Report on mental disorders in Romani children
Romani children are removed from their schools with reports of mental disability. The practice is mostly carried out with the knowledge of local administrators and with the consent of the families. Allegedly, private health institutions also play a major role in the abuse.
It is stated that Romani children of school age are directed to schools for the disabled after receiving reports of mental disability from committees and the practice is becoming widespread.
According to the news by Cengiz Çiftçi from T24.com, due to the difficulties experienced in integrating Romani citizens into the education process, such practices are met with indifference by both administrators and families.
It is claimed that families also look favorably on such methods due to various reasons such as non-Romani families not wanting Romani children in schools, inadequate guidance services, school administrations not making enough effort for the integration processes of Romani children, and Romani families lacking the life skills and opportunities to support their education processes.
According to the news, since family practices that support education in Romani families are inadequate, absenteeism and disengagement from the education process can often occur. However, in recent years, Romani children and young people who attend educational institutions have been showing increasing success. These processes are strengthened by inclusive public policies and support from families.
ABUSE OF PRIVATE HEALTH INSTITUTIONS
However, when family demands are combined with poverty and deprivation, different dimensions of exclusion emerge. Social inclusion practices or opportunism of private education institutions can bring human rights violations to the agenda. Romani children are directed to schools for the disabled with the consent of their families and diagnosed with mental retardation through committee reports.
LOCAL ADMINISTRATORS
Çiftçi says that he wants to believe that this practice is brought to the agenda by local interest groups rather than the policy of the government, which has developed the field of social services in the last decade.
Different reasons are listed regarding the cases in İzmir, Manisa, Gaziantep, Hatay and İstanbul provinces. Some of these are as follows:
1. Families may prefer this path because they want to benefit from social support processes for the disabled.
2. Support is provided with misdirection as a temporary practice in support mechanisms for poor and deprived Romani families in social service processes.
3. It is possible that private service institutions exploit the process and manipulate and operate the process.
03.07.2014
