WILLEMSTAD.- The Parliament of Curaçao held a public meeting yesterday and dealt with the issue of minors placed in care homes in Curaçao. Minister Hensley Koeiman of Social Affairs, Labor and Welfare said that he had a request from parliament to answer the questions immediately and not one after the other. “But if we want to respect the parliament by giving a good response, true and precise, we need at least a week to gather all the data and thus respond to the parliamentarians in a respectable way. This is a very sensitive topic, an extremely painful topic that is affecting our community, not right now but for decades “. Koeiman also explained that … “we are currently witnessing a real increase in cases of abuse against minors held in care homes on the island.”
According to Koeiman, it is a very current and very sensitive issue. “There is a lot of emotion in this regard and it is not strange considering that we are talking about young children”.
Koeiman explained that the Government received many questions. “For many of these questions we must contact other ministries and even in our own we should investigate. After answering the Parliament we can reach an agreement how to attend something as sensitive as this issue.” The Minister of Social Affairs, Labor and Welfare, Koeiman was present during a public meeting of the parliament together with Minister President Eugene Rhuggenaath.
Parliamentarian Gerrit Schotte (MFK), during the meeting explained that in his opinion a national approach must take place to combat abuse of minors in care homes in Curaçao. For that reason, MFK asked the Minister President Eugenne Rhuggenaath, to be present during the meeting of the parliament. Hensley Koeiman, as Minister of Social Affairs, Labor and Welfare, was present because he is responsible for the child care homes on our island of Curaçao.
