Latest update November 8th, 2024 1:00 AM
Teenage girls released!
…Ministry launches Inquiry to investigate Camal Home
By Leon Suseran
The three teenage girls who were arrested and held for several days in the lock- ups at the Albion Police Station after running away from the Camal International Home for Abused Women and Children, were released yesterday.
And this newspaper was informed that Attorney-at-Law, Adrian Anamayah, had filed on behalf of the teenagers aged 12, 14 and 15, who were subsequently released.
Mrs. Carmen Kissoon, Caretaker of the Camal Int’l Home
They are currently being temporarily housed at the Canaan Home at Port Mourant, Corentyne.
In light of the arrest of the teenagers who resided at Camal International Home in Corentyne, Berbice and based upon public allegations of maltreatment of orphans residing at the institution, the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, in a press release yesterday, stated that it has appointed a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate the allegations and to review the operations of the Home in accordance with the Minimum Operating Standards for Children’s Homes and Institutions.
The Commission of Inquiry consists of Mrs. Ayo Dalgetty-Dean – Chairperson; Ms. Saudia Feroze – Member; Mrs. Erma Bovell – Member; Mrs. Joan Ann Edghill – Legal Counsel of the Childcare & Protection Agency and Mrs. Claudia Munroe – Senior Probation and Social Services Officer. Hearings will commence shortly.
The Camal Home currently has 37 children, among them three babies who were abandoned by their parents.
Allegations of maltreatment of children at the orphanage surfaced two days ago after three teenage girls from the home were held in the lock-ups at the Albion Police Station.
Head of the home, Social Worker, Carmen Kissoon, has been managing and caretaking the Camal Home at Kilcoy/Chesney, Corentyne since 1995. This was a project that she and her husband undertook after their remigration from Canada.
Kissoon worked for a number of years at the Ontario Correctional facilities in Toronto where she dealt with a number of prisoners and counseled them.
Human Services Minister, Jennifer Webster, explained that a full investigation will be launched into the reports. She stated that complaints of such nature regarding the orphanage were never brought to the attention of the Ministry.
“I will be writing to the person in charge of the orphanage to let them know that a committee will be sent to conduct a detailed investigation regarding the allegations into this incident.”
The girls were arrested on November 20, 2013 for “wandering” away from the home. They were placed before the courts and sentenced earlier last week to be institutionalized at the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) in Essequibo.
However, residents and concerned citizens have been highly critical of the actions of the law enforcement authorities.
Meanwhile, the Head of the New Jersey Arya Samaj Humanitarian Mission (NJASHM), Pandit Suresh Sugrim, has expressed his disgust about the entire matter.
“As head of a Non- governmental organization, it was so sad to read the newspaper and learn what’s going on with the current situation at the Camal International Home in Guyana. I hope with sense of fairness that the right authority will investigate to the fullest extent.
“Only God and the victims know the truth. As a humanitarian working in Guyana since 2005, I have heard and seen it all at different levels. There are always three sides to a story and I do hope that the investigation will get to the bottom of this matter.”
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