Caged Children in Czech Republic

While some Eastern European countries are trying to humanize their systems used for care of homeless children, in other countries, orphanages resemble prisons.

While a smaller nation, Moldova, has begun the practice of fostering children who need homes, the BBC has revealed that the Czech Republic still uses "caged beds" to keep its most mentally and physically handicapped children confined. This archaic practice has been outlawed, but journalists captured video of children who live their lives behind bars.

Ideally, the fall of Soviet rule should have spelled a whirlwind effort to improve human rights in Eastern and Central Europe. Unfortunately, even those countries that have been welcomed into the European Union have little understanding of what human rights mean for children who cannot speak or fend for themselves. Children can be kept behind bars for years, during which time they are given minimal attention and no opportunity for development. Lack of resources may be an adequate excuse for some critics, but individuals with disabilities have traditionally been shunned or hidden away from society in Eastern European communities. These people, once they are released from orphanages, turn to begging, drugs, and crime. In turn, they may produce more offspring who end up in orphanages, simply to continue the ugly cycle.