According to UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Education Fund) an orphan is a child under 18 years of age who has lost one or both parents to any cause of death. Statistics show that in 2015 there were almost 4 billion orphans in the world. These unfortunate children are housed in orphanages where these orphans are expected to be provided with their basic needs, care and protection. However, in many cases, these expectations turn out to be unfulfilled and, in fact, these same safe havens turn out to be places of desperation or even horror. In Southeast Asian countries, in particular, orphanages have created serious problems for children's emotions and behavior. According to the latest statistics, there are approximately 21,000 orphans in Sri Lanka and the number of orphanages is also increasing. These are run by the government or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It is the responsibility of the state and society to ensure safety, care and guidance for these unfortunate children. If timely action is not taken, this situation can lead to serious problems in society. Where these unfortunate children often come in as insecure, insensitive and even undesirable individuals. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThe reasons for this increase are many and varied. For example, the Thirty Years' War and the tsunami left thousands of children without parents. In addition to these tragic events, there are many children abandoned by irresponsible or even helpless young parents who have difficulty providing for their needs, or by those who have ventured into cities and towns from their inhabitants in search of work. Globalization has led to the emergence of numerous industries, such as Katunayake area, Biyagama area and other similar industries and factories that provide employment to these young people. These young people far from home may be forced to live in places and situations that could lead them into unfortunate situations that could lead to unwanted pregnancies. The result could be unwanted offspring who may eventually end up in orphanages. There have been many reports of cruelty, child abuse, neglect and even incidents of criminal activity in orphanages across Asian regions. Children need affection, security, safety and guidance especially during their childhood. While some of these institutions strive to provide all of these, many tend to overlook these requirements. In recent years there have been many reports of incidents of cruelty towards these children. Very often children are given very harsh punishments for their normal naughty childhood behavior which would have been met with a firm warning from their parents. Punishments meted out in orphanages may include physical torture such as beatings, painful forced actions (kneeling for long hours), exposure to adverse weather conditions (standing for long hours under the scorching sun), and starvation. Another cruel measure adopted is emotional or mental torture such as confinement in dark, locked rooms with the threat of danger from supernatural beings (such as monsters, ghosts). These inhumane treatments would certainly have serious psychological effects on children. This would inevitably transform these children into cruel individuals with behavioral and emotional problems. The basic requirements for a physically and mentally developed child growing into a balanced, confident and individual individual are parental love and affection, care and guidance. Parental love is very difficult to define in words. The philosopherRoger Scruton (2013) states that in its highest form, parental love “…comes as a gift, freely given to another person…” Unfortunately, orphans lack the love that could only be given by their own parents. Many of these children suffer a lot of emotional damage. They may be depressed and anxious. They may ask where the difficulties came from. The answer is that the damage almost always stems from early childhood. They need very responsible parents who take care of them with sensitivity and kindness. Without this kind of responsible love, children are often scarred for life by child psychology. One of the world's leading experts, Edward Tronick, director of the child development unit at Harvard University, together with his team is responsible for the great experiments in the history of psychology known as the "Still face" experiment. She said young children are extremely responsive to the emotional and social interaction they receive from their parents. Parents can show their love through touch and a hug and children feel loved. There is no substitute for it. “No memory is as powerful as that of a cherished childhood.” this means that parental love should be part of the child's life. Other important things are parental care and guidance. Opponents may say that there are cases where children raised by their parents do not have the affection and care they are entitled to from their parents. The reason could be that parents do not have enough time to spend with their children. Their financial situation may require both of them to work. Furthermore, parents lead very busy and stressful lives themselves. As a result, they have neither time nor energy to devote to their children. With the advent of modern technology, people tend to spend their dinner time on their phones. Although parents have the good intention of providing for their child's future, they simply do not realize that what the child needs most is the parents' love and affection. They don't realize how this affects their children's behavior and emotions. Many parents are forced to entrust their children to the care of maids or carers. As a result, children may face neglect, lack of affection and even danger. However, these cases are fewer than the cases of abandonment found in many orphanages. For example, in the orphanage of the SOS Children's Village in Pakistan, there were orphans who lack their parents' love. Even with adequate facilities, people still miss their parents' love. The Austrian psychoanalyst and doctor René Spitz proposed sending children who lost important parental relationships and suffered to a large extent from a lack of love to orphanages. Another example in the study conducted by Jawaid, a child psychologist, refers to the “potential hidden consequences” of a child's childhood experiences in an orphanage. He had conducted a study that separated him from his parents. He states that such traumatic experiences cause “subtle biological alterations.” According to him, such accusations can also have repercussions on their children. Secondly, the general environment of an orphanage would inevitably impact its inmates. Izidor Ruckel was one of thousands of children discovered living in terrible conditions in a Romanian orphanage. The orphans follow a rigorous schedule. Where they have to do everything according to a time schedule. They are forced to carry out their tasks even if they suffer from minor ailments such as aches and pains, which prevent them from meeting their schedules. Orphanage authorities may not be able to identify individual problemsso authentic and make concessions. Many of the orphans suffered mentally, physically and emotionally because of this. People also experienced physical pain and may not do the work according to the time schedule. In my personal experience, our parents are adopting a child, whose mother is unable to raise him. When my mother gives him work to do, sometimes he does it and sometimes he doesn't. So we understand his situation and have given him new activities that he likes to do. If he were forced to continue the previous activity, he would probably hate such activities for his whole life. However, orphanages do not make such considerations. Some might argue that the regimental lifestyle in early life would prepare a person to be a systematic, focused, and even ambitious individual. Additionally, some might say they are good at time management, prioritizing their work. However, this is not the case in most orphanages, unlike a home where parents know their child's temperament and emotional levels and act accordingly, in an orphanage this may not be possible due to numbers. Third, caregivers in an orphanage play a vital role in children's education. They very often lack the basic parenting skills and considerations required for this role. The damage affecting some orphanages is a cause for concern. Episodes of verbal, mental and sexual abuse have occurred in many of these orphans. Caregivers need psychological knowledge to manage individuals. They need to show affection. Unfortunately, many orphanages are unable to provide skilled jobs. For example, if the child does something wrong, the punishment meted out may include physical torture such as beatings, painful forced actions (kneeling for long hours), exposure to adverse weather conditions (standing for long hours under the scorching sun), and starvation . . Another cruel measure adopted is emotional or mental torture such as confinement in a dark, locked room with the threat of danger from supernatural beings (such as monsters, ghosts). These inhumane treatments would definitely have their adverse effects on children. This would directly affect the child emotionally and behaviorally. The following is an example of such a situation. A boy who was decalcified was bet hard by an assistant armed with a belt that the assistant hit him and fell to the ground. He then beat his victim with the metal hook of his belt. Until the boy started bleeding from the head. When he saw the blood, the attacker quickly dragged the boy into Barth's room and poured water over his bleeding head, holding the boy's hand over the wound to stop the bleeding. The explanation given was that he had to punish the boy because he was being troublesome. Clearly this crime should have sent him to prison. However, even if no action was taken, the victim would undoubtedly have endured not only physical but also psychological burns for a long time. This incidence shows the importance of employing highly qualified personnel with the required temperament since they are the ones who shape the personality of the young person. Some might argue that such a situation, however cruel and inhumane, could on the other hand develop strength and independence in a child and make him or her emotionally stronger. However, this quality may not be an ingredient for a complete and balanced personality that can maintain healthy relationships based on trust and affection. The fourth and another more serious form of abuse is sexual abuse. We have heard of many cases of child sexual abusein these orphanages. This could be in the form of homosexual abuse or heterosexual abuse. The culprits of these crimes are usually the people who have authority in these homes such as healthcare workers, teachers and occasionally even priests. There are also reports of children being sent for sexual favors outside the orphanage by these unscrupulous individuals. These traumatic experiences, without a doubt, leave lasting or permanent effects on victims who may turn out to be sex offenders themselves. Furthermore, these child victims may also, in their frustration and desperation, turn to prostitution in their later years. In the case of homosexual abuse, victims may come out as homosexuals later in life. All this could endanger the institutions of marriage and creation, leading to a crisis in society. Children who have been abused over a long period of time show slower physical and mental growth; for example, they may become stunted and/or have poor mental abilities. It is also known that breast milk strengthens the baby's immunity against diseases. Furthermore, there is no doubt that the love of parents for their child cannot be matched by the care provided by healthcare workers in orphanages. Sarah Philips (1998), a long-time volunteer at the orphanage, has this to say “It took me a while to understand, when I went to the children's homes, that they only show you the healthy ones. Then there are the rooms where the others lie there. They are all dying, lying on their backs, staring at the ceiling, generally fed on their backs. I saw them put the bottle of hot food in the children's mouths. It must burn, but they are too hungry and just swallow it. This shows that the relationship between a child and his mother or father will be very personal where there is true understanding and tolerance. Furthermore, the best place that provides guidance and protection would be the home. I can present my personal experience to bring out this point. When my brother was little, my mother noticed that he had a slight squint in his left eye. The problem was solved immediately with the consultation of the family doctor who referred my brother to a specialist and the problem was solved on its own. This is because only a mother or father would be able to notice even the smallest health problem of their child. Therefore, timely intervention saved my brother from vision problems in his adulthood. An issue like this may have been overlooked in a less personal environment such as an orphanage. The reason for this situation could be the lack of human resources in these homes or a total lack of consideration on the part of the workers, or even simple cruelty on the part of the workers. Children deprived of their basic needs, in other words, neglected, tend to grow up as insensitive, insecure, irresponsible adults, incapable of giving affection to others. Child abuse is another serious social problem in today's society. When we talk about child abuse we are talking about physical and mental abuse which was already discussed in the previous paragraph. However, another more serious form of abuse is sexual abuse. We have heard of many cases of child sexual abuse in these orphanages. This could be in the form of homosexual abuse or heterosexual abuse. The culprits of these crimes are usually the people who have authority in these homes such as healthcare workers, teachers and occasionally even priests. There are also reports of children being sent for sexual favors outside the orphanage by these unscrupulous individuals. These traumatic experiences, without a doubt, leave lasting or permanent effects on victims who may turn out to be sex offenders themselves.,.
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