse of something altogether darker — was not in this script at all.

What does the European Commission think of all this? In response to a complaint about Bulgaria prompted by Kate Blewett, the head of its Health and Consumer Protection Directorate spoke out, as follows: “It is hoped that an EU patient safety network will be established in 2008, to take forward work to reduce unsafe care in response to patient safety issues common to all Member States.” This classic piece of EU-speak was doubtless informed by the official Bulgarian government response: “The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Bulgarian Child Protection Act guarantee the compliance of institutions with the requirements to observe the rights of children and regulate the state commitment to guarantee the children's ultimate interests, inclusive of delivering high quality care.”

I have never heard a better example of Orwell's observation that “political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.”

“Bulgaria's Abandoned Children” is at 10pm on Sunday on BBC2.

"Documentary Exposes Horrors of Bulgarian Children's Home", news article in Balkan Insight, from September 14, 2007

Source:

Documentary Exposes Horrors of Bulgarian Children's Home, dated 14 September 2007, Balkan Insight


The article:

Documentary Exposes Horrors of Bulgarian Children's Home
BIRN
September 14, 2007

London — The British media gave extensive coverage on Friday to a ground-breaking BBC 4 documentary on the appalling conditions in an institution for deaf or blind children in Bulgaria.

Shock was the overwhelming response from newspapers and public alike at the desperate conditions and institutionalised cruelty shown to vulnerable and in some cases desperately ill children by staff and management at Mogilino in northern Bulgaria.

The programme, “Bulgaria's Abandoned Children”, by Kate Blewett, well known for the programme “The Dying Rooms” about orphanages in China and for exposing similar conditions in Romanian orphanages in the early 1990s, followed events at Mogilino for nine months.

During the programme, children were shown wasting away over a period of months from malnutrition and being left on beds in exquisite pain with broken limbs. Evidence of the routine physical abuse of at least two children by one staff member, subsequently removed, was uncovered.

Photographic evidence of the often relatively healthy state of the children when they arrived, and their massive deterioration under the “care” of the Bulgarian nurses, was provided.

At the end of the programme, at least two of the children tracked over the period of filming appeared close to death, mainly as a result of neglect. The institution's director, however, was shown praising her work and blaming any problems at the institution on negligent staff.

In a written reply, also shown at the end of the programme, the Bulgarian government rebutted all the programme-makers' claims concerning the ill-treatment of children in institutions in Bulgaria.

The programme was “90 minutes of undiluted horror”, Britain's Daily Telegraph remarked. “Anyone familiar with the Romanian orphanage scandals of the early Nineties will have stared in shocked disbelief that nearly 20 years on precisely the same pattern of appalling cruelty and neglect is being repeated in another former Communist state. The chief difference is that Bulgaria is already a member of the European Union.”

"Greece's Horrifying Conditions at Children's Care Center", article in Greek Reporter, from February 17, 2011

Source:

Greece's Horrifying Conditions at Children's Care Center, article by Polina Dimea, dated 17 February 2011, Greek Reporter


The article:

Greece's Horrifying Conditions at Children's Care Center
By Polina Dimea - Feb 17, 2011

For more than twenty years young children and teenagers have been tortured, abused and died in the “hell” of Child Care Center (KEPEP) in Lechaina, Peleponnese.

Innocent lives spend their dull days tied up at their beds. Some are enclosed in real wooden cages equipped just with a mattress. Children with physical or mental problems just eat and vegetate. A report by a British physiotherapist, who offered voluntary work from July to December 2009, unveiled the drama of the children and the Middles [sic] Ages conditions.

Those children are forgotten by the social services and even their parents. Some of the children are autistic or have impaired vision. However, there are some that are aware and can well understand. When forced to live in these conditions, they often hit their heads against the wall or uproot their hair (an indication of serious psychological trauma in children).

The rooms have no colours, toys and incentives for improvement and creativity. “Every day the caretakers change the diapers of all children without any privacy. Also showers, 3 times per week, take place collectively." No respect is shown to their fundamental rights; their private and social life is absolutely “shipwrecked”.

Furthermore, she points out the unwillingness and indifference of caretakers and medical experts to offer their help, the absence of financial means, physiologist and psychologist therapies in order to provide these children with even a minimum quality of life.

Last but not least, the psychotherapist wonders how it is possible for children with such problems to live in inhuman conditions in a European country at the dawn of the 21st century. They are human beings with needs and wishes.

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

"18 children from the home in Pleven died in a year and a half", news article in BTV News from April 19, 2012

Source:

18 деца от дома в Плевен починали за година и половина, dated 19 April 2012, BTV Новините (BTV Novinite)


The article:

18 деца от дома в Плевен починали за година и половина
Прокуратурата се е заела с резултатите на здравното министе[р]ство
19. 04. 2012 г.

Осемнадесет деца от дома за медико-социални грижи в Плевен са починали за година и половина, обяви министърът на здравеопазването Десислава Атанасова, която представи резултатите от внезапно проверка в дома на 6 април.

Открити са груби нарушения - в грамажа на даваната на децата храна, в съхранението на хранителни продукти - в едно помещение с белина и архивни документи.

По-малки порции, липса в менюто на мляко, сирене и кашкавал, всеки ден и риба веднъж седмично, са засекли още инспекторите.

„Самото меню в лечебното заведение не е съобразено със здравословните проблеми на децата, предлаганата храна не е разнообразна и пълноценна. Подкрепителната закуска, която би следвало да бъде в 10 ч. и би следвало да бъде само от пресни плодове се замества много често със захарни изделия или с крем нишесте", каза ръководителят на Инспектората на Министерството на здравеопазването.

В дома живеят 150 деца, за които се грижат 172 служители. Според проверяващите, за децата не са били полагани адекватни грижи. 60 от тях са с увреждания и точно при тях положението е най-тежко.

„Смесвали са се храни, както са потвърдили и от самите работещи. Първо, второ и трето от обедното меню и второ и трето от вечерното са давани на децата в шишета. Никаква грижа са изграждане на навици в самостоятелно хранене или хранене от страна на персонала с лъжица на тези деца", каза министър Атанасова.

Положението с даренията е още по-интересно. Оказало се, че децата са получили благотворително калмари и рибни филета, кафе-автомат, както и много играчки, които всъщност не са стигали до тях.

В същото време продукти и дарени предмети, за които имало документи, че са използвани стояли прибрани в канцелария на двама от служителите в дома.

Констатациите ще бъдат представени в Държавната финансова инспекция и в Главна инспекция по труда. Окръжна прокуратура в Плевен също се е заела с данните от проверката.

В края на миналата година директорката на дома е уволнена, но се оказва, че няколко дни по-късно тя кандидатства отново за работа и е назначена на друга длъжност. Според инспекторите, реално тя е продължила да управлява институцията.

Няма да бъдат настанявани още деца в този дом, каза Атанасова. Различни болници ще се заемат с лечението на повечето от децата, живеещи там в момента Министърът обеща проверки и в другите домове за медико-социални грижи за деца в страната.

Инспекцията дойде след изненадващата й проверка в дома, при която стана ясно, че има деца, които страдат от недохранване. 16-годишни младежи тежат едва 16 кг.

Проверката констатира и липса на пълна документация за даренията, които получава социалното заведение. Обект на проверката стана и хигиената в дома. Тогава ръководството на дома не се съгласи с обвиненията, че децата са недохранени или хигиената не отговаря на нормите.

Главният лекар на социалната институция обясни, че заболяванията на 16-годишните деца са причина за малкото им килограми и ниския ръст, а не се дължали на недохранване.

English translation:

18 children from the home in Pleven died in a year and a half
The prosecutor's office has dealt with the results of the Ministry of Health
April 19, 2012

Eighteen children from the medical and social care home in Pleven have died in a year and a half, announced the Minister of Health Desislava Atanasova, who presented the results of a sudden inspection at the home on April 6.

Gross violations were found — in the weight of the food given to the children, in the storage of food products — in a room with bleach and archival documents.

Smaller portions, lack of milk, cheese and kashkaval in the menu, every day and fish once a week, were also detected by inspectors.

"The menu itself in the medical institution is not consistent with the health problems of the children, the food offered is not varied and complete. The snack, which should be at 10 a.m. and should be only fresh fruit, is often replaced by confectionery or starch cream," said the head of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Health.

There are 150 children living in the home, who are cared for by 172 employees. According to the inspectors, the children were not adequately cared for. 60 of them have disabilities and the situation is the worst in them.

"Food was mixed, as confirmed by the workers themselves. First, a second and third of the lunch menu and second and a third of the evening menu are given to the children in bottles. No care [is given] for building habits in self-feeding or eating with a spoon by the staff for these children," said Minister Atanasova.

The situation with donations is even more interesting. It turned out that the children received charity calamari and fish filets, a coffee machine, as well as many toys that did not actually reach them.

At the same time, products and donated items for which there were documents that were used were stored in the office of two of the employees in the home.

The findings will be presented to the State Financial Inspectorate and the General Labor Inspectorate. The Pleven District Prosecutor's Office also dealt with the data from the inspection.

At the end of last year, the director of the home was fired, but it turned out that a few days later she applied for a job again and was appointed to another position. According to the inspectors, she actually continued to run the institution.

No more children will be accommodated in this home, Atanasova said. Various hospitals will deal with the treatment of most of the children currently living there. The minister promised inspections in other homes for medical and social care for children in the country.

The inspection came after her surprise home inspection, which revealed that there were children suffering from malnutrition. 16-year-olds weigh only 16 kg.

The inspection also found a lack of complete documentation for the donations received by the social institution. The subject of the inspection was also the hygiene in the home. Then the management of the home did not agree with the accusations that the children were malnourished or that the hygiene did not meet the norms.

The chief doctor of the social institution explained that the diseases of 16-year-old children were the reason for their low weight and short stature, and were not due to malnutrition.

"New home for the children from Kulina", news article in РТС/RTS (Radio Television Serbia) from October 9, 2012

Source:

Novi dom za decu iz Kuline, article by Suzana Duka, dated 9 October 2012, РТС/RTS (Radio Televizija Srbije)


The article:

Novi dom za decu iz Kuline
Utorak, 09. okt. 2012.

Mališani iz doma u Kulini kod Aleksinca izmešteni u hraniteljske porodice i dečje domove. U Kulini ostaju samo odrasli. O premeštenoj deci vodiće se danonoćna briga i sa svakim od njih radiće se individualno.

Do kraja godine, u domu u Kulini kod Aleksinca, gde su krov nad glavom delili zajedno odrasli i deca sa najtežim smetnjama u razvoju, više neće biti nijednog deteta. Mališani su izmešteni u hraniteljske porodice ili u dečije domove, a u renoviranom domu ostaće samo odrasli.

Kampanja "Zovem se Anđela", ne samo da je šokirala javnost 2001. godine, već je i naterala nadležne da reše problem boravka dece sa smetnjama u razvoju ne samo u Kulini već i u drugim ustanovama tog tipa u Srbiji.

Deo mališana, koji su godinama živeli su u domu u Kulini, daleko od očiju javnosti, sada su u beogradskom domu u Zvečanskoj 7. Bolji uslovi života i danonoćna briga i nega stručnjaka daju rezultate.

"Rad sa njima organizovali smo kao i rad sa svom drugom decom, s tim što smo insistirali da što veći broj odraslih bude uključen u podršku deci, kako bismo dostigli optimalni cilj. To je individualni pristup uz puno uvažavanje specifičnosti svakog pojedinačanog deteta", kaže Mila Vuković Jovanović iz Radne jedinica za smeštaj uz intenzivnu podršku deci.

Iz Kuline je u Zvečansku stiglo pedesetak mališana sa najtežom smetnjama u razvoju. Ustanova, koja je do tada bila dom za decu bez roditeljskog staranja od rođenja do tri godine života, morala je da se prilagodi novonastalim okolnostima.

"Ovde su sad ušla deca i adolescenti koji imaju probleme i značajno izražene smetnje, drugačije potrebe, tako da je bilo potrebno pripremiti sve one uslove koji su neophodni da možemo da tretiramo sve probleme koje ta deca sa sobom nose", kaže Zoran Milačić, direktor Centra za zaštitu odojčadi, dece i omladine u Zvečanskoj 7.

U ustanovama socijalne zaštite ima još 390 dece sa smetnjama u razvoju. U nekim od tih ustanova, kažu u resornom ministarstvu, još ima problema.

Državna sekretarka u Ministarstvu rada i socijalne politike Brankica Janković objašanjava da u narednom periodu treba uraditi više na poboljšanju uslova.

"U pojedinim ustanovama stanje u kojima korisnici borave, odnosno deca, nije na zadovoljavajućem nivou. To se posebno odnosi na dom u Vetreniku i u Stavnici i u centru za autizam. U Beogradu planiramo da u dogovoru sa lokalnom samoupravom radimo na poboljšanju uslova", kaže Brankica Janković.

Judita Rajhenberg iz UNICEF-a napominje da će u narednom periodu prioritet biti jačanje kapaciteta zaposlenih, obuka zaposleni, ulaganja u opremu.

Ono o čemu se posvećivalo manje pažnje je saradnja sa nadležnim ministrastvima, kaže Judita Rajhenberg i smatra da treba više podrške da bi se postojeći planovi, koji su odlični, ostvarili.

"Mislim da je put zacrtan, dobar, ima ciljeve, nema skretanja i ne smemo sad posustati i treba napred i sa intenzitetom i kad dođu kritike, one nam mogu dati poriv, poticaj da ne zaboravimo da nismo završili posao", kaže Rajhenbergova.

Po izlasku iz domova za decu sa smetnjama u razvoju, neka deca nastavljaju život u malim domskim zajednicama, kakve trenutno postoje u Nišu, Aleksincu i Negotinu. Još dve domske zajednice uskoro se osnivaju u Beogradu i u Banji Koviljači. Cilj je da žive u uslovima najsličnijim porodici, uz podršku stručnjaka i da se kroz školovanje uključe u život zajednice.

English translation:

New home for the children from Kulina
Tuesday, 9 October 2012.

The children from the home in Kulina near Aleksinac were moved to foster families and children's homes. Only adults remain in Kulina. The transferred children will be taken care of day and night, and each of them will be treated individually.

By the end of the year, there will be no more children in the home in Kulina near Aleksinac, where adults and children with the most severe developmental disabilities shared the roof over their heads. The children have been moved to foster families or children's homes, and only adults will remain in the renovated home.

The campaign "My Name is Angela" not only shocked the public in 2001, but also forced the authorities to solve the problem of the stay of children with disabilities not only in Kulina but also in other institutions of that type in Serbia.

Some of the children, who lived for years at the home in Kulina, far from the public eye, are now in a Belgrade home in Zvečanska 7. Better living conditions and day and night care and care of experts give results.

"We organized work with them as well as work with our other children, insisting that as many adults as possible be involved in supporting children, in order to achieve the optimal goal. It is an individual approach with full respect for the specifics of each individual child," says Mila Vuković Jovanović from the Working Unit for Accommodation with Intensive Support for Children.

About fifty children with the most severe developmental disabilities arrived in Zvečanska from Kulina. The institution, which until then had been a home for children without parental care from birth to three years of age, had to adapt to the new circumstances.

"Children and adolescents who have problems and significantly expressed disabilities, different needs, have now entered here, so it was necessary to prepare all the conditions that are necessary so that we can treat all the problems that these children bring with them," says Zoran Milačić, director of the Center for the Protection of Infants, Children and Youth in Zvečanska 7.

There are another 390 children with disabilities in social protection institutions. In some of those institutions, they say in the relevant ministry, there are still problems.

State Secretary in the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, Brankica Janković, explains that more needs to be done in the coming period to improve conditions.

"In some institutions, the situation in which the users stay, i.e. children, is not at a satisfactory level. This especially refers to the home in Vetrenik and Stavnica and in the autism center. In Belgrade we plan to work on improving conditions in agreement with the local government," says Brankica Janković.

Judith Reichenberg from UNICEF notes that in the coming period, the priority will be to strengthen the capacity of employees, train employees, and invest in equipment.

What has received less attention is the cooperation with the competent ministries, says Judith Reichenberg, and she believes that more support is needed in order for the existing plans, which are excellent, to be realised.

"I think the road is planned, good, there are goals, there are no turns and we must not give up now and we need to move forward and with intensity and when criticism comes, they can give us an impetus, an incentive not to forget that we have not finished the job," says Reichenberg.

After leaving the homes for children with disabilities, some children continue to live in small home communities, such as currently exist in Niš, Aleksinac and Negotin. Two more home communities will soon be established in Belgrade and in Banja Koviljača. The goal is to live in the conditions most similar to a family, with the support of experts and to get involved in community life through schooling.

"Bulgaria: Orphans Suffer Dire Neglect", article in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty News, November 9, 1997

Source: Bulgaria: Orphans Suffer Dire Neglect , article written by Anthony Georgieff for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty News, 9 November, 1...