As reported elsewhere, the Guardian has an article about a "child behavior modification camp" where parents can send their children for a $40,000/year. Parents send in their children for offenses ranging from drug abuse, sleeping around, being disrespectful, or associating with the wrong people.
Once there, children are robbed of every shred of dignitiy, privacy, and individuality, and subjected to constant emotional and mental abuse (in addition to, apparently, crappy food).
Guards take them (if necessary by force) to a small bare room and make them (again by force if necessary) lie flat on their face, arms by their sides, on the tiled floor. Watched by a guard, they must remain lying face down, forbidden to speak or move a muscle except for 10 minutes every hour, when they may sit up and stretch before resuming the position. Modest meals are brought to them, and at night they sleep on the floor of the corridor outside under electric light and the gaze of a guard. At dawn they resume the position.Because the camp is located in Jamaica, it is out of any other country's jurisdiction. Furthermore, apparently in the US, it was ruled lawful for parents to send their children to such institutions. If that's not considered child abuse, I don't know what is.The record is actually held by a female. On and off, she spent 18 months lying on her face.
I'm not a lawyer, but it would seem that any nation that allows for such programs would be in violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child which has been ratified by all UN member nations other than the US and Somalia. If you ask me, they would be in violation of Articles 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 31, 37, 39 and 40 (that's half of the 41 articles).
Posted Wed, July 2, 2003 16:33 by MrHodes
This kind of thing just pisses me off. People, please don't multiply just cause you can, take some responsibility for your damn actions. Americans want the quick fix, magic bullet; if it involves work they want nothing to do with it. For Fuck's Sake, people! I would love to meet one of these parents and kick them right in the crotch. /rant
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