School boys harrassed in Goa
Frankey Fernandes Monday, October 15, 2007 (New Delhi) Team boys from the Don Bosco High School in Goa returned back home from the Subroto Cup football tournament without playing a single match. The team was disqualified because the organizers felt that some of the players were overaged, but there was greater humiliation in store. The boys allege that medical officials of the tournament had forced the boys to drop their pants as part of the checking procedure in order to determine their age. ''Two days after traveling, all 16 of us were told to stand in line and remove our shirts and put our hands up they checked our armpits and then they asked 7 of us to lower our pants. We were very shy about that we never had done such a thing in our lives,'' said a young member of the football team. Back in Goa, Children's Rights activists are outraged at the incident. ''The children who went to Delhi to participate in the Subroto Cup tournament were subjected to extreme arbitrary treatment,'' said Nishtha Desai, Director, Children's Rights, Goa. The organizers however claim that correct procedures were followed. ''There were two check ups. At the first check up male and female docs were present. In the second check there were 3 docs present. This is the way its done,'' said V N Dixit, Coordinator, Subroto Mukherjee Cup. But these assurances mean nothing for traumatized children and worried parents, who sent them to Delhi for a prestigious national tournament. ''It has created a trauma in the mind of my child, my son who was very active when he left Goa for Delhi when he landed back in Goa he was totally subdued,'' said Atanasio Monterio, Parent. The boys have started practicing again but the pain of being stripped is much more than the 'unfit' stamp marked in their entry forms. http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070029476&ch=10/15/2007%2010:52:00%20PM Sanny de Quepem <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
