Sarah Ferguson 'smudge' campaign?

JOHN ANCKERIGDENov 7th, 2008 - 08:53:01

This bloody woman is so annoying ,she is trying everything to get on TV he first attempt was in Hull UK with a load of drug abusers the result of that someone was killed.
This woman should return to he circle of hooray henry friends and take her wierd kin with her and never darken the the TV screen again.
And by the way I'm sick of the Royal family bunch of mutants, the day the get kicked told to live in a council house and give there masses of house and the huge wealth will make me a very happy person.
And I noticed she didn't try to help any of these places with money no that would spoil the content of the shockumentry.
Stay out of politics stupid woman and leave it to the professionals.
And the Royal family is famous for looking after its kids in the past by sticking mentally ill members of family into mental hospitals.
Hypocritical woman look into your own past first.

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Virginea LopesNov 9th, 2008 - 20:40:30

I do not want scorn the work of Sarah but some children with disabilities need to be lashed because they are violent and do not control its own strength, can hurt yourself and to your colleagues. Here in Brazil we have several institutions that work well, but with appropriate professional.
I think Sarah should be better informed about work with mental disabilities, with doctors in education or something before you do this talk-show.
Even in hospitals for Fools, if you do not tie your patient, depending on the lack of control that this patient may even kill their comrades or doctor.
Nothing against Sarah by jealousy or not liking it, but I see things differently.I would leave my opinion of things that I read on the Internet.
I do not want to offend anyone, just explain what I think about the matter that I read.
I am Brazilian always had good news regarding Turkey, to know a doctor in Turkey. Here where I live has many Turkish immigrants.
I believe that children with charity, but charity is different from celebrity. We can help without appearing on TV.
There are a thousand and one ways to help the next.
Sensationalism does not help in any way, Fama also not.Fama is good only for those who have.
We must seek real solutions to help those who need.
I think Sarah could have gone undercover to Turkey and shoot the orphanages, but then she should get together with the authorities of the country (Turkey) to expose the problems and really try to help. Too bad she turned into a Talk-Show and moved to a red light Diplomacy and International Relations.
She failed to respect the country of Turkey.
I've watched a documentary well in China, about orphanages, but the Chinese government denied all different filming and other scenes showing the footage. The director of the documentary became famous, but the children received help?
So I ask: Who wins with this? Children? Sarah Ferguson?
Do they, the children are really helped after this talk-show?
Or is it just a publicity coup, to show how the Duchess of York, left his last futile and girl namoradeira (nobody forgets John Bryan and his blowjob in the big toe) that did not follow the rules of the Royals and now (10 years for here) become a serious person who fight for social causes. Turned good Samaritan.
Like I said there are many ways to help the next ....... and sensationalism, no one deserves.
Sarah should forward after the shooting, the entire video material on the Turkish authorities and propose solutions and help with the problem. Sarah sought the Talk-show, by paying fame and fortune, all this is unfortunate.

I thought all this unnecessary publicity. It is very easy to earn advertising fees of poor and oppressed.
Get money, sponsors and various proposals publicity because of high audience.
So what Sarah suggested that the solution to this problem?
It will only show the documentary?

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Servet HassanNov 13th, 2008 - 19:42:47

Duchess and Daughters: Their Shambolic Secret Mission

The Federation of Turkish Associations UK would like to voice their extreme frustration and disappointment at the actions and comments of the Duchess of York, presenter Chris Rogers and inferences made by Barrister John Cooper in the broadcasting of the distorted portrayal of Turkey in the programme “Duchess and Daughters: Their Secret Mission” aired by ITV on the 6th October 2008.

As an NGO based in the UK, we have to clarify that our criticism regarding this programme is not because it is highlighting an institution which certainly needs improvement or to defend the methods used to treat mentally or disabled children under state protection in those institutions, but the presentation made and the wording used in the program to accuse and insult the Turkish nation as a whole.

We would of course like to see things improve in the social services in Turkey and as we are informed many improvements have been made over recent years. It is a pity that this programme has been made in such a way as to misguide the British public as to the conditions and attitudes towards disabled children in Turkey and has created negativity in the relations between the two countries and more seriously created grave concerns amongst the Turkish community in this country as to the aims and sincerity of ITV.

It is clear that the programme from the beginning had a separate agenda, perhaps to glorify the work of the Duchess of York or as a locomotive to encourage opposition to Turkey’s aspirations about the EU. It seems that the producers of the programme had in mind more of a two-pronged PR stunt aimed firstly at demonising Turkey and secondly at improving the flailing popularity of the Duchess of York at someone else’s expense. Perhaps in her own mind, she imagines she can fill the void left by Princess Diana who was a true campaigner for humanitarian causes. Unfortunately, our members do not believe that she sincerly cares about the issue and suggest she participate in a programme uncovering some of the child abuse cases that are frequently uncovered in Britain or to visit the war zones in Afganistan and Iraq to see the gross humanitarian crisis, particularly in the lives of innocent children.

Secret cameras used to film as if there were some cloak and dagger activities going on seem to be gimmicks used to imply that the Duchess was in some form of danger in Turkey. Another reference to police stopping the camera crew likened Ankara to some third world war zone, sensationalising the programme. Some of our members have been stopped and searched several times in the centre of London and they don’t need a camera to prove this since ‘stop and search’ is used as a regular practice by Metropolitan Police.

In any case the institutions visited by the Duchess were not orphanages for abandoned children as portrayed, but institutions for the mentally disabled. These institutions so ‘secretly’ filmed by the Duchess are open for inspection on a regular basis to NGO’s from anywhere in the world and not ‘hidden away’ as implied by the documentary. After the filming, no respect was shown to the rights of those filmed to protect their identity and no permission was obtained to show the film from the families of those involved. This is a gross violation of their rights.

Certain actions and generalisations used in the programme have been found very offensive by our members and have led to distress and disillusionment across a wide section of our community. Comments made such as “Many of these children are abandoned by their parents because in Turkey there is a shame associated with having a disabled child” is an unfair and untrue generalisation suggesting that Turkish people do not care about their handicapped.

Turkey has a population estimated at 70 million, of which 3% are registered as either physically or mentally disabled putting the total amount of handicapped people at approximately 2.1 million. The number of mentally disabled children in these 53 homes and institutions total only 3673 given by the State Ministry of Women and Family Affairs. This in itself shows, contrary to the accusations in the programme, that the vast majority of handicapped children are looked after in the home. The new initiatives set up by the government are facilitating even more of those in homes to be looked after back in their family unit. Unlike Britain, in Turkey most of the families look after their handicapped children at home and without any financial assistance from the government. Those children shown in the documentary are there because they come from extremely poverty stricken families or broken homes.

Again, claims by Barrister John Cooper “any country that treats its children like this is not ready to accede to a family of nations that aspire to dignity and humanity” is an insult to the whole nation and has given our members the feeling that the whole programme has been engineered to smear Turks and Turkey in an attempt to sabotage their accession. We would be very pleased if all EU member countries treat their children as he claims but we all know his statement is far from truth.

Comments like “Europe’s forgotten children”, “no hope for kids”, “born with a life sentence”, “grave concerns on Turkey’s human rights record” and many others are all exaggerated and unfair to the children or staff of the institutions shown in the programme.

Many things were also wrongly implied, for example, the impression was given that Britain is only giving support to Turkey because they need their cooperation in the war on terror. This is an outrageous claim, since Turkey has been on the forefront of fighting terrorism for many years and has suffered attacks at the hands of Al Qaida on several occasions.

It is very regrettable that such a programme has been aired, ignoring the damage it will make to the innocent people who live and work in those institutions. It is essential when doing any programme that a complete and balanced view be provided for the viewer and this is the responsibility not only of those involved in the filming but more so by the producers and broadcasters whom in this instance, have shown a blatant disregard for professional ethics.

We believe the rules and broadcasting codes laid out by Ofcom have been infringed by ITV1 according to section 1: “protecting the under eighteens”, section 2: “harm and offence”, section 3: “crime”, section 5: “due impartiality and due accuracy”, section 7: “fairness” and section 8: “privacy”. Therefore, we are reporting these infringements to Ofcom and expect a full and detailed explanation of why this programme has been allowed to be aired.

We believe that the “Every Child Matters” policy of the Government is vital and should be made universal. Whatever a child’s background or circumstances, they should be given the support they need to stay safe and healthy, enjoy, achieve, make a positive contribution and reach economic wellbeing. Therefore, we all have to work towards making the lives of all children better wherever in the world they may live, certainly not using them as a tool for personal or political aspirations just because they are a member of another nation. The positive approach would be offering sincere help by providing training courses in working with the disabled and psychiatrically disturbed and supporting those NGO’s who are making a difference to their inadequate system of caring for the disabled.

We as viewers have every right to expect fair, impartial, accurate and balanced programs from ITV and are therefore demanding that another program be aired to repair the damage done and help those affected. We also expect an apology from the Duchess of York for not acting responsibly and taking part in a program based on politics to smear Turkey by exploiting mentally disabled Turkish children; and her daughters should realise that it is us, the British taxpayer that provides them with their luxurious lifestyles not Turkish or Romanian. If the Duchess and her daughters want to get involved in good causes there are many deserving groups in this country who may welcome their involvement and their financial contribution. Charity begins at home.

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