HUMAN RIGHTS AND ETTA ROSALES (CHAIR, COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS)

Obviously, there's no love lost between Etta Rosales, Commission of Human Rights honcho, and Mayor Rody Duterteof Davao. Rosales chided Duterte for commenting on the slapping incident involving Q.C. Mayor Herbert Bautista vis-a-vis a chinese national caught red-handed by police in possession of shabu worth millions of pesos. Bautista slapped twice the chinese drug dealer as it showed disrespect and cockiness to Bautista, especially in front of so many media people.

Mayor Duterte, when asked to comment to Bautista's actuations, said that Bautista was even too tame or kind ("mabait") according to Duterte. He quipped that he could have kicked and dropped the chinese drug dealer at the Davao Gulf to become food for starving fishes.

Etta Rosales, when interviewed on national TV about her reaction to Mayor Duterte's comments re the above slapping incident, categorically, and emphatically said that Duterte should have refrained from making any comments, and have just kept quiet so as not to make bad influence on less discerning minds.

I know where Etta Rosales is coming from in her said comments. However, I find the implications of her statements re Mayor Duterte's comments a bit off-tangent, specially coming from one who's the Chair of the Commision of Human Rights of this republic. Firstly, isn't someone's right to speak out one's mind or freedom of expression, just like what Mayor Duterte did, a basic human right too (of course things will have a different complexion if applied with the principle of "clear and present danger")?. Thus, didn't Ms. Rosales herself break Mayor Duterte's right to self-expression when she made those comments, specially when so done in front of national TV? Secondly, another basic human right is to have the freedom to think what one wants to think. But here, Ms. Rosales is in fact limiting people from POSSIBLY thinking what they may want to think. Also, unless, Ms. Rosales has clear-cut evidence that Mayor Duterte's comments COULD indeed be a bad influence on "less discerning minds," she has no right to claim that Mayor Duterte is INDEED a bad influence on "less discerming minds." Ms. Rosales is also guilty of the fallacy of NON-SEQUITUR. Also, isn't it quite CONDESCENDING of Ms. Rosales to say that Mayor Duterte is a bad influence on less discerning minds? Implying that those who agree with Mayor Duterte are "less discerning minds." Mme. Rosales, Chair of the Commission on Human Rights, may not agree with Mayor Duterte, but shouldn't she herself had defended his right to say his mind, and the right of those "less discerning minds" to think what they want to think?

Enough of this Ma'am Etta. May I please instead call on you to do something about the plight of MINDANAWON MARCOS MARTIAL LAW VICTIMS (WEREN'T YOU A MARTIAL LAW VICTIM YOURSELF) just like those who up till now are still having a hard, if not HORRIBLE time, making their claims. May I please invite you Ma'am Etta Rosales, Chair fo the Commission of Human Rights to PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION to what a claimant, Bro. Karl Gaspar (CSSR), said about his HORRIFIC ORDEAL when he came over to the CHR-APPOINTED VENUE to formally make a claim as a Martial Law Victim:
Karl Gaspar
5 August
VICTIMIZING THE VICTIMS TWICE OVER (PART II)
I was furious… as in really, really FURIOUS; I felt like a volcano ready the erupt anytime. The susunod na kabanata turned out to be – literally – nakakasuka. As I underwent another frustrating day waiting in line to file my documents as a Human Rights Violations’ Victim (the term used to label us by the Human Rights Claimants Board or HRCB in conjunction with the Commission on Human Rights), I felt my blood rising to a dangerous level.
If not for the maintenance medicine I take every morning, I could have collapsed while lining up again this morning. At various moments, I felt like vomiting while waiting for my turn to have my documents processed. There were similar complaints I heard from claimants who were senior citizens like me who were at the Almendras gym today.
This was how today turned out. After the harrowing day yesterday, I returned to the Almendras gym at 7:20 a.m. There was a huge crowd already lining up. Those of us issued numbers the previous day positioned ourselves near the entrance as we were promised to be the first ones to be allowed entry to the gym. A quarter before 8:00 one of the staff of the HRCB announced that only those issued numbers on Monday would be entertained today, as 600 were given numbers. Based on what they were able to accomplish on Monday with only 300+ claimants; documents processed, only 300 more could be processed today Tuesday.
She then announced that those who were from Davao Oriental and Norte as well as Compostela Valley should go home and wait for instructions as to when they will go to Tagum City sometime in September for their turn to have their documents processed. Only those from Davao City would be given numbers today but will need to return tomorrow. However, my guess was that there would be more than 500 from Davao City who have no numbers. So can all of them be covered on the last day of this 3-day marathon? (Apparently, yesterday afternoon, all those who came from Cotabato were entertained so they could all return home. As for those coming from Davao del Sur, there was no instruction as to when will their turn be.)
With that announcement, a good number left the compound but there were new arrivals so the crowd still jampacked the front of the gym. Meanwhile, we thought the gates would open at 8 a.m. so that proceedings would begin. For whatever was the reason, the gates opened only by 9 a.m., an hour late. We patiently waited for instructions what was going to happen next. I was beside Kalay Montera from Mandug, wife of Doming, who was my co-detainee. (Doming died last May so Kalay, as widow, came to file the claims). Those of us with assigned numbers (mine was 446, not 445 as I wrote earlier) were now given a new set of numbers as we lined up. I had No. 36. Kalay was not feeling well, so we managed to find chairs to sit on while we waited for our turn to be called.
Meanwhile, one could see that given the circumstances, there were those who just arrived today who found ways to find someone they knew among the gatekeepers so they didn’t have to stand in line and be allowed entry even ahead of us. That made me furious even more as I saw a few of them being able to enjoy the privilege. I wanted to object openly but didn’t have the energy to do so anymore. At this point, I was going to conserve whatever energy was left in my body so I could finish and go home as early as possible.
I thought that since I had my number, I just had to patiently wait for my turn, submit my documents, sign whatever is to be signed, finish all that needed to be done and then go home to finally be rid of this nuisance. It was not meant to be; I was to be subjected to more horrors (which, of course, did not only happen to me). Something has been really terribly wrong about the procedures followed by the HRCB in conjunction with the CHR. There were no clear instructions that we could access, not even in the websites as to exactly what documents were required and what procedures would be followed in the actual site like the one held here at the Almendras gym.
In the absence of an office set up by the HRCB/CHR in Davao City, there was no place we could check on these details before 4-6 August. We thought that since the Ateneo Legal Center (APILA) had gotten into the act – as a voluntary agency to assist claimants – we all assumed that the advice of the staff of APILA was enough. I had been to the APILA office enough times to be able to check out what exactly were the documents I should bring and their instructions I thought were sufficient enough. This, however, was not the case. Neither did the HRCB/CHR put up signs at the venue - with all the details especially in terms of documents to be brought - for us to check before falling in line. And there was no one at the site who could give us the right information before we lined up. So we lined up, waited and waited and when we finally reach the tables where our documents were processed, that was the only time we knew if we had all the documents required.
In the inner sanctum, we had to report to three tables. In each table there was a staff person (or volunteer) who would check the documents. It turned out that it was not necessary to go through the 3 tables, as they did practically the same thing, namely to find out if all documents were on hand. But each table had its own interpretation regarding the documents; one table insisted on the true copies, another was OK just with the Xerox, another did not need IDs issued by government agencies, another was OK with ID of private school.
All three however indicated that the final arbiter was the fourth table where the lawyers were who would finally decide if all documents were in order. I didn’t want to waste more time, so I asked the one in the third table to just tell me straight what were the final documents required so I did not have to go to the final table of the lawyers to be told to still collect more documents. I was told to make sure the certified true copies of documents were available and IDs issued by government agencies.
So off I went, got out of the gym, walk under the heat of the sun, find a taxi and went home so I could collect all all that I still needed. (As it turned out, Murphy’s law was in full force once more today; not only did it take time to find a taxi along that busy road but the traffic was terrible). To make the story short, I was back inside the gym 30 minutes later. I got the OK of the third table and was ushered to the final table, where we took again the circle seats to wait for our turn. Lo and behold, the guys at the table didn’t look like lawyers at all; they looked like they were college freshmen!!!
And when my turn came, I faced this very young man named Bernard Laguindino who told me later that he was a college student from Manila hired by the HRCB to come to Davao for this event. He certainly was no lawyer, he was not even a law student. So why did the staff at the three tables referred to them as lawyers? Perhaps the only reason he got hired was because he could operate the gadgets. I wondered what he knew about the Marcos dictatorship and if he cared to know about human rights violations. He hardly looked at my papers and didn’t care if I had certified true copies or Xerox copies. He then asked me to sign my signature on a pad and then took my photo. Two minutes later, I had my blue paper labelled Acknowledgment Receipt and My Docket No. was 2014-11-00396.
And that was it. I was done and I was told to take the exit. It was a pyric victory of sort. I won in the end, but I didn’t feel victorious at all.
Going out by the side door and reaching the part where hundreds were still waiting for their numbers, I spotted a few of those with whom I spent time in prison. They were still waiting for their numbers. I shared with them what my experiences were and warned them what to expect when it was their turn to enter the inner sanctum. One of them finally blurted out: Mora man tag gitorture na sab ani oy! (It is as if we are undergoing torture once again!)
It was 11:45 a.m. when I left the comrades at the site of our new experience of torture and went home, feeling very tired but also feeling very sorry for the hundreds who remained there. I walked to the circle where I could find a jeepney to bring me home. There stood the statue of Andres Bonifacio and I thought of a line from his poem: Aling pag-ibig pa ang hihigit kaya sa pagkadalisay at pagkadakila, tulad ng pag-ibig sa tinubuang lupa!
And with a sense of bitterness, I could not help but think: oh what some of us of our generation did for the love of this country; but having undergone a recent eight-hour ordeal (five hours on Monday and three hours today), was it all worth it?
(Below is foto of my ACKNOWLEDGEMENT RECEIPT, received only afrer the 8-hour "torture" sessions).
Photo: VICTIMIZING THE VICTIMS TWICE OVER (PART II) I was furious… as in really, really FURIOUS; I felt like a volcano ready the erupt anytime. The susunod na kabanata turned out to be – literally – nakakasuka. As I underwent another frustrating day waiting in line to file my documents as a Human Rights Violations’ Victim (the term used to label us by the Human Rights Claimants Board or HRCB in conjunction with the Commission on Human Rights), I felt my blood rising to a dangerous level. If not for the maintenance medicine I take every morning, I could have collapsed while lining up again this morning. At various moments, I felt like vomiting while waiting for my turn to have my documents processed. There were similar complaints I heard from claimants who were senior citizens like me who were at the Almendras gym today. This was how today turned out. After the harrowing day yesterday, I returned to the Almendras gym at 7:20 a.m. There was a huge crowd already lining up. Those of us issued numbers the previous day positioned ourselves near the entrance as we were promised to be the first ones to be allowed entry to the gym. A quarter before 8:00 one of the staff of the HRCB announced that only those issued numbers on Monday would be entertained today, as 600 were given numbers. Based on what they were able to accomplish on Monday with only 300+ claimants; documents processed, only 300 more could be processed today Tuesday. She then announced that those who were from Davao Oriental and Norte as well as Compostela Valley should go home and wait for instructions as to when they will go to Tagum City sometime in September for their turn to have their documents processed. Only those from Davao City would be given numbers today but will need to return tomorrow. However, my guess was that there would be more than 500 from Davao City who have no numbers. So can all of them be covered on the last day of this 3-day marathon? (Apparently, yesterday afternoon, all those who came from Cotabato were entertained so they could all return home. As for those coming from Davao del Sur, there was no instruction as to when will their turn be.) With that announcement, a good number left the compound but there were new arrivals so the crowd still jampacked the front of the gym. Meanwhile, we thought the gates would open at 8 a.m. so that proceedings would begin. For whatever was the reason, the gates opened only by 9 a.m., an hour late. We patiently waited for instructions what was going to happen next. I was beside Kalay Montera from Mandug, wife of Doming, who was my co-detainee. (Doming died last May so Kalay, as widow, came to file the claims). Those of us with assigned numbers (mine was 446, not 445 as I wrote earlier) were now given a new set of numbers as we lined up. I had No. 36. Kalay was not feeling well, so we managed to find chairs to sit on while we waited for our turn to be called. Meanwhile, one could see that given the circumstances, there were those who just arrived today who found ways to find someone they knew among the gatekeepers so they didn’t have to stand in line and be allowed entry even ahead of us. That made me furious even more as I saw a few of them being able to enjoy the privilege. I wanted to object openly but didn’t have the energy to do so anymore. At this point, I was going to conserve whatever energy was left in my body so I could finish and go home as early as possible. I thought that since I had my number, I just had to patiently wait for my turn, submit my documents, sign whatever is to be signed, finish all that needed to be done and then go home to finally be rid of this nuisance. It was not meant to be; I was to be subjected to more horrors (which, of course, did not only happen to me). Something has been really terribly wrong about the procedures followed by the HRCB in conjunction with the CHR. There were no clear instructions that we could access, not even in the websites as to exactly what documents were required and what procedures would be followed in the actual site like the one held here at the Almendras gym. In the absence of an office set up by the HRCB/CHR in Davao City, there was no place we could check on these details before 4-6 August. We thought that since the Ateneo Legal Center (APILA) had gotten into the act – as a voluntary agency to assist claimants – we all assumed that the advice of the staff of APILA was enough. I had been to the APILA office enough times to be able to check out what exactly were the documents I should bring and their instructions I thought were sufficient enough. This, however, was not the case. Neither did the HRCB/CHR put up signs at the venue - with all the details especially in terms of documents to be brought - for us to check before falling in line. And there was no one at the site who could give us the right information before we lined up. So we lined up, waited and waited and when we finally reach the tables where our documents were processed, that was the only time we knew if we had all the documents required. In the inner sanctum, we had to report to three tables. In each table there was a staff person (or volunteer) who would check the documents. It turned out that it was not necessary to go through the 3 tables, as they did practically the same thing, namely to find out if all documents were on hand. But each table had its own interpretation regarding the documents; one table insisted on the true copies, another was OK just with the Xerox, another did not need IDs issued by government agencies, another was OK with ID of private school. All three however indicated that the final arbiter was the fourth table where the lawyers were who would finally decide if all documents were in order. I didn’t want to waste more time, so I asked the one in the third table to just tell me straight what were the final documents required so I did not have to go to the final table of the lawyers to be told to still collect more documents. I was told to make sure the certified true copies of documents were available and IDs issued by government agencies. So off I went, got out of the gym, walk under the heat of the sun, find a taxi and went home so I could collect all all that I still needed. (As it turned out, Murphy’s law was in full force once more today; not only did it take time to find a taxi along that busy road but the traffic was terrible). To make the story short, I was back inside the gym 30 minutes later. I got the OK of the third table and was ushered to the final table, where we took again the circle seats to wait for our turn. Lo and behold, the guys at the table didn’t look like lawyers at all; they looked like they were college freshmen!!! And when my turn came, I faced this very young man named Bernard Laguindino who told me later that he was a college student from Manila hired by the HRCB to come to Davao for this event. He certainly was no lawyer, he was not even a law student. So why did the staff at the three tables referred to them as lawyers? Perhaps the only reason he got hired was because he could operate the gadgets. I wondered what he knew about the Marcos dictatorship and if he cared to know about human rights violations. He hardly looked at my papers and didn’t care if I had certified true copies or Xerox copies. He then asked me to sign my signature on a pad and then took my photo. Two minutes later, I had my blue paper labelled Acknowledgment Receipt and My Docket No. was 2014-11-00396. And that was it. I was done and I was told to take the exit. It was a pyric victory of sort. I won in the end, but I didn’t feel victorious at all. Going out by the side door and reaching the part where hundreds were still waiting for their numbers, I spotted a few of those with whom I spent time in prison. They were still waiting for their numbers. I shared with them what my experiences were and warned them what to expect when it was their turn to enter the inner sanctum. One of them finally blurted out: Mora man tag gitorture na sab ani oy! (It is as if we are undergoing torture once again!) It was 11:45 a.m. when I left the comrades at the site of our new experience of torture and went home, feeling very tired but also feeling very sorry for the hundreds who remained there. I walked to the circle where I could find a jeepney to bring me home. There stood the statue of Andres Bonifacio and I thought of a line from his poem: Aling pag-ibig pa ang hihigit kaya sa pagkadalisay at pagkadakila, tulad ng pag-ibig sa tinubuang lupa! And with a sense of bitterness, I could not help but think: oh what some of us of our generation did for the love of this country; but having undergone a recent eight-hour ordeal (five hours on Monday and three hours today), was it all worth it? (Below is foto of my ACKNOWLEDGEMENT RECEIPT, received only after the 8-hour "torture" sessions). https://www.facebook.com/karl.gaspar?fref=ts

BANGSAMORO BASIC LAW NEGOTIATIONS AREN'T IN THE DOLDRUMS NOR DOOMED TO FAIL. BUT WE ALL MUST WORK HARD TO MAKE THINGS WORK!

The negotiations between between the government and the MILF on the Bangsamoro Basic Law has admittedly hit a snag. But I do believe that it's not as stark as some ulteriorly-interested quarters would want to paint. Thus, I think WE ALL MUST have to work for THE SUCCESSFUL PASSAGE of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. And as this indeed is a NEW CREATION, I believe that Everyone, I repeat, EVERYONE, must learn to think out-of-the-box, be willing to be uncomfortable at certain points. No short-cuts. The road to meaningful and more lasting peace is always the road less taken. Only those who have the patience, lasting goodwill, intelligence, and courage can really meaningfully traverse such path. And all these we owe to those who have endlessly toiled, suffered, and even perished in times passed; presently to one and all who are longing for meaningful peace in this Mindanao we inhabit and have learned to love; and to those our progeny who will be facing that yet-to-come future which they never asked of us but we actually brought on them. God bless us all!

ABS-CBN: PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH CHILDREN'S HEART AND MIND

I'd like ABS-CBN to be VERY CAREFUL in using CHILDREN in their TV shows. In tonight's episode of teleserye "Ikaw Lamang", there was a scene where the character of Franco (played by Jake Cuenca) was DEMONICALLY HARASSING (NANLILISIK ANG MGA MATA; SINISIGAWAN NG BUONG LAKAS AT GALIT ANG BATA HABANG TUMATALSIK ANG LAWAY; HABANG MAHIGPIT NA HINAHAWAKAN ANG BRASO NG PASLIT) the character of the LITTLE GIRL -MAYBE AROUND 3-4 YEARS OLD- (supposedly, according to the story, accused by Franco as his wife's -Kim Chiu/Isabel- daughter with his wife's lover Samuel -played by Coco Martin-). And the LITTLE GIRL, subsequently CRIED. And I'm very sure that I saw in the Little Girl's face REAL FEAR (not just make-believe fear), REAL FEAR, as she WAS CRYING TERRIFIED OF THE DEMONIC-LOOKING and -ACTING FRANCO (played by Jake Cuenca). Maybe Jake Cuenca can simply say that he's simply doing what his Director required him; the Director in turn can say as it simply was asked by the STORY. But the BUCK has to stop SOMEWHERE! Yes, it's great to see great acting (if it actually is), to watch a nice (hopefully so), TV show. BUT, CAN ALL THESE JUSTIFY PUTTING A LITTLE GIRL (3-4 YEARS), A MINOR, in PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM'S WAY. ISN'T IT ABOUT TIME FOR ABS-CBN TO REMIND ITSELF of what VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN (VAWC) MEANS; ABOUT WHAT THE RIGHTS OF A CHILD MEAN. SHOULDN'T MTRCB LOOK THIS UP? SHOULDN'T CHR LOOK THIS UP?

FROM NAIA 1 TO NAIA 3, BOON OR BANE?

The transfer of the international flights of 5 big international airlines to NAIA 3 is surely a big plus to the  traveling public. However, the physical upgrade MUST ALSO be combined with the PERSONNEL UPGRADE. Are there  KOTONG/MULCTING, DISRESPECTFUL, RUDE, TARDY, LAZY, INDIFFERENT, ARROGANT, CORRUPT personnel from NAIA 1 JUST SIMPLY transferred to NAIA 3? If so, they may simply INFECT the already-existing better-performing NAIA 3 personnel, and thus simply make NAIA 3 A NEWER VERSION OF WORST-AIRPORT-IN-THE-WORLD-NAIA-1. LET IT BE NOTED, that even as early a YESTERDAY, THE VERY FIRST DAY OF THE TRANSFER, PASSENGERS ARE ALREADY COMPLAINING ABOUT ERSTWHILE NAIA-1-PERSONNEL-NOW-ASSIGNED-IN-NAIA3 TO BE LATE IN REPORTING TO WORK, AND THUS LATE IN SERVING THE PASSENGERS. CALLING DOTC SECRETARY!

MEDICAL WASTE DUMPED INTO DAVAO CITY BEACH AREA.

Some unscrupulous individuals dumped discarded I.V. needles and bottles into a relatively secluded beachfront in Davao City. No one has come forward, or has been yet identified to have done the unconscionable deed. This is so because no one seems to have actually witnessed the dumping. I think the waste themselves can eventually lead to the culprits with some diligent sleuthing on the part of Davao City's City Health Office, or whatever responsible agency. The needles and bottles surely have names of manufacturers on them, plus the batch numbers, etc. What pertinent authorities can do is contact the manufacturers, either here in the Philippines or abroad. Surely, the company who bought them in Manila can be traced, then the ones who bought or brought them here in/to Davao City can subsequently be traced too, then the health care facility which used them can be traced too, and eventually those who actually dumped them can be traced too. RESPONSIBILITY. Responsibility must be required of the culprits who showed no compunction in putting our community at risk for such hazardous medical wastes.

Pnoy, by his stance vs. SC in his speech today, is sowing the wind. He may reap the whirlwind.

14 July 2014.
Pnoy is obviously irate, or maybe even furious, about the SC decision. Maybe, he also can't believe that his own appointees decided to put the truth, justice, and country first, above any "utang na loob" towards him. But I don't think his hackle-raising will do the country, nor him, any good. I pray that he wakes up that his warring stance will indeed be towards the "Tuwid na daan," but not of salvation, but damnation. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.

THE BURDEN OF EDUCATION (CALLING BRO. ARMIN LUISTRO, DEPED SECRETARY!)

I arrived from Manila last night with a 10 kilo hand-carried luggage (as measured by the NAIA weighing scale). I didn't find it particularly heavy. Then on the the way home, my wife and I fetched our son from our in-laws' home. As usual, I was the one who carried our son's school bag into the cab. Upon picking up my son's bag, I immediately realized that it was FAR HEAVIER than the 10kilogram luggage I brought in from Manila, twice, or at least heavier by around 5-8 KILOS! My! That's 15-18 kilos that my son has to lug around in school daily. Let's just say his school bag with all the contents just weighs  15 KILOS, converted to pounds, the bag weighs 33 POUNDS. Studies made by Pediatric Orthopedics say that the ideal weight a child must carry MUST ONLY be a maximum of 10% of his/her body weight. Let's just say my son weighs around 85 pounds, then, his max carrying load must only be around 8.5 POUNDS. But, NOW with his SCHOOL BAG AND BOOKS weighing 33 POUNDS, he's carrying around 4 TIMES that maximum ideal load!  And, just like other parents, such keeps me perennially worried for my son's (and other children's) well-being, not only now, but even in the future because of the ORTHOPEDIC HAVOC all these HEAVY BURDENS he (and also the other children) has to carry.

Please let me share with you some articles what damage these humungous burdens can cause to our children:

1. Heavy school bags can damage your kids
A school highlights a guideline that suggests children should not carry bags weighing over 10% of their body weight
By Sneha May Francis (http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/heavy-school-bags-can-damage-your-kids-2013-08-29-1.519163)

Published Thursday, August 29, 2013

It’s that time of the year again, when schools re-open and children end up helplessly lugging heavy bags.

Some that could possibly end up as a health risk for these youngsters.

Especially when they pack in nearly 15-kilos or more and balance it on their fragile shoulders day in and day out.

Despite health experts and educationists warning against the risks and lobbying for a ban on bags, there is still no rule yet.

Some experts even cited that children who end up carrying bags that weigh over 15 per cent of their body weight will damage their body.

In fact, a school in Dubai citied a new guideline, suggesting that “a schoolbag "should weigh no more than 10 percent of the child’s bodyweight and should be worn over both shoulders so the weight is distributed correctly”.

Parents, however, complain that there are way too many things to pack in.

“There’s the schoolbooks, assignments, and various food boxes, juice and water. Some days there’s PE kit as well,” described a mother of a student who attends an Indian school in the emirate.

“When you put everything in, the bag should easily weigh more than 17-kilos. It’s shocking, but that’s how it is.”

While some might argue that trolley bags might help reduce the impact, many schools ban it citing “health risks”.

A British school in Al Nahda, rated ‘good’ by the DSIB, recently e-mailed parents and extensively detailed why trolley bags can harm children.

“Heavy trolley bags are causing children to twist their backs for extended periods with their shoulder and arm stretched behind them just to manage the trolley bags,” it read.

“This potentially causes serious skeletal and shoulder problems.

“Children tend to use their trolley bags as a weapon intentionally knocking against others causing them to trip or fall down.”

The school further reasoned that “book bags” must be light and children must carry only books that are needed for that day. Most children end up carrying all their books even though they have been instructed to use the school lockers, they added.

Dubai’s education regulatory authority advised schools must involve parents in choosing the right bag.

“Students are not compelled to choose a specific type of bag. Schools must engage with the parents to select a bag which is suitable for the child’s age group and safe for them to carry,” said Mohammed Darwish, Chief of Regulations and Permits Commission at Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).

“Safety of the children is our primary concern and we are confident that private schools in Dubai also put children’s safety first.”

While there are two schools of thought regarding the use of trolley bags or not, there’s a third that believes there should be no bags at all.

“Children should be given tablets, and school work should be online. That’s the future and we must equip the young kids for that. And, it won’t stress their backs,” detailed Suad Alhalwachi, an educationist working as director of Education Zone company.

“It will also eliminate paper and save the environment.”

She highlighted how children must not carry any bag, adding how every year many books are discarded. “This can be avoided if the focus shifted online.”

 
2. Children are still damaging their spines by carrying school bags that are too heavy
Despite government reminders to parents and students, children are still carrying school bags that are too heavy for them, leading to serious spinal damage
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 17 September, 2013, 12:00am
UPDATED : Friday, 27 September, 2013, 8:27pm
(http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1310896/children-are-still-damaging-their-spines-carrying-school)
Vivian Chiu life@scmp.com
Most Popular
Children are carrying school bags that are too heavy for them

It took sixth-former Sandra five years before she could stop wearing a back brace. Sandra, who prefers not to disclose her real name, is a casualty of the enduring problem of Hong Kong students lugging overly heavy bags.

Signs of trouble were already surfacing in Primary Four, when she would cart thick history and grammar texts between home and school daily to complete her class assignments. "The teacher might not finish covering material from the textbook during the term, but we still had to bring the whole book.
My back hurt from carrying the heavy load to school every day
Sandra, scoliosis sufferer

"My back began to hurt from carrying the heavy load to school every day. At first, the pain wasn't so serious. My mum would just massage my shoulders," Sandra says.

By the time she was in Primary Six, Sandra was diagnosed with scoliosis - a deformity in the spine curvature that particularly affects teenagers. Physicians at a government orthopaedic clinic issued her with a back brace, which she has had to wear all through secondary school.

On a typical school day, Sandra's backpack continues to be stuffed with textbooks, notepads, and files. Then there's her trumpet, her running shoes, and a water bottle on the two days when she has PE class and music practice.

Thankfully, the distortion of her spinal curve is now under control, and she no longer needs to wear a brace. But to ensure the condition does not worsen, Sandra regularly visits a chiropractor to stretch her muscles and elongate her spine.

Surveys have repeatedly associated shoulder, neck and back pain with carrying heavy school bags. But the problem persists despite annual reminders from the Education Bureau to parents and students that school bags should not exceed 15 per cent of the child's body weight.

Four to five out of 1,000 Hong Kong students suffer scoliosis, according to the department of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Hong Kong medical school.

Diagnosed using an X-ray, the condition shows how increasing loads on the back flattens the "S" curve of the spine and reduce its capacity to reposition itself.

Scoliosis, which is six times more common in girls, happens most rapidly during the spurt of bone growth in puberty. The child does not feel pain at first, and mild conditions can be effectively controlled by wearing a brace. But if untreated, the deformity may restrict heart and lung function, and require corrective surgery.

A poor sitting posture, like slumping, or playing sports that always use one side of the body, can contribute to scoliosis, experts say.

Students are advised to use lightweight bags, and pack just what they require for the day's classes, eliminating unnecessary items such as comic books, or a water bottle when the school has drinking fountains. Children are advised to use lockers to store items such as art supplies, sweater, umbrella or dictionaries when not in use.

"Studies indicate that 96 per cent of students carry school bags which are heavier than 15 per cent of their weight," says Dr Grace Szeto Pui-yuk, an associate professor at the Polytechnic University's department of rehabilitation sciences.

That may be due to the wide range of subjects students must now tackle in the more technologically advanced and information-rich society of today, she suggests. With each new subject comes more textbooks and study material.

The shoulder bag and the backpack are the two types of bags most favoured by Hong Kong students, and each presents a different set of problems. "While it may look cool for students to sling their shoulder bag across their chest, one shoulder has to constantly bear the load. Over time, their spinal curvature may be affected because of the asymmetric weight on the shoulders," Szeto says.

Backpacks are preferable to shoulder bags because the load is balanced across the back. But backpacks also bring problems. The head automatically leans forward, and this shifts the centre of gravity towards the neck to counterbalance the weight on the back.

According to Keith Wong Hon-wing, a registered chiropractor at the Hong Kong Chiropractic Healthcare Centre, this unnatural posture could be a cause of neck and back aches, as well as stiffness, numbness and a tingling that extends from the shoulders to the hands.

In severe cases, the child may develop a hunch back as the body is pulled backward against natural forces. A healthy "straight" posture, Wong says, is when the person's ear is aligned with his shoulder, hip, knee and ankle, when viewed from the side.

When children start complaining of neck, shoulder, and back aches, parents should immediately send them for checkups to prevent further deterioration of their spine, experts say.

Students should learn the correct way to carry school bags while they are still growing. "Kids carrying backpacks like to let the load hang down their back, which actually makes it harder to carry. They should shorten the shoulder strap, so that the load is ideally positioned between the shoulder and the middle of the back," Szeto says.

Wong recommends choosing backpacks with chest and waist straps. When both straps are buckled, the weight is evenly distributed across the body.

The adoption of electronic textbooks (e-books), which is encouraged by the Education Bureau as part of e-learning programmes, might help reduce the weight on young shoulders, but that's not always feasible.

Secondary school teacher Mo Kin-ping says her school considered using e-books. "But we found out they were more expensive than the actual hardcopies, and students may not be able to afford them."