RIYADH, 9 April 2003 — Orphans occupy a unique place in Saudi society, where family lineage and history are highly valued and help define one’s cultural and social identity. The lack of this identity is one which orphans, often with little or no knowledge of parents and family, must confront every day.
With no one to provide for them, these children, many of whom have been abandoned by parents, are often left at the mercy of charitable organizations and obliged to spend a large part of their lives in the an orphanage or other such institution. The Council of Ministers, chaired by King Fahd, agreed last month to use subsidies from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to assist orphans and those who face social difficulties after leaving orphanages.
“These orphaned children face many psychological problems,” said Dr. Saud Al-Dohayan, a professor of social work at King Saud University. He said that orphans who spend their formative years in institutions will not develop as normal children do. According to him, there are about 7,000 new orphans in the Kingdom every year. These include children with no known parents and those who have lost one or both parents. He added that a number of organizations have been set up care for these children. In cases where a child has lost a father, the family may have become destitute and be in need of financial assistance. Those without parents or known relatives need complete support from governmental or private charities.
“The orphans move through a system of orphanages from birth to adulthood,” explained Dr. Al-Dohayan. “They are in one institution from birth to six years of age and then they go to another one until they are 12. They are then moved to a third orphanage which males must leave at 18 and become independent. Females remain in the orphanage until they marry.”
Some orphans may be taken in or adopted by a family but such adoptions are very rare, according to Dr. Al-Dohayan. An adoptive/foster family may request financial support from the ministry which provides approximately SR9,000-12,000 per year to help support the child. Unfortunately, the relationship between the child and the family is not always a positive one and there may be conflict.
“In some cases the child goes back to the institution after having stayed with the family for a long time,” said Dr. Al-Dohayan. “This shuffling back and forth between family and institution can result in considerable damage to the child’s psychological and emotional state and will have a negative effect on the child’s self-esteem.”
Dr. Safaa Al-Essa, a consultant pediatrician at Al-Hammadi Hospital, also expressed concern over the lack of emotional support and “one-to-one” interaction in many local institutions, which he said focus only on the material needs of the child.
According to Dr. Al-Essa, lack of love and emotional support has a negative impact on children. Even children under the age of one, he said, are affected when deprived of maternal love and nurture. They may respond by crying a lot, not eating properly and suffering other problems that may last for decades. The child’s speech may suffer and social development may be delayed. The orphans may also find it difficult to bond with others and to form lasting relationships. The children often suffer from depression, he said, which also affects their school work. The emotional problems worsen once the orphans reach their teens — “ a very vulnerable time,” he added.
Dr. Al-Dohayan said that part of the problem is the care providers in the institutions. Their regimented ways and strict adherence to rules and regulations, as important as they may be, creates a cold and impersonal environment for the orphans. Such an environment takes a heavy toll on the children’s development and psyche and their education often suffers as a result. They may also become too detached and aggressive. The problems continue after the children leave the orphanage and try to integrate into society. After years of isolation and dependence on the institution, they face problems in carrying out even the most basic tasks such as buying a house, finding a job or getting married. “They don’t know how to live,” said Dr. Al-Dohayan.
Those with unknown parents face the greatest problem when it comes to marriage since most families are hesitant to allow their sons or daughters to marry someone with no family background or known lineage.
Such treatment by society only increases the feelings of aggression and frustration of these orphans, and a few may eventually turn to crime and violence. Some of them blame society for their circumstances and are further angered when that same society refuses to accept them.
“All these factors lead to psycho-social deprivation,” Dr. Al-Essa observed. The orphans’ lack of compassion may make them disdainful of society, which has in a sense “abandoned” them. If not properly integrated into society, they may retaliate by further isolating themselves.
Dr. Al-Dohayan stressed the need for changes in the orphanage system, but said that change would come slowly. He said that the reason these children face so many problems later in life is because the institution did not teach them how to interact in society and how to look after themselves. Most of the institutions, he said, do not have qualified professionals to care for the orphans; the children lack individual attention and are in an environment far removed from a loving home and family.
“The institution clothes them, feeds them and takes care of only their material needs,” said Dr. Al-Dohayan, who again emphasized the responsibility of institutions to meet the children’s emotional as well as physical needs. He stressed the need for well-trained counselors to talk to the children and help them through their emotional problems. “The most important thing is to help people to help themselves,” he added.
Social work should focus on teaching people to become independent and to look after their own needs rather than simply providing them with charity, said Dr. Al-Dohayan, assuring us that that would be better for them in the long run.
