SurinameThe Surinamese authorities evacuated a children’s home this weekend after reports of violence and possible sexual abuse by the director and two employees. The abuses at the Hope for Children home came to light after a girl was burned with an iron as punishment and another girl was assaulted.
Agents and employees of the Family Law Affairs Bureau (Ministry of Justice and Police) came into action at the children’s home in Paramaribo on Saturday. This happened at the request of the (partly Dutch) board of the Hope for Children foundation.
The abuses came out last November. A video owned by this site shows director Anteney C. punching a girl in the home with his fist in the face. The victim allegedly stole money. Another girl had a hot iron pressed on her arm by Safora S., head of the children’s home and friend of the director. 28-year-old S. wanted to punish her because she accidentally hit another child while ironing.
The police received a telephone report on November 24 that the two girls had been abused and needed medical attention. S. initially denied that the burnt girl was in the house, but officers found her after a house search. The victim had second degree burns. S. was immediately arrested, the director a few weeks later. Both were released after a few days.
Area ban
Dutch board member Sander Verkouter traveled to Paramaribo after the incidents. In an emergency meeting of the board, C. was suspended as chairman and his partner S. was banned from the area.
In subsequent conversations with children and (former) employees, more abuses emerged. They testify about structural violence from the director and his girlfriend, and from Ingrid L., coordinator of the children’s home. Children would have been beaten with sticks, a belt, bed board and pan, among other things. Some girls say they were sexually abused by the director a few years ago.
,,The board is extremely shocked”, says Verkouter, secretary of the foundation. “Employees knew about the abuses, but did not dare to raise the alarm for fear of losing their jobs.”
Fist in the face
The 33 children were immediately removed on Saturday and placed in a safe place. ,,It was chaotic and intense”, says Verkouter, who was present together with two other board members. Anteney C. was not there at the time. “At the gate I got a fist in my face from the coordinator. She abused me and threatened me.” In an earlier attempt to enter the home, at the end of last year, Verkouter was also beaten by her.
Children’s Home Hope for Children has been open since 2017. It is a shelter recognized by the Ministries of Justice and Social Affairs for children who are infected with HIV, who are mentally disabled or who have been mistreated, neglected or abused. C. ran it together with his now deceased wife.
In recent years, numerous Dutch volunteers have worked in the children’s home and donations have been received from the Netherlands.
Treated like dogs
Hope for Children has come under fire before. At the beginning of 2018, three 16-year-old girls ran away because of ‘abuse and unfair treatment’, the Surinamese newspaper reported The True Time when. According to the newspaper, the children were ‘treated like dogs’ by the director and teachers.
Anteney C. tries to get the children back with the help of a lawyer. “This was a wild action by the other board members,” he says in a reaction to this site. “They have not acted according to the statutes. The children must not be taken without my permission.”
The director confesses that he hit a girl. According to him, the incident with the iron was ‘bloated’. The Bureau of Family Law Affairs and the police could not be reached for comment.
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