INDIA: Broken homes leave grandparents as silent sufferers:

. BANGALORE, Karnataka / The Hindu / December 11, 2008 A divorce not only wrecks havoc among the couple and separates children from their biological parents, but it also wrecks as much damage to the grandparent-grandchild relationship, denying many the right of access to the little ones, says Kumar Jahgirdar, President of the Children's Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting (CRISP). Making an appeal on behalf of grandparents who are often denied access to meeting their grandchildren, he told media that in the custody battle, between husband and wife, grandparents are among the silent sufferers who are torn away from their little ones for little or no fault of theirs. "I have not seen my grandchild for three years", said a teary-eyed grandfather whose son is currently in the middle of a custody battle for the child. "I am waiting to see my three year-old grandaughter for past one and half years", said another grandmother. The visitation rights given to fathers to meet their children in court premises was not often conducive for grandparents to tag along due to their old age. "No one really speaks for them or thinks about them", said Jahgirdar. These numerous silent sufferers who are punished because of animosity between spouses undergo huge mental trauma and sense of isolation and depression in their advanced years due to the custody battles that drag several years. "How long are we going to live, we do not know and these long custody battles only tend to dry up our hopes of being reunited with our grandchildren", says a grandfather. In an appeal, CRISP called for steps to ensure that the grandparents get their right to spend quality time with their grandchildren and urged judiciary to take immediate steps and render justice to the senior citizens. Copyright © 2008, The Hindu