Madam, - I was affronted, appalled and disappointed by the article concerning Romanian orphans which in your edition of August 30th. The authors, Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer, penned a piece that was breathtakingly cynical and heavily doused with sensationalism. The end result was an unmitigated travesty, and a vicious slur on the charities concerned.
The debased agenda of the article was immediately discernible from its headline, "Helping or hurting?". The insinuation here was that Irish volunteers may be damaging the Romanian children as much as the inhumane, negligent system of which they are victims. In the main body of the article, the charity workers are grudgingly described as "well meaning", another attempt to undermine and belittle their highly laudable endeavours.
But Ms McElhinney and Mr McAleer were not content to stop there; they then quoted one Mr Poupard, who "would advise against giving money to any charity that talks about orphans and orphanages in Romania because it is clear that they do not understand the situation".
I visited Romanian orphanages two-and-a-half years ago, under the auspices of the charity School Aid Romania. I have seen the neglected and lonely children, and they aren't difficult to find. I have also seen the improvements brought about by British and Irish volunteers, and they are life-changing and invigorating for the children.
The authors challenge the verity of the word "orphan". My response is that many are real orphans, and that many more are orphans in all but name: they are orphans of the system, abandoned by their parents, their government, or both.
Ms McElhinney and Mr McAleer neglected to mention the communist-style bureaucracy which resists and delays change in Romania to this day. Many of the projects funded by Irish charities are stop-gap measures, which will hopefully become unnecessary upon the emergence of a modern Romania.
Until then, let us hope that such an inflammatory, ill-conceived and patronising article will not jeopardise the traditionally generous attitude of Irish people towards Romania. - Yours etc.,
MARK COEN,
Tubber Road,
Gort,
Co Galway.