Do her pictures tell a story?

Do her pictures tell a story?
Preetu Nair, TNN


Photo courtesy: Rajtilak Naik

Panaji: We have seen only those scars on her skin,but there might be others deep down, inflicted by pain much more acute.

As she recovers from the torture allegedly inflicted by her employers , the child maid has for the first time in her life laid her hands on books and crayons. Cocooned inside a GMC ward , away from the cruel world she has so far experienced, the ten year old is learning the English alphabet, tutored by the policemen guarding her.

And she is drawing pictures. Neat, bright and colourful pictures. But amidst all the vibrancy might be lurking her worst demon-loneliness.

Most of her pictures are of her are of her house in Gadak, Hubli , surrounded by green fields and a girl standing alone. The minor says she is the girl in her sketches . In some sketches, along with her own name she has written the word 'Audrey' . Audrey Pinto is director of SCAN , an NGO, and has been with the girl since the day she was rescued.

Drawings can be used as a way of understanding more about what a child has gone through, how they view their past, present and future, says psychologists.

"Children express their needs and environment through the pictures they draw. From the pictures she had drawn it appears that she feels lonely. Perhaps after what she has gone through he family probably has no role to play in her environment as she cannot identify with them," said clinical psychologist Dr Mita Majumdar. However, she added that these are presumptions and one can arrive at a final decision only after interacting with the child and seeing her pictures.

Incidentally, the minor doesn't talk much about her family. "She doesn't talk about her mother or siblings. She told us very clearly that she doesn't want to go with her grandparents and mother. She told us that she wants to study," said Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR) member Ezilda Sapeco.

August 1, The Times of India, Goa edition

"I couldn't believe it was the same girl' says man who found the minor

"I couldn't believe it was the same girl' says man who found the minor
Preetu Nair , TNN

PANAJI: When he offered some eatables to a little girl standing outside his shop last Saturday, Umesh Dhavaskar, 49, did not realize he had known
her before or that he was going to be instrumental in saving the girl from an unimaginable horror.

"I just couldn't believe this was the same girl I had known for the last three years. The girl I had known was pretty and chirpy, the one I was seeing now, after a gap of almost six months was sad, thin and without the charm she had," says Dhavaskar, who runs a modest restaurant in Mapusa near the bus stand.

"Last Saturday at about 9 am I saw a small girl standing outside my shop. I thought she was waiting for someone. An hour later, I noticed her again. When I approached her and asked her if she was waiting for someone, she got emotional and said, I am hungry'," recalls Dhavaskar, who then offered her some snacks.

While the girl was eating, an elderly motorcycle pilot Datta Salgaonkar walked into the restaurant and recognised her. "When he told me that this was the same girl who would walk into my restaurant often with her mother, smiling, cheerful and full of life, I was shocked. She looked so different. The girl I knew had thick hair, beautiful features and was healthy. But the girl who sat in front of me was lean, with very short hair and appeared disillusioned with life," said Dhavaskar.

Dhavaskar had no knowledge of the girl's injuries at that time. It was only after the girl spilled her tale of woes to Salgaonkar and his wife that this came to be known. "I was shocked when I heard her story and saw her wounds. I have three young daughters. I just couldn't believe that a human being can treat a child like this," he said.

He added, "I called the police and said, Here is a girl in dismay standing in my shop. If you can help, do help her'." The Mapusa police came within 15 minutes to help the minor, he added.

People in the vicinity knew the child and her mother, who worked as a daily wage worker at construction sites. They allege that the mother was an alcoholic and would often beat the minor. Incidentally, the minor's mother, who couldn't be traced, returned to Goa on Thursday and the police recorded her statement on Thursday.

"The mother said she had come from Gadak to meet her daughter as she was in the hospital. She also said that she was aware that her daughter was working as a domestic help at the Pednekar residence at Porvorim," says Dhavaskar.

1 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition

Goa: No funds from state govt for swine flu

No funds from state govt for swine flu
TNN 1 August 2009

PANAJI: Even as the number of A(H1N1) cases in India touched 475, with about six cases in Goa, the state nodal officer for swine flu Dr Rajendra Tamba has issued a press statement through the director of information appealing to the people not to contact him for information on swine flu, since he has no funds to carry out any activity related to the disease.

The release states, "The expenses so far were made from funds under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) received from the government of India, which are now exhausted. Incidentally, 19 contract staff working under IDSP will be going without their salary this month as their funds were utilised for swine flu activities. No money has been received from the state government despite repeated requests. The amount asked for was Rs 10 lakh."

TOI had a fortnight back reported that Dr Tamba had written to chief minister Digambar Kamat asking to be relieved from the post. He had reportedly alleged in the letter that the state health authorities were not cooperating with him and not doing enough for the quarantined patients. It is reliably learnt that in the letter he had asked for a dedicated ambulance to shift swine flu patients, as a new driver was being exposed to swine flu each time.

The government of India guidelines regarding swine flu state there have to be dedicated doctors, nurses and paramedical workers taking care of the patients. This is required as medical staff dealing with confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu are at a greater risk of catching the infection. In Goa, these have been violated as doctors and nurses who take care of swine flu patients also deal with the other patients in the hospital, besides handling emergencies.

Also there are no separate ambulances for swine flu patients. "There is no money to hire vehicles to send people to collect samples and send them to Delhi for examination," said sources.

So far, a total of 14,439 passengers, 118 of them being international passengers, have been screened at the airport. Another 21 persons who arrived by ship at Mormugao port were also screened.

1 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition