A report today out of India ... not new information, but showing up this morning, nonetheless ... on the plight of orphans around the Kashmir region is reminding me of much of what prompted the series I did a couple of days back that began with Iraq and moved on from there.

A virtual war zone for decades and scene of some of natures most damaging devastation, the area has a population of more than ten million people struggling to get by on whatever they can eek out of the soil when it's safe enough to do so. The bulk of the people live well below the poverty line and it's clear that most survive only though day-to-day struggles.

As everywhere in the world, and often most dramatically where poverty and hopelessness are the order of every day, children end up in circumstances of having no one to care for them. Also as everywhere in the world, cultural dictates are followed in how the needs of these children are addressed, when they are.

Although I'm certain there are many who would call it nothing more than Western bias, there are some attitudes and measures taken while dealing with children in other parts of the world that strike most of us horrendous ... infanticide and slavery come to mind ... that color our perceptions of how children's issues are addressed. Often the path to such forms of 'problem solving' are simple to follow to the root.

There are certain groups of human beings, which either by nature or because of deep-rooted custom is weak and vulnerable such as, child, women, disabled persons, aged persons, migrant workers, or persons belonging to a particular race.

When lines like that appear in articles that are ostensibly designed to show how helpful and positive things can be, I can't help by worry where this it's all leading.

In this report, that paragraph proceeds a long detail on the Hague Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 1990 World Summit for Children and the UN's Special Session on Children.

Eventually, we get to the section on dealing with the orphans of Kashmir on a local level.

Starting with s scheme for "rehabilitation of orphans", they point out that this is available only to those who are "Government helpers", and add, "... orphans whose parents are involved in Militancy or whose father is Militant are not benefit by this scheme."

Moving then to "massive support", they list some orphanages in the Municipal area of Srinagar which are "working for the upliftment of orphans", like the Bait-ul-Ailal which houses about 80 kids and, "provides balances diet and hygienic clothing to its residents and makes them responsible citizens by providing up to date academic, moral and religious education."

There is the Basic Educational Scholarship Programme which is for "... those brilliant and poor students who cannot continue their education because of financial depression." They get Rs 1000 per year. That's $24.75.

Continued in the next post.