'Care system survivor' enraged over £200k abuse memorial

Monday 24 February 2020

Over 1,400 islanders have joined a man claiming to be a former Haut de la Garenne resident in calling for plans to build a £200,000 memorial acknowledging years of abuse within Jersey's care system to be halted.

Named only as ‘William’, the author of the petition proposing the reversal of the decision says he is “enraged” at the proposal to build such a memorial.

The petition was only published online late last week, but has already gained traction with almost 1,500 signatures.  

It demands that politicians bar the request from the Citizens’ Panel – a group of care-experienced individuals tasked with deciding how the recommendations of the Jersey Care Inquiry report should be enacted – to erect a memorial dedicated to survivors of abuse within Jersey’s care system.

They had originally asked for a feature carrying both an apology and a butterfly emblem to be put up in the Royal Square, but those plans were later axed due to “heritage and planning constraints”.

Pictured: The memorial plans came from a panel working to honour the findings of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry.

It was then announced this month that Weighbridge Place had been selected as the memorial’s new location, with two areas currently under consideration. 

But the £200,000 plans have garnered criticism from members of the public, while the petition has now gained enough support that it requires a response from the Ministers involved. 

Stating his reasons for creating the petition, William says: “Being a survivor of the child care homes that were closed including Haut de la Garenne, I am enraged, along with a large portion of the general public, that £200,000 is going to be spent on a memorial. This money could be spent elsewhere and do more good than a memorial will ever do.”

If the petition secures 5,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in the States Assembly.