This article is from page 2 of the 2014-02-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
VICTIMS of industrial abuse in Clare are preparing a mass protest against the newly formed CaraNua organisation, which they say does not represent what the vast majority of victims actually want.
CaraNua, formally the Statutory Trust Fund, was formed last month to oversee the provision of services for people who have suffered abuse at the hands of the religious orders.
It is estimated that there are between 13,000 and 15,000 survivors still alive and CareNua has a budget of around € 110 million to help gain different services for these people.
Many victims groups are against the service, and claim that the money is owed directly to them from the religious orders and the state should not get involved. Ennis resident and spokesperson for the Survivors who Standing Together group, Cathriona Barker, said that many abuse victims now feel that a massive public protest is the only was of forcing the Government to change its mind.
“This money was given to survivors as a good will measure by the religious orders and the state have no business putting their hands on our money and dictating to us what happens. The state are guilt party in our childhood abuse, along with the church. What’s worse is that no survivor was ever asked for their opinion about any of this,” she told The Clare People yesterday.
“The vast majority of people would like this money split up between us. If you did that, then each victim would get € 7,300 from the church. For what many people went through this would be an insult, but at least it would be our decision.
Cathriona has been in contact with a number of other abuse survivors and the possibility of a mass protest seems to be getting closer.
“I was talking to a survivors group from the UK over the weekend and the majority of people over there don’t want anything to do with this new group either,” continued Cathriona.
“As far as we can see, most of the services being offered by CaraNua are services that a person should be able to access anyway. It is things like dental care, if a person needs a hip replacement, maybe if you need a door in your house widened.”
For more about Survivors Who Stand Together visit survivorswhostandtogether.wordpress.com.