Hasina

Hasina Orphan a child of Bangladesh Hasina is now thought to be about 6 years old. She is living in an orphanage which was set up by some foreigners many years ago and is now run by a Non Government Organisation (NGO). Who her parents were, or are, will never be known. Hasina was found abandoned in a small side street in Rangpur, north-west Bangladesh where, when discovered by an old woman, she was taken to the old woman's hovel amid much concern by her neighbours. At this time Hasina (the name given to her), was thought to be around two years old. The old woman asked a neighbour for a little money to get some rice flour to feed the child, as she herself had none. Very soon, the whole area had heard of the abandoned child and it was not long, before the police came around to 'investigate' the crime. No one knew of the child or her parents and it was thought that maybe Hasina was the child of a prostitute that could no longer afford to keep her. There are many reasons why babies and young children are abandoned in Bangladesh, and it is usually the girls that are found abandoned. Hasina is very dark skinned and was very thin and weak when she was found and it was soon decided that as she was likely to die, she should be taken to the hospital so that it would be their problem, as no one wanted to take the blame or responsibility for her. The following day, the police returned and took the child into custody and tried to transfer her to the local hospital. Of course, the hospital wanted nothing to do with this weakling and as no one was prepared to give the hospital any bribe to take the child, they told the policemen that the child could not stay there, because they had no facilities for babies. Hasina, amidst a crowd of people, was taken to the police substation, where the sergeant became very angry and threatened to beat the two constables responsible for bringing the child there. Was it a stroke of good fortune that the officer in charge heard the commotion in his reception area and furiously rang the bell on his desk, to summon the sergeant. He was a kind hearted man, who wished to have his police station returned to its normal sleepy situation and wanted the source of the problem removed. He had heard of a local orphanage from his friends at the main police station and arranged for Hasina to be taken there. The orphanage is just on the outskirts of Rangpur and the police officer paid for the constables to take the child there in a rickshaw. Once there, the constables had a very hard time getting the workers at the orphanage to take the child in. They claimed that there was no room for an extra child and that the administrator of the orphanage was not in today. When asked when the administrator would be in, the workers said that they did not know, as he very rarely came to the place. The constables used the authority of the police officer in charge and demanded that the child be allowed to stay until the administrator could be found and an official court order obtained to ensure that she was taken into care. This was duly accepted and Hasina was roughly taken in by the workers, after having signed a receipt. Hasina was put in with some other children, who promptly showed the kind of care that was needed and set about cleaning the small girl. At the next meal time, Hasina shared small pieces of vegetables and some rice with her new friends and exhausted, she fell asleep. In the mean-time, the workers had sent the peon to fetch the administrator and he duly arrived in a very bad temper to sort out the problem. The administrator knew that he had no choice but to accept the child, as he wanted no further trouble or involvement with the police. He ran the orphanage in his own style and lived very well from the funds given by the foreign donors. The orphanage supposedly catered for 50 children from the age of two to fifteen. In fact only 22 children had found sanctuary there, although on paper there were 51, and now 52. The children were little more than unpaid servants, who did all the work themselves and were expected to act as servants in the administrator’s house. Many of the children over the age of six were 'hired' out as workers in the factories or workshops that abound in the back streets of the town. They didn't get the money, as this went into the pocket of the administrator to help him to keep up his rich style of life. The children were sent out in the morning at seven o'clock, with a small tin, in which their food (usually some cold rice and dhal) for the day was kept. They returned at night expecting to cook the evening meal and clean the orphanage before they were allowed to sleep. Many of the children are girls and they are expected to work long hours sorting rags or old tin pieces or sweeping up and carrying heavy loads in the local cotton mills and weaving shops. They get no schooling, although the foreign donors think that they are and the skill training that the older children get, is covered by the labouring work that they do.

Hasina is also expected to contribute, and from an early age, she was sent out with another girl from the orphanage to beg on the streets. Her friend, Beauty, is crippled and the mill owners refuse to accept her for any of the usual work that the children are made to do. Beauty has a withered arm and was given to the orphanage when she was five years old by a local government official as his part in helping the orphans. Now that Beauty is ten years old, she is expected to be house mother to the younger children and is always seen in the streets begging for food or money. Begging is a business, with strict rules enforced by the managers of the many beggars that swarm on the streets. Beauty and Hasina have their own area in which to beg and if they stray from their 'patch' they know that they will be beaten by the other beggars and their managers. They make a pitiful site and have become very good actors to try and squeeze the few pennies (local currency ‘Poica’) from the many people that are on the streets. Sometimes, an owner of a food shop will throw them some out of date food that he cannot get rid of and very occasionally a restaurant owner will put some cold rice in their bowls. They pretend to be sisters who were abandoned by their father and this helps them to gain the sympathy that is required. At the end of each day they return to the orphanage and are strip searched by the female worker, and woe betide them if they are hiding food or other gains. The workers are more interested in the money, some of which they give to the administrator and they rest is put into their pockets. On average, the two girls only manage to beg a few Taka (Bangladesh currency) in a day, but if they go back with nothing they are usually beaten. In a few weeks time, Hasina will be expected to go to work in the back-street workshops to earn her five Taka per day. She will leave early in the morning and probably have to sweep floors or carry items around, with a short break at midday to eat her food. These workshops are very dangerous and busy places to work and many children are injured doing work that they are physically not able to do. Hasina and the other children work every day of the week, although Friday mornings the workshop is closed, so that the faithful can go to prayers. The children get no rest on Friday morning, as they all are sent onto the streets to beg, as this is the day of the week when the conscience of the population demands that they share with the poor, by giving alms. The donors are a church organisation from Europe, but they never visit, they leave the official visits to their representative in country. When he writes to tell the administrator that he is visiting, the administrator sends the representative a large gift and the visit is avoided. A report is written from imagination and the donors are satisfied. They send the required money to the bank and are satisfied that they are doing worthy work supporting the orphans. The future that Hasina has to ‘look forward’ to is as bad as the life that she is having now. The boys are sent out from the orphanage at 15 and are usually capable of looking after themselves and have probably made enough contacts to get work. The girls are another matter. Sometimes the pretty girls are ‘sold’ to distant brothels from 14 years old or are taken as domestic servants in the houses of the administrators associates. Some of the girls are sold to brokers, who take the girls to India or Pakistan for household servants or for sex workers. Girls like Beauty can sometimes be kept on, as they have a use as surrogate mothers to young children, otherwise they are turned out onto the streets to fend for themselves.

The orphanage that is described in as being in Rangpur does not actually exist, although the town of Rangpur does and there are many orphanages like the one described. The way that all the children are treated does exist and should not. This story was written in September 1997 after casual interviews highlighted the plight of orphan children in general.

twofer - September

2009