Legal workers bring message of freedom from haplessness to orphans

EMN Dimapur, August 17 For the children and members of Kohima Orphanage & Destitute Home in the capital town Independence Day this time was slightly different–they got visitors from the legal services who brought information about what the state and the law have for their welfare and as equal citizens. Members of the Kohima District Legal Services Authority celebrated Independence Day with the children of Kohima Orphanage & Destitute Home in Kohima town on August 15. During the event, they encouraged the children to strive to be successful. The children were also told about the many and various legal services they can avail to redress grievance or remedy a wrong, During the event, the visitors talked to the children about the life and work of prominent world figures such as Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs, Bill Clinton, and ‘Aristotle’, the organizers informed on Monday, August 17. In the press release that the organizers issued to the media, the visitors talked about the world personalities with an aim to encourage the orphans and the destitute. Referring to the great personalities, the members of the legal fraternity said they were also victims of “unwanted circumstance but who became an example to the world”. No matter what problems and difficulties there may be in their lives, the gathering was told, “if we have determination and work hard, nothing is impossible”. In her speech, Neibano, the caretaker of Kohima Orphanage & Destitute Home expressed gratitude to the members of the Kohima District Legal Services Authority “for the kind endeavor and making an effort to visit their home with a concern in imparting legal awareness and sensitizing the destitute children who not only need care, love and shelter but the knowledge regarding the rights which they are entitled to”. The caretaker gave a brief account about the institution. It came into being in the year 1973, founded by the late Zaputou-ü Angami. Neibano said that since the inception of the home for destitute, the institution has taken care of about 659 children, some of whom have found jobs and are now well settled with families. She also poured out her expectation from the society: apart from love, care and financial support, the most important thing that the children want was acceptance by the society, to be accepted as any normal individual and not to be looked down as people who were victims of ‘unwanted tragedies or circumstances’. In the keynote address, Nino Iralu, the secretary for the Nagaland State Legal Services Authority, delivered the keynote address with a quote of encouragement to the children: “I am a very important person and we can do it because we are all children of God’. She highlighted the activities and services that are being provided by the legal services authority. The services are in the form of free legal aid in the nature of counseling and providing free legal services in conducting cases, organizing Lok Adalat, settling matrimonial disputes through mediation and conciliation, spreading information and rendering free legal aid to prisoners and under-trial prisoners. Iralu encouraged the gathering to avail the services which she said were meant for every individual. She said that there is a front office in all the eleven districts of the states from where citizens can avail free legal services and free legal aid. The front offices are located in each district’s court buildings. These cells have a chairman, the District & Sessions Judge, with the chief judicial magistrate/judicial magistrate first class as the secretary. The team is assisted by a group of panel lawyers and paralegal volunteers. Iralu told the children to avail the opportunity whenever they need it. She also went on to say that, they should seek legal aid only when their rights have been infringed upon and not for wrongdoings. Panel lawyer Neite-o Koza, also addressed the gathering. In her discourse, she shared personal experiences and said she was a victim of circumstances as well. Her parents left her and her siblings at a very young age and all of them struggled to survive, she said. The lawyers said, ‘If we give our best in whatever we do, God rewards.’ That, she said, was one reason why she became a lawyer to help the poor and the downtrodden. She expressed solidarity with the children and what they go through ‘as they are also victims of circumstances’. However, she advised them not to give up in their struggle to become ‘someone important in the society’. She encouraged them not to look down upon themselves or feel pity for themselves but ‘carry the burden’ to become an asset to the society. “It is not your fault, to be in such a situation. But it will be your fault, if you do not live well. It is right to dream, but do dream and at the same time work hard and follow God’s word,” the lawyer said. Chief Judicial Magistrate Mezivolu T Therieh also spoke during the event, focusing on two topics namely the Juvenile Justices (Care & Protection) Act of 2000 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012 (POCSO). With amendment, the Juvenile Justice Act has been implemented in a more child-friendly approach to protect the human rights of a juvenile who has not completed 18 years, she said. Explaining the act, she said that the Act caters to the requirements for children who are in conflict with law and in need of care and protection. She explained that juveniles who are in conflict with law are produced before the Special Juvenile Police Unit or the Juvenile Justice Board comprising the principal magistrate and two members (one of which is a woman) to look into the matter. Therieh further stated that children in need of care and protection are heard by the Child Welfare Committee consisting of a chairperson and four other members. Therieh also talked about observation homes and the special homes that house juvenile that are in conflict with the law. The second topic that she talked about was the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012 or the POCSO. Before the coming of the POCSO Act, she said, those who committed crime against children were dealt under the Indian Penal Code, but now any crime against children are punished under the POCSO Act before the District & Sessions Judge. The judge has been designated as the special judge for children. ‘If they experience any unwanted act against their body or any threat upon them on the prohibited parts of their body, they should speak out their voice and should not remain silent… speaking up for their rights does not mean taking revenge but to correct the wrong of the criminal so that justice is served for the victim,’ the chief judicial magistrate said. Another speaker during the gathering was Kekhriengulie, a panel lawyer. He was one of the resource persons. He spoke on the topic “Rights of the underprivileged and destitute”. He encouraged the members of the home for the destitute to avail the facilities ‘meant for them especially coming through the Social Welfare department’. ‘They can stake a claim for their rights,’ he said and added that if they faced any difficulty while doing so the legal services authority’s front office was there to provide them with legal assistance. He encouraged the children to step forward and avail the benefits ‘meant for them’. After the main event, the visitors had a brief interaction with the children of the institution.