How protesters showed the horrorON MARCH 7th a team from an international human-rights group arrived in Guatemala to evaluate state-run institutions for disabled people. One stop on their itinerary was the Hogar Seguro (Safe Home) Virgen de la Asunción, a shelter for indigent children, which had been the subject of reports about sexual abuse, violence and overcrowding. The team arrived too late. That night, a fire engulfed a girls’ dormitory, killing at least 40 adolescents and severely injuring a dozen.
A tragedy at Hogar Seguro was preordained. In interviews with survivors, the team from Disability Rights International (DRI) discovered that 800 children were crammed into a home built for 500. At least two staff members have been jailed for sexually abusing residents. Last year, 142 children ran away. Survivors said staff had locked around 60 girls in a room as punishment for a recent escape attempt; when the girls set mattresses ablaze to protest against their confinement, they were unable to get out.
Hogar Seguro is not an isolated case. The fire is “an indictment of the whole...Continue reading
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