Investigation Into Child Abuse Of Indigenous Children Initiated In Panama

A video circulating on social networks showing an indigenous boy and girl forced to fight each other, despite the 5-year-old girl's objection has initiated an investigation of alleged child abuse in Panama

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

February 14, 2015

Panama - Alcibiades Vásquez, Panama's Minister of Social Development and Idalia Martínez, the director of the Children's, Adolescent and Family Welfare have initiated an investigation to learn the identities of parents involved and municipality where a four minute video was recorded of two indigenous children forced to fight by their mothers or guardians, La Prensa reported. The video began to circulate over the weekend in the social networks.

The video shows multiple times that the crying young girl begs her mother that she doesn't want to fight with the 5-year-old boy. Her mother forces her to continue. Then the young boy gets punched real hard in the face and starts crying as well, but his mother forces the boy to continue. She even holds the boys hand and shows him how he should hit the girl, while other kids and grownups stood by and used their cell phones to record the fight, kids, including adolescents laugh and watched the fight.

It is not known when the video of the children fighting was recorded.

The video strongly shows the abuse children go through to settle their differences some might believe, but what ever the reason, these kids will be traumatized and carry emotional scars for life, if they don't seek psychological help.

Indigenous Children forced to fight/Niños pelean: http://goo.gl/o7ylv6

Mothers Arrested for child abuse in Panamá

Update: (HNNUSA) - Panamá authorities have located and arrested two mothers that forced their children to fight while it was recorded by spectators. The video went viral on the social networks. The two mothers were arrested in the Island of San Cristobal in the District of Bocas de Toros. They were taken for processing at the police station in Changuinola in the district, according to Idalia Martínez, the director of the Children's, Adolescent and Families Welfare in Panamá.
Both mother's face criminal  charges for child abuse and the children were place under the protective care of the Childrens, Adolescent and Families Welfare in Changuinola. The two children involved in the fight will receive psychological help and everything is being done to care for them, Martínez told local media in Panamá.