Ombudsman

Here in The Netherlands we've got a person who deals with complaints about actions of the government and the governmental organisations that can't be solved by those organisations. He's called the ombudsman.
Ofcourse he's assisted by a large group of people.

A special person within this organisation is the man who deals with all facets to do with children.
He's called the Kinderombudsman.
He controls if the governmental organisations, education, childcare, healthcare and such organisations keep the rights of children central in their work.
He also advises children and young people how to use their rights.
he also created awareness.
He's kind of independent.
The present one is doing great.

People feel free to bring issues to his attention and he's doing his research very thorough.
Whenever research is finished he draws sharp conclusions and doesn't refrain from telling the truth, even when organisations don't like to hear the truth.
He's the one who said that children's rights are not well kept in our country.
He has pointed out that refugee-children have the same rights as all other children, whether they have arrived in our country with their parents or without.

In the beginning I thought that this man was more of a businessman than someone who would stand up for the rights of children. But he has done so much so very well and with so much spirit.. I admire him for being not only a father, but also a father for many children.

Then the new ombudsman was appointed.
He is a man who studied law and worked in the legal field at high positions. A no-nonsense guy. He looks like he gets what he wants.
And he decided not to appoint the kinderombudsman again.

But the people want the kinderombudsman to stay and work a second stretch of time.
A petition was signed more than 32.000 times and still people are asking for the link. Here it is.

I think that trust from the people is not something to throw away.

I wonder why this new ombudsman wants to create his own team.
Doesn't he want to use the experience and expertise of the people who work there now?
Or does he rather want a dictatorship, the self-created opportunity to manipulate people and to make them do what he wants and to make them speak the language he wants?
Does he have problems socializing, working with people on a day to day basis?

He's not even there a year and he's going against the wishes of a lot of children and parents by pushing away the person who is trusted most.

I think he'd better leave.
Oh yes, he has earned the right to do what he wants and throw out the kinderombudsman. He's his boss.
But the way he dealt with the media and with people has coloured his image.
He was impolite, unfriendly and didn't even realize he didn't want to talk with the reporter of the children's TV news. He just didn't bother to turn around and say: "there is no reason to worry about children's rights, because we keep them close to our hearts."
No, he jumped in a car and drove off.

He took with him all the faith I had in the care that man is supposed to have for the rights of other people.


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Earthquakes in Nepal in 2015

When in April a series of horrible earthquakes shook Nepal and a large area around Katmandu more than 8.000 people died, and more than 21.000 people got injured.
The damage was tremendous, ranging from minor damage to houses, to complete demolition of houses and large buildings, like tempels.
In the mountains villages couldn't be reached, which meant that food and medical help couldn't get to the people who needed it and many had to live without any shelter.

Ofcourse I'd seen the TV programs and countless photo's of friends who live in the area.

Today I saw a documentary about the first earthquake of 7.8 on the scale of Richter and the large ones that followed.

I saw the horrible film about the shaking of Katmandu, the falling apart of houses and other buildings, heard the cries of terror and fear. Even saw a friend walking around, knowing how he felt at the moment: completely disorientated, afraid he would die, lost. He didn't think, he just walked to one side of the road, then to the other side, and back again.
His world had become just a feeling and two legs that walked and a body that followed.
I saw him in a way I've never seen him and probably never will see him.

The moviemaker went on to show a temple in crumbles.

My friend finally was taken by the hand by a tiny old Nepalese woman, with deep wrinkles in her face, and eyes that caught his and finally touched his brains. He felt drawn back into human contact and then reached out to hug her and her grandchild that clinged to her skirts. He's spend the rest of the day with them. Trying to find some shelter for the night, and some food.
They became family. He is still there, trying to make her a new house, and we know where to send our money.

The movie went on with the terrible avalanche on the Mount Everest.

reality is that the media have forgotten about this terrible force of nature.
The people still struggle.

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Avalanches

Almost three years ago, at february 17 2012 our Prince Friso was caught in an avalanche while skying outside the piste. He needed a long time of resuscitation before he got in a kind of stable situation of unconsciousness. One and a half year later, without ever regaining consciousness, he died.

Today a group of schoolchildren and a teacher ignored the black label (signalling the most difficult level of skying should be expected) of a piste in the French Alpes, called Les Deux Alpes.
Not only that. The piste had been closed because of lack of snow and wasn't re-opened yet, even thought a large quantity of snow had fallen during the past days. This had caused a firm avalanche risk, so the piste, The Bellacombe Piste, on a north-facing, easily iced slope of the mountain, was still closed.

In the area warnings had been issued to stay on the open pistes, and stay away from areas that were not clearly marked as open. It was also told to stay informed about changed weather conditions and be aware of increased risk.
The group of French schoolchildren and their teachers, and an not connected Ukrainian and some others ignored it all.
They were caught by the force of nature. A large avalanche struck, killing 2 schoolchildren and the Ukrainian, and leaving 2 pupils in cardiac arrest and a teacher unconscious. These 3 were seriously injured taken to a hospital.

A massive rescue operation including more than 60 rescuers, dogs and 4 helicopters resulted in the recovery of all other people.

It makes me wonder why those teachers decided to enter the closed piste.
Didn't they know what they were doing?
Didn't they know they had the responsibility for the lives of all the children and the rescuers?

Questions that will never be answered.

The traumatic event will always stay in the memory of the people involved.
When I was 13 we were preparing a fair at school.
I was not present when a large beam fell on top of one of the pupils. He died.
The impact it had on all of us was immense.

So not only do I feel deeply for the family and friends of the people who died, but also for all those others who are going home without precious friends and a teacher.

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New Year's Eve, Germany, mob attacks

Right now 121 women have filed a report to the German police about harassment and theft during New Year's Eve in front of the railway station of Cologne.
About 25% is about sexual harassment some media state; the BBC and other media report that about three-quarters of the filed reports are about sexual assault.
According to newsreports between 11 and 19 of the men are known to the police.

Some people said today that the police has done great work by finding the attackers so soon, but most have a far more realistic view on the situation.
All women involved report that they were attacked and groped at intimate parts of their body by more than one person.
So the amount of attackers identified is minimal.

Now more information is made public we get a view on a more than terrible situation.
Not only were women raped and sexually attacked, some got burns, because fireworks were deliberately put in their clothes. Men who were trying to protect their wifes and daughters were restricted in their movements.

Not only were these mob attacks in Cologne, there are also reports about attacks in Stuttgart, Hamburg(30) and as was said this evening: München. These attacks were on a smaller scale. About Düsseldorf it's reported that women were robbed after they were forced into bodily contact.

When it's true what some people say, that the police knew about the danger of mob attacks on the integrity of women, there will be even more turmoil about this terrible evening than at the moment.

People don't realize yet that this situation could have been prevented by warning women not to go to the area of the railway station that evening. The new media, like Twitter and Facebook, would have reached many of them. Others could have been reached by TV, radio and police cordons around the area.
Women could have been advised about creating evidence other than using their cellphones, which often were stolen or demolished when people tried to use them or before the women were attacked.

The whole problem is just what right wing politicians needed to stir the hatred against fugitives.
Far too many people are quite willing to leave their positive attitude about people who fled their country, not realizing that this way of attacking women is a fundamentalist issue.

Many years ago I read a book about this way of intimidating and forcing women into the sharia in muslim cities.

I never thought this violation of human rights would come so near.

In the meantime a few arabic women has taken a stand against what has happened.
I think that the fugitives that want to be asylum-seekers should realize that the law in European countries stands above religion.

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