Dear Editor,
Minister of Human Services and Social Security Priya Manickchand has a very difficult job, one in which she will have to make some very tough decisions. In the article: “Ministry admits ‘we failed her’” (KN, October, 6), Manickchand admitted, “This matter was brought to our attention and we became involved with the aim of protecting this child but my officers failed to do effective follow-up…. When the officers dealing with the matter encountered hurdles, they failed to follow procedures and report to their supervisors… we accept that all was not done and this is wholly unacceptable.” The article continues, “She added that in the future, disciplinary action will be taken against officers who fail to act and conduct their work in accordance with the written protocols of the Child Protection Act.” In the future Madam Minister… what about now?
In the deceptive world of politics, it is very refreshing to hear Minister Manickchand admit that the system failed 16-year-old Neesa Gopaul, whose deteriorating body was discovered in a suitcase at the bottom of the creek at the closed resort, Emerald Towers, Madewini, on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway. Admittedly, her young ministry is constantly being challenged to find effective ways to protect women and children from the miscreants of society who abuse and prey on the most vulnerable, but as we’ve seen, complacency costs lives. Those who are employed as social workers must be made to understand that child protection is not merely a job, it’s a commitment that comes with tremendous responsibility, and when they fail to properly discharge their duties, children get hurt and suffer the consequences.
It is simply not good enough for the Minister to threaten “disciplinary action in the future,” for there should never be a next time. Those responsible for failing to follow established procedures that could have saved this child from such a gruesome death, ought not to be disciplined, they should be fired. Nothing short of this is acceptable.
Minister Manickchand must send a strong message to those who treat this profession as a means to earn a paycheck, and demand nothing less than thorough commitment.
Red flags were up at every stage of this case: Instances of abuse were reported to both the police and the Ministry of Human Services. Sally Redman, a maternal aunt gave a statement to the police reporting child abuse; teachers of the school gave the ministry photographs of Neesa’s bruised body in the wake of beatings; acting on a tip off, police officers kicked down the door to a hotel room where Neesa and her mother’s lover were staying, but after failing to find drugs there, the police left them alone without enquiring the age of an obvious minor. Neesa and her mother subsequently made a police report of other times when she felt she was drugged and sexually molested by this man, but turned up later with her mother at the Leonora Police Station and told police that the earlier allegations she had made were false.
A probation officer escorted Neesa and her mother to Eureka Labs where they were both subjected to drug tests. The teen’s grandfather, Mohamed Kayum confirmed this, stating that Neesa’s test came back 80% positive for Ecstasy. Probation officials got involved in the case, and Neesa was sent to live with her grandmother, but was later returned to the abused house and her mother.
If the social workers had been diligent in their investigations and had pursued this case exhaustively, they may have saved this child. The courts will hopefully deal severely with the heartless monster who perpetrated this heinous crime, and those who may have contributed to it, but just after commemorating Child Protection Week, Minister Manickchand has an opportunity to restore confidence in the system that many believed failed little Neesa Gopaul, and to demonstrate that she and her ministry are really serious about protecting the rights of children.
Yours faithfully,
Harry Gill
New York