Unwanted Babies: Childless Foreign Couples Flock To Mizoram

Aizawl, Nov 10 : Childless foreign couples, mostly from European countries, have started eying Mizoram, the only state in the Northeast India having an international adoption license.

Recently, three couples-from Germany, France and Spain-have given a new life to three kids from a city-based orphanage.

They are the first children from Mizoram to be adopted by foreign couples.

”Adoptions for seven more children from different orphanages by foreign couples are being processed,” said Ruatfela Nu, a child rights activist and member of registered adoption agency, Friends of Children.

In-country and international adoption had involved a long process. It took more than a year for foreign families to successfully adopt an Indian baby.

The Indian government has relaxed its adoption rules to encourage more western couples to reduce the number of orphans living on the streets, and abandoned in squalid and dirty children’s homes throughout the country.

Under the new government plans couples will be able to complete the formalities in just 45 days.

”With this relaxation of rules, we are expecting more western couples to adopt children in orphanages in Mizoram,” Ruatfela Nu said.

There are four recognised adoption agencies in Mizoram which have registered about 300 prospective adoptive parents (PAPs). However, only a little more than 100 kids have been adopted from orphanages as most of the PAPs failed to meet the criteria.

”To adopt a child, a couple has to be financially secure and physically healthy. They should own a house and their combined age should not be higher than 90 years. They should be free of criminal past,” Ruatfela Nu said.

Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), an autonomous body under the ministry of women and child development, government of India, has laid down strict guidelines for adoption in India and abroad.

An official in the state social welfare department said it was due to the laudable performance of the state adoption cell that CARA had given adoption licence to Mizoram, among the Northeast states.

At present, there are about 1200 children in about 30 orphanages and children’s homes in Mizoram.

Child activists said there has been an increase of unwanted babies in the Christian-dominated state during the last few years.

An abandoned eight-month-old baby girl was found on a road in Ramhlun locality here on the night of October nine, while a foetus suspected to be an aborted baby was found the next day near a place of worship in Kulikawn locality.

Another body of a newly-born was found near a road in Mizoram-Manipur border Pawlrang hamlet on October 22.

A social worker says that the recent spurt in ‘infanticide’ and ‘foeticide’ in the state may be due to increase in the population of ethnic Mizos from Myanmar and Manipur.

Ruatfela Nu, who is also a member of the state Child Welfare Committee (CWC), said abortion among the unmarried women is prevalent.

She also said many commercial sex workers who were drug addicts or alcoholics were not serious about raising children.

The CWC has taken up 1,100 cases of children in need of protection and care since 2005 and a majority of the cases were for admission in orphanages and children homes.

With the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Indian laws on protection of child rights advocating raising of children in normal families, social workers and law enforcement officials want to avoid admission of orphans and abandoned children in orphanages and homes.

”In-country and foreign adoption is an ideal solution to solve the problem of rising orphans in the state,” she said.

Source: UNI

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Mizoram Will Someday Sell Power To Bangladesh

Aizawl, Nov 10 : Once all the power potential in the state is tapped, Mizoram will enough power to sell to the neighboring power-starved Bangladesh, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said today.

When I accompanied Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka recently, power officials of Bangladesh informed the Prime Minister of their requirement of power.

The Prime Minister told them that once Mizoram taps its 4,500 MW power potential, it will have enough power to share you, Mr. Lal Thanhawla said while addressing a power and electricity engineering officers association s 12th annual general conference here.

The Chief Minister urged the engineers to utilize their technical knowledge to draft a vision for Mizoram to explore the state s natural resources, and to see to it that Mizoram achieves the Central government s policy of power for all by 2012 .

The Chief Minister, who holds the Power portfolio, lauded the state designated agency in saving power.

Regretting that the state could not get enough fund from the Centre due to failure to submit detailed project reports on time, the Chief Minister urged the engineers to work harder to set an example to other states.

Striking Mizo Teachers Defy Church Leaders Plea

Aizawl, Nov 10 : Not paying any heed to the church leaders plea, teachers of Mizoram Presbyterian Church-run schools today joined their counterparts in an indefinite strike.

For the sake of their students, the Mizoram synod, the highest body of the Presbyterian Church, requested the two Presbyterian schools- Synod HSS and PC Girls School to conduct regular classes.

However, the two schools remained closed today along with 14 other church-run schools across Mizoram as teachers of Mizoram deficit mission schools started their indefinite strike from today. About 10,000 students in the 16 deficit mission schools would suffer their teachers strike.

The schools included those of the Roman Catholics, which are considered the best schools in Mizoram.

The teachers had been demanding hike in the salaries in line with Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, introduction of pension scheme and application of modified ACP.

They had taken mass casual leave for a week and decided to go on an indefinite strike after the state Education Minister Lalsawta failed to give them any concrete promise, they said.

India Issues Flu Alert For Bordering Northeast States

Agartala, Nov 10 : With the arrival of the guest birds from different parts of the world at the onset of winter, the Union Health Ministry has asked the northeastern states bordering Bangladesh and Myanmar- Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Assam to keep a close watch on the poultry firms, as the region was identified as prone to H5N1 avian influenza.

The latest communiqué to the states ministry said that the poultry industry in the bordering northeastern and eastern Indian states including West Bengal and Bihar had been facing a serious threat following the outbreak of the disease over past two years and anticipating the possibility of spread of the virus this year, the ministry reminded the prevention guidelines.

Earlier, last month Assam had sounded bird flu alert after getting report from Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory tested positive for H5N1 virus while Mizoram had followed suit as a precautionary measure.

However, recently Tripura had sounded a bird flu alert after the spread of the virus in the adjoining Assam and the authority put a ban on import of poultry and poultry products from Assam, and asked its officials to maintain a close vigil along the border.

More than 80 rapid response teams were kept ready to act in case of an outbreak of bird flu in the state and poultry farmers had been asked to monitor the birds health on regular basis and report to the nearest animal health clinic.

Animal Resource Development authority and health department had constituted several committees to ensure frequent visits to poultry firm.

The state had brought fresh checks (parent pairs) from Orissa recently for revival of the industry, officials said here today.

Naga Youth Stabs Self in Delhi, Cooks Up Tale

By Anurag Jadli

New Delhi, Nov 10 : Files false case to avail free treatment at hospital.

A 26-year-old youth from Nagaland allegedly stabbed himself with a knife at his rented accommodation after a heated argument with his friend, in Safdarjung Enclave area of south Delhi, on Monday night.


Believe it or not! Friends of Lima Sut Sung at Safdarjung police station and Sukhmani Hospital (below), where he was admitted, in New Delhi on Wednesday. Pics/Imtiyaz Khan

Knight in dull armor
The youth, Lima Sut Sung, was under the influence of alcohol when the incident took place. One of his friends, Narola, was with him at that time.

"After the incident, he, along with his friend, cooked up a false story for free treatment at the hospital. They said they were taking a stroll in a deer park when two assailants passed lewd comments on the girl.

When they protested, one of the assailants attacked the youth in his abdomen.

But all of this turned out to be false when we investigated the matter," said a senior police official.

Drunken fight
During investigation, police found some discrepancies in their statement and questioned them, their neighbors and friends. During interrogation, both of them revealed the original story and said that they had a fight, because of which Lima had stabbed himself. They withdrew their case later.

Anne Ralte: Courage to Change the Future

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anne Ralte (Photo credit: Joe Connors )

Anne Ralte worked for UNICEF, Helen Keller International, and the World Health Organization before joining USAID’s Office of Food for Peace in 1996, where she developed the first Title II emergency food aid strategic and performance management plan. She also served as a senior policy adviser in the Administrator’s office, where she led several issues including civilian-military cooperation. She recently assumed new responsibilities as a senior adviser in the Office of Human Resources focusing on training and workforce requirements.

By Anne Ralte

I was born in Mizoram―which translates to “land of the Mizo people”―a remote, mountainous part of northeastern India with its own language and culture. During my early childhood in the 1950s, we were a marginalized tribal group with most families making a living by farming. We lived in simple one-room wooden houses built on stilts along the hill slopes, with no running water or electricity, and our everyday life centered on working on our family rice farm.

Anne Ralte, age 10, Calcutta, India (Photo courtesy of Sally and Donald Hoople )

My mother, older sister, and I had the additional burden of fetching water from mountain springs, washing the family’s clothes in rivers, gathering firewood, and cooking. Since there was no public transportation, we walked everywhere. When I was able to make the four-mile trek, I sometimes joined my older siblings in attending a small missionary school. With no television or radio, our universe revolved around our close-knit community, with occasional stories from those adventurous enough to walk across the border into Burma (now known as Myanmar).

After my father died when I was 5 years old, my mother struggled to take care of the farm and the small home bakery that my father had started. Although illiterate, she intuitively knew that for her children to do better in life, we would have to be placed in an English-speaking boarding school in Calcutta.

In those days, widows automatically lost their social standing in the community, with their role relegated to the upbringing of children and menial duties assigned by in-laws. Traveling outside the community or having an independent life was frowned upon by the elders, and my mother’s decision led to her being ostracized. Today, over 40 years later, her vision has become widely accepted.

I ended up in a small school that served the poor with U.S. food aid and a sponsorship program. The Welland Gouldsmith School, connected to the Old Mission Church, was a charitable institution founded in 1870 to impart European-style education.

My mother paid a small monthly fee to enroll my older sister and myself as boarders. She died just a year later. My older brother, who stepped in to take care of us at age 16, also died within a year.

A New York family participating in the Christian Children’s Fund sponsorship program took an interest in me, as, like them, I loved to learn. Besides excelling in my studies, I learned to play the piano and violin, and also tried the sitar. My early years of trekking up and down the hills of Mizoram prepared me for track, basketball, and other sports. My life, while marked by deep sadness, was full.

My final years in school saw me fully immersed in preparing for the Senior Cambridge examination (later known as the Indian School Certificate), a requirement for entering college. I finished in the first division. My sponsors―who are now my parents―offered to bring me to the United States for further studies and to become part of their family.

Strangers in an Airport

I arrived on June 4, 1971. That same day and time, my future husband Joe Connors was at the same airport departing for his Peace Corps assignment, and noticed me. His search for me ended almost eight years later on July 17, 1979, when he amazingly saw me again in the revolving door of Bloomingdales in New York City. We became instant friends over a cup of tea. Over the following 32 years, he witnessed and supported my work in Asia, Africa, and now at USAID/Washington.

My USAID work brings me full circle to my humble beginnings, and not a single day passes without me thinking how fortunate I am.

Without U.S. food aid, the Welland Gouldsmith School could not have fed me and other disadvantaged children, most of us without parents or a stable home. We received bulgur wheat and milk for our breakfast porridge, milk and bread for our mid-morning snack, and rice and dhal (lentil soup) for lunch and dinner. For me, nourishment led to scholastic achievements, which led to opportunities and a career in international development, and, purely by coincidence, a job with USAID’s Office of Food for Peace, helping to establish its results-management framework. Partnering with NGO implementers, we were able to provide tangible, aggregated evidence, for the first time in history, that our emergency food aid provided significant benefits to people in need.

The Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination recruited me to develop Agency-wide goals and performance measurements in humanitarian assistance to meet the requirements of the Government Performance Results Act.

Realizing that USAID alone could not meet increasing global humanitarian needs nor report on progress without mobilizing other humanitarian actors, the work evolved into the global Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions (SMART) initiative that brought together the world’s experts in emergency nutrition and food security.

My life experiences prepared me well for hardships, and, in particular, for being comfortable taking risks to pioneer new concepts and develop new partnerships. A lesson I have taken from my mother is that one courageous person can make a huge difference to change a community, an entire way of life, and the future.

As I embraced my new life in United States, I made a conscious decision to maintain a balance of ideology from my origins, including kindness and self-sacrifice in the service of others―a traditional core value of the Mizos. I am fortunate to be in a line of work that connects to my traditional moral principles and inspires me to help move USAID forward to transform more lives.

source: USAID

'Why Does Indian Army Need Protection'

Omar questions the need for 'protection' to Army

Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah questions the need for 'protection' to the army in areas where they have not operated for years

Jammu (Jammu & Kashmir), Nov 9 : Holding that the government has to have courage to take a decision on the issue of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday questioned the need for 'protection' to the army in areas where they have not operated for years.

“Our endeavour is to remove AFSPA from those areas where there is no need of army to work. I have never said that we should remove AFSPA from Baramulla, Sopore and Kupwara areas”, Mr. Omar told a press conference.

He was replying to questions on issues relating to removal of AFSPA, army’s demand for legal protection and delay in appointment of a judicial commission on alleged political payoffs as the secretariat and other offices started working from Jammu, the state’s winter capital.

“Where the army has not worked for years, what is the problem in removing (AFSPA) from those areas? When did they (army) work in Srinagar the last time? When did they last time work in Budgam”, Mr. Omar asked.

On the army’s demand for legal protection while operating in insurgency-affected areas in J&K, the Chief Minister said, “There are places where Army did not work for years. What is the need for protection when they have not worked in those areas?

“It is a straight question and (requires) a straight answer (from the army). It will be taken into consideration”, he said, adding, “If we say we will wait for last gun to fall silent, then the time will never come to remove these things (AFSPA or Disturbed Areas Act).

“We have to have courage and take a decision. In the beginning, there would be difficulty but ultimate results would be good”, he said.

The Chief Minister said, “When we removed 40 security bunkers in Srinagar city, there were the same (army) voices which had said that it (the Valley) would be hub of militants and there would be attacks.

“But the reality was totally different. I would like to talk on this issue and take it forward,” Mr. Omar said.

On whether it is the right time to remove the operation of AFSPA from some areas, he said, “Is it the right time or not? Militant activities for past several years are decreasing. If we wait for last gun to fall silent, that time will never come”.

Asked about objections raised by the Ministry of Defence on the AFSPA issue and the way to bring them on board, he said, “There would be an element of consultation which would continue. There is a meeting of the Unified Headquarters later this afternoon in which I and the Deputy Chief Minister (Tara Chand) will take part.“

“Subsequently on a future date, yet not decided -- but not too far away, this matter would come up for discussion at a Cabinet meeting as well”, he said, adding, “I had a brief discussion with Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram over telephone over the issue yesterday evening.”

He said, “So far as I am concerned, necessary process is going on. Beyond that I am not going to pre-judge what would be the conclusion“.

Mr. Omar said, “I did not make any announcement (on AFSPA) at a public meeting. I made an announcement in this regard on the intent at Police Commemoration Day at Zewan where the police high command, heads of para-military forces and the army high command were present”.