By Robin Sam
IT won’t be an exaggeration to say that the latest Tweet maelstorm unleashed by Joel Giftson on his Twitter page where he shared screenshots of Scripture Union staffers Samuel Jaisundar and Reuben Clement engaging with underage girls from as far as 2014, cozying up with them, expressing interest in them, commenting on their photos and seeking explicit photos from them has completely caught the organization unawares. The tweets have been tagged to the Prime Minister’s Office and Home Minister’s Office besides the National Commission for Women. Already, the Sangh Parivar supporters who are always active on social media looking for dirt on minority communities and their organizations are clamoring for the strictest action against SU. Some have also suggested invoking POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act against the accused. The Christian Messenger spoke to N. Joshua Kirubaraj, national director of Scripture Union. Kirubaraj who joined SU as a volunteer 30 years ago and rose up the ranks is clearly distressed at the turn of events. He did not hide his anguish during the interview but also expressed his determination to dredge the organization of bad elements and march ahead confidently.
The following is an excerpt from the telephonic interview:
Question: Kudos to you for taking immediate and timely action by placing under suspension one of your staffers accused of inappropriate online behavior with underage girls. Why has not the same action been initiated against Mr. Reuben Clement, when there is enough evidence available to suggest that he was also preying upon young girls?
Joshua Kirubaraj: These allegations came up yesterday. Immediately, we convened our office committee and it was over by yesterday evening. Posts about Reuben came after that. So, I could not obviously call the panel members again for the meeting. I spoke to them this morning. And, they said we would have to initiate action against him (Reuben) also. So, we would hold an inquiry tomorrow (October 6). We are very upset about all these things, but we will have to face it. We have also set up an enquiry committee where three people are from outside SU. An advocate, an auditor and a retired headmistress will be part of the enquiry panel. The enquiry is going to be on Zoom because of the Covid-19 situation and restrictions on travel. The meeting will be over latest by day after tomorrow (Oct 7). As soon as the enquiry is over, we will post an update of it online.
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Q: What action has been initiated against Ms. Janet Ebenezer who seems to have discouraged the affected girls from opening up? She apparently said the allegations will spoil Samuel Jaisundar’s career. She seems to be more concerned about the career of the accused than the victims’ feelings…
JK: Again, we came to know about the details of Janet’s involvement in the issue only after our committee meeting. That’s why we have stated in the media release that have initiated enquiry against the other people involved in this issue. Although Albert’s name is mentioned by the Twitter user (Joel Giftson), he himself says there is nothing inappropriate in his message. All the same, we will be inquiring Albert.
Q: How long has Samuel Jaisundar been working with the Scripture Union? Have there been any charges laid up against him by his own colleagues, your ministry partners or the beneficiary groups such as the children earlier?
JK: Samuel has been with us for 17 years. After reading the threads of the tweet I understand that some people are saying that for the past six years SU did not take any action against him. But, nothing in written has come to us till date. There was not a complaint really made.
Q: OK, nothing in writing may have come to you. But were you aware of anything (hanky panky) even remotely?
JK: No, I was not aware of this. But, there was an incident two months ago. I had to speak to a girl who called me. Then I asked her for evidence. She gave me some clips of the chat messages. Then, we had to immediately call Sam and reprimand him. We have recorded all those things in June. Because, there were no written complaints, we had to drop the issue. But, we asked him not to be involved in any work relating to children for the next one year. After this issue, everything was silent. The affected girl’s parents were also very kind to us. They did not want to destroy him (Sam).
Q: Was this girl from Coimbatore?
No, she was from Vellore.
Q: That’s the other thing I wanted to ask you. How did these male staff gain access to places where there were a lot of girl children without any of your female staff being present?
JK: No, that’s not how it works. We go there as a team and there are female staffers in the team. Probably, I think the reason such things happen is because in English schools the boys and girls come up to the preachers during the break sessions, wowed by their messages or presentations and take selfie pictures with them. All these things must be the reason.
Q: Basically, these children seem to be admiring these people is what you are saying?
JK: Yeah, of course. That’s the reason.
Q: So, the SU staff would be taking advantage of that admiration. Is that what you are saying?
JK: No, no, no. This was actually a shock to us. They don’t take it as an advantage. In fact, in all humility we just praise God for the opportunities (to minister to the children).
Q: Has SU systems and control in place to check on your staff and make them accountable for their actions?
JK: In fact, earlier there were some complaints regarding financial issues. Some had some bad habits like drinking and things like that. Immediately, after they were brought to our attention we asked them to leave. We tell them they cannot work with children and young people like that.
Q: Have you contacted the whistleblower, Mr. Joel Giftson, after the whole thing blew up?
JK: No, we couldn’t contact him. I didn’t know how.
Q: Do you want to contact him?
JK: Hmmm. Probably, you can send his number, sir. And I shall discuss with the committee and then (take a call).
Q: I want to place on record that I do not know Mr. Joel Giftson. I contacted him via Instagram after coming across his tweets. He sent me his number and he has also agreed to do an interview with me later today. And, if it is OK with him I will definitely send his number to you.
JK: OK.
Q: Did Joel Giftson contact you earlier regarding the complaints (against Samuel Jaisundar)?
JK: Incoherent voice.
Q: Is that a Yes or a No. Did he contact you earlier?
JK: No, he did not contact us.
Q: Will Scripture Union be reaching out to the affected children?
JK: As such we have no plans (to contact them). Because we don’t know what happened, who they are and all that. And, we are also not sure (if) everything is true. For example this girl (name withheld) from Vellore contacted me and I spoke to her and her parents. Similarly, if anyone contacts me (or SU directly) we might take that step also (of addressing their concerns).
Q: Finally, what steps are you taking to ensure that such abominable and hurtful things do not happen again in your organisation?
JK: See, we are working on a child protection policy very clearly. We will make it very strict. Right from the staff to volunteers, unless they sign it they may not be utilized at all.
Q: Are you saying you didn’t have this child protection policy earlier, before this incident?
JK: We didn’t have it earlier. We may not have had a written policy. But immediately after a staff is inducted we take them through our guidelines on girl-boy relationship, how a girl should not be counseled alone without having a female present in the meeting and all these things. But when it comes to these English (medium) schools the culture differs. And, we cannot control students also sometimes. You see it has been there so many years but now only we are getting complaints.
Q: You think the image of Scripture Union has taken a beating?
JK: Certainly, very much.
Q: And what measures are you taking to bring up the confidence of your ministry partners and supporters?
JK: Actually we intend to write a plain letter to all our donors and prayer supporters. And, we have to tell the truth. We will seek their prayer support. On our part, we will have to come up with an affirmative statement that we will ensure that these things will not happen again.
Last edited at 9:05 pm on October 5, 2020.
