The father of a seven-year-old girl who allegedly died of starvation has vowed to find out how she was allowed to die and warned there would be 'repercussions' following her death.

 

Ishaq Abu Zaire, father of Khyra Ishaq, said yesterday he was 'just as ignorant as everyone else as to what happened', but pledged to find out the truth. 'Once I know what happened, I promise there are going to be consequences and repercussions,' he said.

 

Khyra and her five siblings are reported to have been in an emaciated state when paramedics went to their home in Handsworth last week. Angela Gordon, 33, and Junaid Abuhamza, 29 - Khyra's mother and her partner - have appeared in court charged with causing or allowing her death through neglect.

 

Zaire said he felt let down by the authorities. 'I have a dead child and they did nothing,' he said. His words echo those of Isolene Clark, Khyra's grandmother, who said her grandchildren had been let down by the 'people who were supposed to protect them'.

 

Their comments come as an independent panel convene in Birmingham to discuss how Khyra, who died last Saturday, could have been allowed to suffer such an appalling death.

 

Source: The Observer

Who is to blame for this? Is it right just to blame the social services? The rest of the family are, but what about their role in all this, how come they had no idea what was going on? What about the neighbours? The school? The mother?

 

The father of a seven-year-old girl who allegedly died of starvation has vowed to find out how she was allowed to die and warned there would be 'repercussions' following her death.

 

Ishaq Abu Zaire, father of Khyra Ishaq, said yesterday he was 'just as ignorant as everyone else as to what happened', but pledged to find out the truth. 'Once I know what happened, I promise there are going to be consequences and repercussions,' he said.

 

Khyra and her five siblings are reported to have been in an emaciated state when paramedics went to their home in Handsworth last week. Angela Gordon, 33, and Junaid Abuhamza, 29 - Khyra's mother and her partner - have appeared in court charged with causing or allowing her death through neglect.

 

Zaire said he felt let down by the authorities. 'I have a dead child and they did nothing,' he said. His words echo those of Isolene Clark, Khyra's grandmother, who said her grandchildren had been let down by the 'people who were supposed to protect them'.

 

Their comments come as an independent panel convene in Birmingham to discuss how Khyra, who died last Saturday, could have been allowed to suffer such an appalling death.

 

Source: The Observer

Who is to blame for this? Is it right just to blame the social services? The rest of the family are, but what about their role in all this, how come they had no idea what was going on? What about the neighbours? The school? The mother?

 

One could ask why the father hadn't inquired of his children in the ten weeks leading up to Khyra's death. Having said that - the Social Services must take a hell of a lot of the blame in this. After the tragic death of little Victoria Climbie we were told in the report by Lord Laming that 'this must never happen again'. Is anyone here old enough to remember the tragic story of a little girl called Maria Caldwell? She was subjected to terrible neglect and cruelty and died as a result - similar words were spouted then - and that was believe it or not, 40 years ago. How many kids have died through neglect since then?

 

Yes - a lot of people are to blame in this tragedy - but only one group of people get paid to look out for kids like this - and that is Social Services.

 

Norma

Edited May 25, 200817 yr by Shy_Talk

One could ask why the father hadn't inquired of his children in the ten weeks leading up to Khyra's death.

From what I've heard before I think we can assume Social Services would be unhelpful in replies to any inquiries about what is going on in individual cases.

From what I've heard before I think we can assume Social Services would be unhelpful in replies to any inquiries about what is going on in individual cases.

 

What I meant by 'inquired' though - was a simple visit to see his daughter. I know if I was separated from my partner - I'd still want to see my child as much as possible.

 

Norma

 

What I meant by 'inquired' though - was a simple visit to see his daughter. I know if I was separated from my partner - I'd still want to see my child as much as possible.

 

Norma

I maybe wrong but I thought if Social Services took your child then you are not entitled to see them in a simple visit(only when prearranged planned visits initiated by social services). I could be wrong as it's not a topic I take much interest in, but this is my understanding as I've heard parents complain about this before.

I maybe wrong but I thought if Social Services took your child then you are not entitled to see them in a simple visit(only when prearranged planned visits initiated by social services). I could be wrong as it's not a topic I take much interest in, but this is my understanding as I've heard parents complain about this before.

 

The little girl hadn't been taken into care. She was still with her mother and her mother's partner (it was the neglect of the mother and partner who were directly responsible for Khyra's death) - so why in all that time didn't the father visit? All the children in the family had been taken out of school 10 weeks prior to Khyra's death - and yet in that time no thorough checks were made by Social Services. A Social Worker visited the house once and got no reply - and that was it - no return visit. No further checks. The findings and suggestions of the Laming report were that all agencies were to work in tandem to ensure that no child should go through anything like this. So when the school knew that the children were not attending school - they would report to Social Services and everyone would be kept 'in the loop'. My god! When I've been late taking my boy to school - the school is on the phone to me before 9.30 am - saying 'where is he?' It may be seen as being a bit of a 'busy body' but better that than a child being in danger.

 

Norma

Edited May 26, 200817 yr by Shy_Talk

I suppose you do have to wonder why the father had no contact, but we don't know the details of what happened during the divorce proceedings... He may have been denied access to his kids by the courts (wouldn't be the first time would it, why else do you have organisations such as Fathers 4 Justice..?), and the mother given sole custody, but really you have to wonder why that would be the case anyway.... The courts always, certainly in most cases anyway, seem to make the assumption that the kids are better off with the mother when a relationship breaks down. This assumption has to end, and this case should be the one that ends it... These kids were obviously NOT better off with the mother being granted sole custody...

 

I think he is right to blame social services for their sheer negligence, I mean, only going up the once is just pathetic.. I do realise that Social Workers hardly have an easy job, they've got a fine balancing act to do - they go in all guns blazing and the press call them "interfering busy-bodies", they step back, the press criticise them for "not taking action".. Damned if they do, damned if they dont. I don't envy Social Workers in the slightest.... BUT, in this case, as in Victoria Climbie, there's a difference between "softly softly" and not bothering your arse at all, and I suspect this is the latter in this tragic case... The community themselves must also hang their heads in shame for not realising that this was going on under their noses, all it would've taken was one anonymous call to the police....

 

Deliberately starving a child has to be one of the most horrendous acts of cruelty and torture imaginable... It just beggars belief tbh.. This is almost as bad as what that b'astard in Austria did to his daughter and grandkids...... We think "it cant happen here", well, it does..... Time for people to wake the hell up and realise that most of the danger to kids is not so much from faceless, nameless, predatory peadophiles, but from within their own families and family circles..... This is where the vast majority of child abuse occurs - FACT!!!!!

 

 

It might be a bit harsh to blame the community.

Whether we like it or not, there is very little sense of neighbourhood in Britain anymore. I have to admit I could easily live next-door to 6 starving children and not realise. Unless the kids were paraded about in front of the neighbours, how could they be expected to know something like this was going on?

it's a crying shame this man wasn't as vocal and persistent when his daughter was alive, don't you think?

it's a crying shame this man wasn't as vocal and persistent when his daughter was alive, don't you think?

You're right. I saw an interview with him today and he said he hadn't seen his children for a year, but offered no explanation as to why he hadn't.

it's a crying shame this man wasn't as vocal and persistent when his daughter was alive, don't you think?

 

Like I say though, you dont know the facts surrounding the break-up, his ex could've been a vindictive b**ch who stopped him from seeing his kids, god knows there are plenty of examples of that out there (a friend of mine has gone through a particularly nasty divorce with his ex a few years back, and she continues to play her little power trips with the kids, setting them against him, etc, even though SHE was the one who had an affair, but I digress...).. Given what she's actually done to her children in starving them, I'd hardly be surprised if that's what she did do.....

 

sorry, Scott, but any father who truly loves and is desperate to see their kids.... it's possible. If I had a kid my ex was keeping me from, I'd stand outside the bloody school gates to get to see them. No-one on earth would keep me from my kids, no way.

 

This guy has a right royal cheek whining about how his ex-wife treated the kids - she may have starved them of food - but it sounds like the poor buggers were starved of love, too.

 

From both parents.

sorry, Scott, but any father who truly loves and is desperate to see their kids.... it's possible. If I had a kid my ex was keeping me from, I'd stand outside the bloody school gates to get to see them. No-one on earth would keep me from my kids, no way.

 

This guy has a right royal cheek whining about how his ex-wife treated the kids - she may have starved them of food - but it sounds like the poor buggers were starved of love, too.

 

From both parents.

 

Totally agree with you Russ, if you really really care you find a way. Unless there is a restraining order on you, I would make the effort to keep in touch daily if possible. Never heard of the phone.

This guy has a right royal cheek whining about how his ex-wife treated the kids - she may have starved them of food - but it sounds like the poor buggers were starved of love, too.

 

From both parents.

 

What kind of bloody nonsense is that....??? I hardly think anything the father may or may not have done is in any way comparable to what the mother and her partner did. At all, Christ, these evil b/astards had a DUTY OF CARE to these children FFS, the kids were in the mother's custody... Absolutely NOTHING excuses their actions.... For all we know, the bloke may have been deported or summat, or had to leave the country... Why should the fact that he was absent for whatever reason mean that he cant criticise how the Social Services Dept totally mishandled this case...? Bollocks he cant, they fukked up, simple as.... AGAIN..... They've learned bugger all from the Victoria Climbie affair it would seem..... <_<

 

Why so keen to make excuses for this evil b**ch Russ...?

Totally agree with you Russ, if you really really care you find a way. Unless there is a restraining order on you, I would make the effort to keep in touch daily if possible. Never heard of the phone.

 

And someone else making excuses for the crappy system of Social Care that exists in this country, heads really do have to roll over this affair in the Social Work Dept, especially after all the recommendations that were put into place after the Victoria Climbie affair appear to have been overlooked and/or not acted upon..... Look, this bloke may have made a mistake, but that hardly makes him as bad the people who were supposed to be looking after those kids and who had custody given to them by the courts, and then deliberately and with utterly evil pre-meditation starve those kids to death....

 

There could easily be mitigating circumstances as to why the father had no contact with his kids, where are the "mitigating circumstances" for torturing children by starvation...? There are none, simple as.. No excuses, lock these b/astards up for the rest of their lives.... Part of me hopes the lags inside will sort this pair of scumbags out... I dont see the mother living too long though, female prisoners are even more vicious towards NONCES than male ones are....

And someone else making excuses for the crappy system of Social Care that exists in this country, heads really do have to roll over this affair in the Social Work Dept, especially after all the recommendations that were put into place after the Victoria Climbie affair appear to have been overlooked and/or not acted upon..... Look, this bloke may have made a mistake, but that hardly makes him as bad the people who were supposed to be looking after those kids and who had custody given to them by the courts, and then deliberately and with utterly evil pre-meditation starve those kids to death....

 

There could easily be mitigating circumstances as to why the father had no contact with his kids, where are the "mitigating circumstances" for torturing children by starvation...? There are none, simple as.. No excuses, lock these b/astards up for the rest of their lives.... Part of me hopes the lags inside will sort this pair of scumbags out... I dont see the mother living too long though, female prisoners are even more vicious towards NONCES than male ones are....

 

I'm totally with Grimly on this one. The only criticism I can have of the father is that if he had nothing to do with his kids for a year - he shouldn't really have much to say after the event, but he is in no way responsible for Khyra's death or the dreadful state her siblings have been left in. Within Social Services there is a clear 'agenda' named ECM - it stands for Every Child Matters. Well clearly this little girl didn't matter too much to the Social Services in Birmingham.

 

The sad thing is, little Khyra won't be the last child to die in this way. We'll hear the old chestnut 'lessons must be learnt' ... but we all know they won't.

 

Norma