Read more at:
http://peacewomen.org/resource/isil-nationals-icc-states-parties-committing-genocide-and-other-crimes-against-yazidis
This is a report that was submitted by Yazda and the Free Yezidi
Foundation Supported by the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq on
September 2015
Child dies while placed in foster care, family seeks
answers
grandmother wants answers after the death of her
grandson, who died after suffering injuries while in foster care.
Sheldon Nephi, 3, was transported by air ambulance
to Primary Children's Hospital in July. According to Torrie Nephi, doctors at
the hospital told her that his injuries appeared to be the result of abuse.
Torrie Nephi contacted UB Media after being told by
officials that she has to wait six months for any kind of answer regarding the
death of her grandson.
According to Torrie Nephi, on April 20, she had been
excited to celebrate her grandson's third birthday, and gathered him into the
car to go to the store to buy cupcakes. While getting ready to leave, Ute
Family Services arrived at her home where she lives with her children and
grandchildren.
“We were outside in the car because I was waiting for the
other grandkids to get off the school bus,” Torrie Nephi said. “My son was out
there working on his truck, (the mother) was in the house with the baby. (Ute
Family Services caseworker) came and we were asking her what she was doing and
she was saying, 'I came to get the kids.' She went right up to my front door
and just walked right in and went into the bedroom and grabbed the little
baby.”
According to the grandmother, the caseworker then walked
out with Sheldon Nephi's younger brother, asking, "Where's the other one?”
Torrie Nephi said her other son had told the caseworker that Sheldon Nephi was
in the car at the time.
“She just opened up the car door, put him in her car and
they just left,” Torrie Nephi said. “They didn't give me papers, no nothing on
it...they just took them.”
Over the course of the following weeks, family members
attempted to file papers to petition temporary custody of the children, though
nothing was done to restore custody to family members or to turn the children
over to the Tribe's Kinship Program, according to a statement written by Torrie
Nephi.
After weeks of effort, the family was able to gain
supervised visits to the boys, and Torrie Nephi said she attended several
visits with the parents.
“They went the first two times themselves, as a family,”
Torrie Nephi said. “I went, I think it was the third time, there were bruises,
looked like bruises (indicating forehead area). I asked if they were bruises,
they said 'oh, they are mosquito bites.' Every week we'd go. Then the next
visiting, he had band-aids on his hands. We never did take them off to look,
but then he had blisters on his fingers.”
Torrie Nephi said the suspicion of the children being
hurt was reported by the family to Child Protective Services, and they were
told nothing was filed on it.
“The mom was being sent to The House of Hope. She was
supposed to get the kids within two weeks of being there,” said Ciana Appawoo,
Torrie Nephi's niece. “They were supposed to ship the kids to her. That never
happened, and then this thing happened. When this happened, when we found out
Sheldon was in the hospital, his brother came back home.”
On July 18, the family was notified by telephone that
Sheldon Nephi had been Life Flighted to Primary Children's Hospital after
having been at Uintah Basin Medical Center for a full day. Torrie Nephi said
the family was told by Ute Family Services that Sheldon Nephi was injured in a
car accident.
According to the grandmother, Sheldon Nephi's doctor said
the injuries were not the result of a car accident, but the result of abuse.
According to a statement sent to UB Media from the Nephi family, the report of
the automobile accident later proved to be false.
Sheldon Nephi was allowed to return home after the family
was told he would not live from his injuries. He died on Aug. 4.
UB Media reached out to Heather Gardner with Ute Family
Services and other Ute Tribe officials but were told we would have to talk
to the Ute Tribe Business Committee.
After repeated attempts to contact officials with the Ute
Tribe business committe, we were eventually put in contact with Jeremy
Patterson, legal council for the Ute Tribe Business Committee. According
to Patterson, there is no comment regarding the death of this tribal
member because it is under active investigation at this time.
Sgt. Brian Fletcher with Uintah County Sheriff's Office
said that Uintah County Sheriff's Office is involved with the investigation of
the death of this child.
We have also reached out to the Bureau of Indian Affairs
in Washington D.C., but our calls have not been returned.
This is an active and ongoing
investigation and the story will be updated as more information becomes
available.
Class action against 1960s ‘scoop’ of 16,000 indigenous children placed in foster care gets its day in court
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