Following the news of maltreatment of orphans by some staff at children's shelters, Prince Muhammad Bin Nasser, Emir of Jazan Province, issued directives to investigate the condition of orphans in the Dar Al-Hanan Orphanage. This is an affirmative action dictated by his responsibilities, but the Emir and the orphans would not have needed such directives if the authority responsible for the operation and administration of orphanages was carrying out its duties properly in monitoring, following up and supervising the administering of these shelters. I don't know if there are actually any standards in the first place that have been implemented so that they could be monitored. What I suspect and fear is that there is no supervision and the children are in harm's way. Were it not for the mobile phone camera that recorded the serious cases of maltreatment and the clip that was posted on YouTube, the maltreatment by the staff would have gone unnoticed. Instead of appealing to the sense of administrative responsibility or humaneness by those responsible, I will appeal to the sense of conscience of Allah Almighty and obeying Him when dealing with helpless orphans and the physically challenged. Nothing is more painful to human feelings as much as being subjugated or coerced, so what about treating orphans with cruelty when Allah Almighty himself ordained that an orphan must not be treated unkindly? “Therefore, treat not the orphan with harshness” (Qur'an 93:9). The directives issued by the Emir should not be only restricted to the Jazan orphanage, but must include all the orphanages and juvenile and comprehensive rehabilitation homes in the Kingdom. Also, the standards for operating these shelters must be reviewed and procedures revised, as well as insisting on background checks and careful vetting of all staff. Such crucial matters can no longer be left to chance for exposure – through a mobile phone camera and YouTube. – [email protected]
