iwanttogoback - We were lucky that her mother was supportive, otherwise we wouldn't have got anywhere I fear.... She's still with us and we'll be looking at getting her into School shortly
- Which is great news... It's also great that we got a two for one offer as her sister returned too.. (who's a couple of years younger)....
priya - I've just written a little bit for the next newsletter on the story of the 2nd girl (included below)... Not quite sue what's going to happen, crossed fingers though.... (This time it's not so easy as the Mother doesn't care....)
Child Bride runs to Children Walking Tall.... (*name changed)
Robert was at "The Mango House" one Sunday afternoon when there was a knock at the door, he went to see who was there and sat in the porch was Rachna, a 14 year old girl that had been married off two years ago when she was only 12 by her family and sent to Marahastra just like the girl in February which we mentioned in our last newsletter.
Rachna was visibly upset and explained briefly that she had run away from her husband and his family who was abusing her. She had taken the 8 hour bus journey from Marahastra to Goa and her heart stopped as one of the family boarded the same bus but thankfully they did not see her at the back covered in her vale.
Robert called Savita who kindly came into work on a Sunday and helped translate. We spoke to Rachna for half an hour and she had a chance to clean up and offered her food, although she explained that they had starved her also so even though she had not eaten for 16 hours she still was not hungry. We tried to call 1098, the childline number but there was no answer, we tried a few more times, one time getting through but then the phone was just put down on us. After that we got in contact with Child Rights Goa who as always were a great help and always willing to put effort in for a child in need. They agreed to meet us (on a Sunday evening) at the Women and Child police station in Panjim to meet and take a statement, unfortunately when we got there there were no inspectors to talk to so we returned the next morning.
Rachna explained to the police that she was forced by both the families to marry the boy and she was being treated badly by her husbands family, she had tried to leave once before we heard but her mother had told her that she can live and die there. Her situation was getting worse as the family was putting more and more pressure onto her as she had not delivered a child yet. She said she was beaten and food withheld from her. Unlike many other young women in similar circumstances she was brave enough to take a stand and ran away and return to "The Mango House" where she had previously come for day care and food.
The police requested that her mother be present for questioning, a police car went tot heir home but had just missed her as she had returned to her village, a message was sent to family to instruct her to return for questioning.
The next day the mother arrived at the police station with the village elders and also a lawyer, when questioned the mother said that her daughter was 18 years old, although it was obvious she wasn't and we also had birthproof to the contary which we had on file from when she used to attend "The Mango House". According to this the girl was only 14. The police were amazed by what she was saying and when her daughter arrived she stopped speaking Hindi and spoke to Rachna in her local dialect and then said she couldn't speak in Hindi (which she had been doing for the last 20 minutes). None of the police officers could understand so continued to ask her to speak in Hindi, when she wouldn't Rachna became our translator, with the police, CRG and Savita picking out just a few words of the conversation.
Eventually the mother signed a statement and agreed that she would not take Rachna out of Goa and she would live with her in Karaswada and allow her to attend "The Mango House" each day. She would have the chance to rejoin school.
Wednesday was her first, and unknowingly her last day at "The Mango House", she came in the morning and had a fabulous day playing with her old freinds and even helped Robert in the garden laying out some soil for the new grass area. It was a joy to have her back, we took her home in the evening and was shocked to get a call from the slum at 11:15pm at night saying that her mother and brother had come to the slum and bundled her into a car and were in the process of taking her back to Marahastra against the decision by the police. Robert drove down to the slum, but all was quiet by the time he arrived, he then went to the local police station to make a complaint. Unfrotunately this took a long time and by the time the police had made a request to stop them at the border they were probably well past. After finishing with the Police Robert decided to drive into Marahastra with the hope of finding them... He drove to the border and was suprised to get there before the message from the police arrived. He continued and after an hours drive and nobody to ask directions and unable to read the signs that had changed into Hindi returned back unsuccessfully...
The next day Savita and Robert went to the police to see if there was anything they could do and although the mother had written and signed a statement to say she wouldn't leave Goa that apparently has no effect in the courts... So we are right back at the start. Since then we have heard from her and hope she will once again get up the courage to run away, the next time we will be less trusting of her mother who really seems to have no care for her daughter's happiness or health.
We would like to thank the women and child police station in Panjim, Child Rights Goa, Savita for her help and Rachna for being so brave and for choosing us.
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