My country, my country, I know it's wrong my country...

sorry for bringing that TF-song back to memory for some of us "who stayed long enough in to hear that smashing hit..." but I find it "hilarious" nowadays...(from the little I remember)...however the sit. in "my country" and in TF is not "so funny"...depending from what point of observation.



Girl's death sparks fear in Germany
27 Nov 2007, 2037 hrs IST,REUTERS
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BERLIN: The starvation death of a 5-year-old German girl, the latest in a series of neglect cases, is fuelling worries that Germany's government has done too little to protect vulnerable children from abuse.

German media have reported that local child welfare authorities had been visiting the family of Lea-Sophie but did not intervene to help the girl.

She died of starvation last week in the formerly communist east, where unemployment is higher and incomes are lower than in the west.

"More and more families are burdened with hopelessness, unemployment and poverty, accompanied by psychological and physical problems," Gitta Trauernicht, social affairs minister for the state of Schleswig-Holstein, said about the case in an interview in Tuesday's edition of Tagesspiegel newspaper.

Social workers had checked on Lea-Sophie's younger brother in the north-eastern city of Schwerin but not the girl, who weighed just 7.4 kg (16.3 lbs) when she died, local media said.

Her parents, aged 23 and 26, have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. The case is under investigation.

Trauernicht said it was regrettable that Germany's federal government, despite repeated warnings, has been incapable of preparing legislation aimed at preventing such tragedies by getting early help to families in need.

She said that the quality of child protection remains uneven across Germany's 16 states because of the federal government's refusal to take action.

German Health Minister Ulla Schmidt denied suggestions her ministry has made early detection of child abuse more difficult. A spokesman for Schmidt said she followed recommendations made in September by a committee of doctors and insurance agencies against a federal oversight program.

The committee wanted to minimise the risk of false accusations of child abuse. Reports of child abuse in Germany are increasing, according to the federal Family Ministry. But ministry officials said it was too early to say whether abuse was becoming more common or if people were simply better about reporting suspected abuse.

Last year Germany was shocked by death of Kevin, a malnourished 2-year-old boy whose body was found in his father's refrigerator in the northern city of Bremen. Before that there was Jessica, a 7-year-old girl from Hamburg whose parents starved her to death.



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