Who will tell Oscar?
Wednesday 3 June 2009
May, 27th.
Oscar is a ten-year-old smiley boy. I found him playing and shouting with other children in front of the foster family’s house where Save the Children has placed him since last October. He arrived in Goma from Kiwanja (50 km away) after fleeing his home. Oscar had lost his mother and lived with his father before the latest fighting.
When Oscar saw other children being sent to their families, he started asking to go back to his father. Oscar’s family has been traced and our team has found his aunt. From her we were informed that Oscar’s father was killed while he tried to escape the fighting. The team plan to take Oscar to his uncles when the security situation will allow, but the boy still wants to see his father. No one can tell him the truth.
Our team talked to Oscar’s foster family who fear that he couldn’t bear the shock of his father’s death. At the moment, Oscar’s reunification can’t be done because of the security situation in his home area. But sooner or later it could be possible. Who will tell the truth to Oscar when the time comes to send him back home? This is the dilemma the protection team is facing because no one can predict what his reaction will be when he finds out.
Tags: africa, child protection, reunification
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February 2nd, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Have you ever considered adding more videos to your blog posts to keep the readers more entertained? I mean I just read through the entire article of yours and it was quite good but since I’m more of a visual learner.