COVID 19 causes orphan crisis in India; experts fear neglect, abuse

Addis Ababa, May 20, 2021 (FBC) – Three days after their father died of coronavirus, six-year-old twins Tripti and Pari were found sleeping next to their mother, unaware that she had also become a victim.

Thousands of children have lost one or both parents in the new pandemic wave ravaging India, where there were already millions of orphans. The prospect of a surge of abandoned minors worries many.

Tripti and Pari, whose names have been changed, are now being cared for by their mother’s uncle, Ramesh Singh.

“I keep telling the girls their parents will come home soon,” said Singh, whose name has also been changed to protect the children’s identities.

“I don’t want to tell them the truth now… they’re too young.”

Their heartbroken mother refused to eat properly after her husband’s death, which complicated her recovery from coronavirus, Singh said.

When repeated knocks on the door went unanswered, relatives threw water on the girls from a window to make them open up.

They were taken away as doctors arrived to declare their mother dead.

Such children “are not only living an emotional tragedy, they are at high risk of neglect, abuse and exploitation”, said UNICEF India’s chief Yasmin Haque.

In another case, Indian media reported last month about a baby found next to its mother who had been dead for 48 hours and whose neighbours feared contracting the virus.

The official pandemic toll is more than 270,000 in India, though the real number is widely believed to be far higher with many people dying outside of the overwhelmed medical system.

“We don’t know how many people are dying, let alone how many children are orphaned,” said Akancha Srivastava, a cybersecurity expert who has launched a coronavirus helpline for children.

Source: Aljazeera