When I started writing 'Letters from the Frontline...' I couldn't decide whether it was a good idea to tell the whole truth of our story in respect of the appalling experiences we have suffered at the hands of a whole tranche of medical, psychological, educational and bureaucratic personnel. I was afraid that if I did ( and thus far I have hardly begun ) I would either frighten other parents or depress them. Over the years I have come into contact with many other families with similar horror stories but it is only now that I am writing these articles that I am realising just how widespread and awful this problem is. Readers are contacting me almost every day with examples of their nightmare experiences......and nightmare is no exaggeration. One very special lady, who is dealing with unimaginable difficulty, described what her family had been put through over the years as 'torture' and emphasised that she did not use this term lightly. Under any other circumstances both my own experiences, and those of others, would be deemed to be psychological abuse.....and I do not use that term lightly either. I have said it before and am saying it again......this has to stop.
Over the years I have been repeatedly amazed at how frightened people in Ireland are about speaking out when something is clearly wrong. I am English by birth. There is a lot wrong with England, both now and in it's past and I take no pride in my accidental nationality, I didn't choose it. Given a choice I would have been born somewhere warm and sunny and if anyone asks me I always describe myself as a global citizen because that exactly what I feel I am. When I have asked other parents why they won't speak up about obvious injustice and bad practice they cite fear of 'consequences', possible removal of what small services they may already have and sometimes they have cited fear of removal of financial benefits or even of their children. It is both incredible and outrageous that already vulnerable people should feel like this in a twenty-first century, First World country for, make no mistake about it, this is the language of dictatorships, this is the language of bullying writ large across the State and all its structures.
Whatever anyone may think of the English we do have our uses. We are, in general, a mouthy bunch who can always be relied on to kick up a fuss when there's crap going down ( you may be starting to notice this tendency ). As more stories come in I have been thinking about what I as just one individual ( who like everyone else is permanently time-poor ) can do to try and effect some positive change. Here's what I'm planning....
' Letters from the Frontline....' is ( I hope ) sometimes humorous, sometimes serious and you tell me it's accurate but no professional is going to be swayed by you waving it under their noses..... BUT....as an ex-researcher and lecturer in both Education and Social Policy what I do know how to do is take data and analyse it and present it as a credible and objective research document. If you, as parents are willing to provide me with the details of your experiences this is what I will turn them into. Once complete I'll publish it both online on this site and in printed form at a no-profit cost. What we will have is a detailed picture of what is going on and recommendations, based on your input, as to what needs to change. I will make the personal commitment to getting this to all the places where it needs to be heard. I'll donate my time if you donate your stories. What I am hearing out there is frustration and fury.........let's use it.
All contributions would be used anonymously and no detail, such as location, would be referred to in any way that could identify any contributor.
'Letters from the Frontline...' is enjoyable to write and I certainly won't stop doing those but it would be wonderful if, out of that project, we could produce something really credible and substantial together.
Gaia Charis, April, 2010.