Georgette Mulheir: The tragedy of orphanages

ジョルジェット・ムルヘア 「孤児院の悲劇」

翻訳: Kazunori Akashi 校正: Emi Kamiya

Across Europe and Central Asia,

ヨーロッパと中央アジアでは

approximately one million children live in large

およそ100万人の子ども達が

residential institutions, usually known as orphanages.

大規模な居住型施設 ― 孤児院で 暮らします

Most people imagine orphanages as a benign environment

孤児院と聞くと 愛情あふれる温かな環境を

that care for children.

思い浮かべる人も多く

Others know more about the living conditions there,

孤児院の実態を わかっている人ですら

but still think they're a necessary evil.

必要悪だと考えています

After all, where else would we put all of those children

両親のいない子どもを そんなにたくさん

who don't have any parents?

収容できる場所は 他にないからです

But 60 years of research has demonstrated

しかし 60年に渡る 研究で明らかになったのは

that separating children from their families

子どもを家族から引き離し

and placing them in large institutions

巨大な施設に入れることで

seriously harms their health and development,

健康や発達が 損なわれるという事実です

and this is particularly true for young babies.

生後間もない赤ちゃんでは 特に顕著です

As we know, babies are born

赤ちゃんは

without their full muscle development,

筋肉も脳も未発達の状態で

and that includes the brain.

生まれてきます

During the first three years of life, the brain grows

脳は ３才までに 成長を完了しますが

to its full size, with most of that growth taking place

成長過程の大部分は

in the first six months. The brain develops

生後６か月までに起ります

in response to experience and to stimulation.

脳は経験と刺激に 応じて発達します

Every time a young baby learns something new --

赤ちゃんが新しい事を 学ぶたび たとえば ―

to focus its eyes,

目の焦点を合わせる

to mimic a movement or a facial expression,

動きや表情をまねる 何かを手に取る

to pick something up, to form a word or to sit up --

単語を話す お座りする そういった事を学ぶたびに

new synaptic connections are being built in the brain.

新しいシナプスの結合が 脳で形成されます

New parents are astonished by the rapidity of this learning.

親になると 子どもの 学習の速さに驚きます

They are quite rightly amazed and delighted by their children's cleverness.

親が子ども達の能力に 感心したり 喜んだりするのは当然です

They communicate their delight to their children,

親は喜びを子どもに伝え

who respond with smiles,

子どもは笑顔と

and a desire to achieve more and to learn more.

もっとやりたい もっと学びたい という希望で応えます

This forming of the powerful attachment between child and parent

親子間に 愛情が芽生えることで

provides the building blocks for physical, social,

身体的 社会的 ―

language, cognitive and psychomotor development.

言語 認知 精神運動面の 発達の基礎ができます

It is the model for all future relationships with friends,

親子関係は 将来の 人間関係 つまり友人や

with partners and with their own children.

パートナーや我が子との 関係の基礎になります

It happens so naturally in most families

ほとんどの家庭で 関係は自然にできあがり―

that we don't even notice it. Most of us are unaware

意識されません

of its importance to human development and, by extension,

親子関係が人間の発達や

to the development of a healthy society.

健全な社会の発展に 重要だと気づきにくいのです

And it's only when it goes wrong that we start to realize

関係に問題が生じて はじめて ―

the importance of families to children.

子どもにとって家庭が 重要だとわかるのです

In August, 1993, I had my first opportunity to witness

1993年の８月に 私が初めて目にしたのは

on a massive scale the impact on children

子どもが施設に収容され 十分に世話されないため

of institutionalization and the absence of parenting.

大きな影響を 受けている様子でした

Those of us who remember the newspaper reports

1989年の革命後の

that came out of Romania after the 1989 revolution

ルーマニアでの 新聞報道が記憶にある方は

will recall the horrors of the conditions in some of those institutions.

施設の劣悪な状況を 思い出せるでしょう

I was asked to help the director of a large institution to

私は依頼されて 大規模施設の所長を援助し

help prevent the separation of children from their families.

子どもを家族と 別れさせない活動をしました

Housing 550 babies, this was Ceausescu's show orphanage,

550人の赤ちゃんを収容する チャウシェスクのモデル孤児院だったので

and so I'd been told the conditions were much better.

状況は他より ずっと良いと 聞かされていました

Having worked with lots of young children, I expected

私は小さい子どもがいる 現場で働いてきたので

the institution to be a riot of noise,

施設は騒々しいだろうと 予想していました

but it was as silent as a convent.

ところが修道院のように静かです

It was hard to believe there were any children there at all,

子どもがいるとは とても思えないのに

yet the director showed me into room after room,

所長が案内してくれる どの部屋にも

each containing row upon row of cots,

無数のベッドが 並んでいます

in each of which lay a child staring into space.

子どもがベッドに横たわり ぼんやりと宙を眺めています

In a room of 40 newborns, not one of them was crying.

40人の新生児がいる部屋でも 泣き声は聞こえません

Yet I could see soiled nappies, and I could see

おむつが汚れている様子や

that some of the children were distressed,

むずかる様子は見ましたが

but the only noise was a low, continuous moan.

聞こえるのは子ども達が 力なく発するうめき声だけ

The head nurse told me proudly,

保育士長が誇らしげに言いました

"You see, our children are very well-behaved."

「子ども達は とても お行儀がいいでしょう」

Over the next few days, I began to realize

その後 数日でわかりました

that this quietness was not exceptional.

静かなのは そこだけではないのです

The newly admitted babies would cry for the first few hours,

赤ちゃんが入所すると 最初の数時間は泣きます

but their demands were not met, and so eventually

でも欲求が 満たされないとわかると

they learned not to bother. Within a few days,

泣かなくなるのです 赤ちゃんは数日で

they were listless, lethargic, and staring into space

無気力 無関心で 宙を眺めるだけになります

like all the others.

どの子も同じです

Over the years, many people and news reports

長年 多くの人や新聞報道が

have blamed the personnel in the institutions

施設の職員を批判してきました

for the harm caused to the children, but often, one member

彼らが子どもに 害を与えているというのです

of staff is caring for 10, 20, and even 40 children.

でも職員１人で10〜20人 時には40人の子どもを世話するのです

Hence they have no option but to implement a regimented program.

だから決められた計画を 実施するのが精一杯です

The children must be woken at 7 and fed at 7:30.

子どもを７時に起こし ７時30分に食事を与えます

At 8, their nappies must be changed, so a staff member

８時にはおむつを替えるので

may have only 30 minutes to feed 10 or 20 children.

担当する10〜20人に 食事を与える時間はわずか30分です

If a child soils its nappy at 8:30, he will have to wait

子どもが８時30分に おむつを汚してしまうと

several hours before it can be changed again.

取り替えてもらうまでに 数時間待たねばなりません

The child's daily contact with another human being

子どもが他の人間と 触れ合う時間は

is reduced to a few hurried minutes of feeding and changing,

食事とおむつ交換の時だけ １日わずか数分に限られ

and otherwise their only stimulation is the ceiling,

それ以外の刺激と言えば

the walls or the bars of their cots.

天井と壁とベッドの柵だけなのです

Since my first visit to Ceausescu's institution,

初めてチャウシェスクの 施設を訪れてから

I've seen hundreds of such places across 18 countries,

チェコ共和国や スーダンをはじめ 18か国で

from the Czech Republic to Sudan.

数百か所の施設を見てきました

Across all of these diverse lands and cultures,

土地や文化が 多様であっても

the institutions, and the child's journey through them,

施設や そこでの子どもの暮らしは

is depressingly similar.

憂鬱になるほどよく似ています

Lack of stimulation often leads to self-stimulating behaviors

外からの刺激が少ないため 自己刺激行動 ―

like hand-flapping, rocking back and forth,

手をヒラヒラさせたり 前後に揺れたり

or aggression, and in some institutions, psychiatric drugs

攻撃的になる様子が見られます 施設によっては そんな行動を

are used to control the behavior of these children,

向精神薬で制御したり

whilst in others, children are tied up to prevent them

自分や他者を傷つけないように

from harming themselves or others.

縛ったりするのです

These children are quickly labeled as having disabilities

こんな子どもは「障害者」として

and transferred to another institution for children with disabilities.

障害児用の施設に送られます

Most of these children will never leave the institution again.

一度 施設に入ると 出所する事はまれです

For those without disabilities, at age three,

障害のない子どもでも ３才になると

they're transferred to another institution, and at age seven,

別の施設に送られ さらに７才で

to yet another. Segregated according to age and gender,

次の施設に送られます 年令と性別で分けられるので

they are arbitrarily separated from their siblings,

兄弟姉妹ですら 離ればなれになります

often without even a chance to say goodbye.

別れを言う間さえ 与えられないことも

There's rarely enough to eat. They are often hungry.

食べ物は不十分で 飢えることもしばしばです

The older children bully the little ones. They learn to

年上の子が小さい子をいじめます

survive. They learn to defend themselves, or they go under.

子ども達は生きる術として 身を守るために屈服します

When they leave the institution, they find it really difficult

施設を出ると 社会に適応する ―

to cope and to integrate into society.

大変さを知ります

In Moldova, young women raised in institutions

モルドバでは 施設で育った女性は

are 10 times more likely to be trafficked than their peers,

そうでない女性の10倍の確率で 人身売買の対象になります

and a Russian study found that two years after leaving institutions,

ロシアでの調査では 施設を出て２年後までに

young adults, 20 percent of them had a criminal record,

20%が犯罪を犯し

14 percent were involved in prostitution,

14%が売春に関わり

and 10 percent had taken their own lives.

10%が自殺するそうです

But why are there so many orphans in Europe

近年 戦争や災害のないヨーロッパに

when there hasn't been a great deal of war or disaster in recent years?

何故これほど多くの孤児が いるのでしょうか？

In fact, more than 95 percent of these children have living parents,

実は孤児の親の95%以上は 生きています

and societies tend to blame these parents

親は自分の子を捨てたと

for abandoning these children, but research shows that

世間から非難されますが 調査によれば

most parents want their children, and that the primary drivers

ほとんどの親は 子どもと暮らしたいのです

behind institutionalization

子どもを施設に送る 主な理由は

are poverty, disability and ethnicity.

貧困 障害 民族的な問題です

Many countries have not developed inclusive schools,

多くの国では障害児を 受け入れる学校がなく

and so even children with a very mild disability

障害の程度が軽くても

are sent away to a residential special school,

6~7才で 寄宿制の

at age six or seven.

特別支援学校に送られます

The institution may be hundreds of miles away from the family home.

施設は自宅から 何百キロも離れている場合もあり

If the family's poor, they find it difficult to visit,

貧しい家庭なら 訪問もままならないため

and gradually the relationship breaks down.

親子関係が 次第に壊れてしまいます

Behind each of the million children in institutions,

施設にいる どの子にも

there is usually a story of parents who are desperate

必死なのに万策尽きた 親がいるのです

and feel they've run out of options, like Natalia in Moldova,

モルドバのナタリアも そんな親の一人です

who only had enough money to feed her baby,

赤ちゃんを養う ギリギリのお金しかなく

and so had to send her older son to the institution;

上の息子を施設に 送らねばなりませんでした

or Desi, in Bulgaria, who looked after her four children

ブルガリアのデシには 子どもが４人いましたが

at home until her husband died,

夫が亡くなり フルタイムで

but then she had to go out to work full time,

働かねばならなくなりました

and with no support, felt she had no option

支援もなく 障害のある子どもを

but to place a child with disabilities in an institution;

施設に入れるしか ありませんでした

or the countless young girls too terrified to tell their parents

また無数の若い女性が 親に妊娠を知られることを恐れて

they're pregnant, who leave their babies in a hospital;

病院に赤ん坊を置き去りにします

or the new parents, the young couple who have

親になったばかりのカップルが

just found out that their firstborn child has a disability,

初めての子どもに障害が あるとわかっても

and instead of being provided with positive messages

医者は子どもの可能性について

about their child's potential, are told by the doctors,

前向きなことを言ってはくれません

"Forget her, leave her in the institution,

「この子の事は忘れて 施設に入れなさい

go home and make a healthy one."

家に帰って 健康な子を作ればいい」

This state of affairs is neither necessary nor is it inevitable.

でも こんな事は避けられます

Every child has the right to a family, deserves

全ての子どもには 家族をもつ権利があり

and needs a family, and children are amazingly resilient.

家族が必要です 子どもには素晴らしい回復力があり

We find that if we get them out of institutions and into loving

早い段階で 施設から出して

families early on, they recover their developmental delays,

愛情豊かな家庭を与えれば 発達の遅れを取り戻し

and go on to lead normal, happy lives.

普通の幸せな暮らしを送れます

It's also much cheaper to provide support to families

さらに家族に対する支援は

than it is to provide institutions.

施設を供給するより低コストです

One study suggests that a family support service

調査によれば 家族支援サービスのコストは

costs 10 percent of an institutional placement,

施設に送るコストのわずか１割です

whilst good quality foster care

また優れた養子システムでも

costs usually about 30 percent.

３割ほどしかかかりません

If we spend less on these children but on the right services,

適切な支援を提供しつつ コストを下げることで

we can take the savings and reinvest them in high quality

重度の障害をもつ子ども達向けの

residential care for those few children with extremely complex needs.

質の高い居住型ケアに 資金を分配できるのです

Across Europe, a movement is growing to shift the focus

ヨーロッパでは ケアの質が低い―

and transfer the resources from large institutions

大規模施設よりも 子どもを保護し

that provide poor quality care to community-based services

子どもの能力を伸ばせる 地域型サービスを発展させようと

that protect children from harm and allow them to develop

関心がよせられ 資金も移行しています

to their full potential. When I first started to work in Romania

ルーマニアでは 私が最初に働いた20年ほど前には

nearly 20 years ago, there were 200,000 children living

施設に20万人の子どもがいて

in institutions, and more entering every day.

数は日に日に増加していました

Now, there are less than 10,000, and

ところが現在では１万人を割り込み

family support services are provided across the country.

国中で家族支援サービスが 提供されています

In Moldova, despite extreme poverty and the terrible effects

モルドバでは 極度の貧困と世界金融危機の

of the global financial crisis, the numbers of children

影響にもかかわらず入所者数は

in institutions has reduced by more than 50 percent

この５年間で 50%以上 減っています

in the last five years, and the resources are being

その結果 資金が 家族支援サービスや

redistributed to family support services and inclusive schools.

「インクルーシブ教育」に 割り振られているのです

Many countries have developed national action plans for change.

多くの国が変革のための 行動計画を策定しています

The European Commission and other major donors

欧州委員会や 他の主な支援団体は

are finding ways to divert money from institutions

施設向けだった資金を

towards family support, empowering communities

家族支援や 地域の子育て支援に

to look after their own children.

向けはじめています

But there is still much to be done to end the systematic

それでも子どもを施設に 入れさせないために

institutionalization of children.

すべきことは 山ほどあります

Awareness-raising is required at every level of society.

社会のあらゆる層で 意識を高める活動が必要です

People need to know the harm that institutions cause to children,

施設は子どもに害を与えること ―

and the better alternatives that exist.

そして 代替案があることを 知らせなければなりません

If we know people who are planning to support orphanages,

孤児院を支援しようとする人がいたら

we should convince them to support family services instead.

代わりに家族支援サービスを 支援するよう説得すべきです

Together, this is the one form of child abuse

孤児院は虐待の一種で

that we could eradicate in our lifetime.

私たちの世代でなくせるはずです

Thank you. (Applause)

ありがとうございます　（拍手）

(Applause)

（拍手）