| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Ria777 Yeti Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Total posts: 56 Gender: Unknown |
 Posted: 03-08-2013 23:04 Post subject: TV Game Show Gives Away Abandoned Babies as Prizes |
 |
|
|
| Quote: |
Pakistan TV show hosted by Aamir Liaquat Hussain gives away babies to audience
By Saima Mohsin and Katie Hunt, CNN
July 31, 2013 -- Updated 0509 GMT (1309 HKT)
Karachi (CNN) -- Plumbing new depths in the battle for television ratings, abandoned babies are being given away on a controversial prime-time game show in Pakistan.
TV host Aamir Liaquat Hussain presented baby girls to two unsuspecting couples during his show, which is broadcast live for seven hours a day during the month of Ramadan.
"I was really shocked at first. I couldn't believe we were being given this baby girl," said Suriya Bilqees, now a mother of a two-week old. "I was extremely happy."
Another baby, a boy, is due to be given to another couple at some point in the coming days.
The show's host has been described as a religious scholar, TV megastar and even a sex symbol. His heady mix of religion and entertainment is often followed by controversy.
"At Christmas there's Santa Claus to give everyone gifts, it's important for Christians. For us Ramadan is a really special time so it's really important to make people happy and reward them," said Hussain.
His show -- Aman Ramazan -- has been dubbed Pakistan's version of The Price Is Right, with members of the 500-strong audience receiving prizes in exchange for answering questions on the Quran.
The giveaway bonanza includes motorbikes, microwave ovens, washing machines and fridges.
He also cooks while men sing Islamic hymns and discusses religion with children in a garden full of rabbits, snakes and goats.
The baby girls given away on the show were found by an NGO, the Chhipa Welfare Association, which says it receives up to 15 abandoned babies a month.
"Our team finds babies abandoned on the street, in garbage bins -- some of them dead, others mauled by animals. So why not ensure the baby is kept alive and gets a good home?" said Ramzan Chhipa, who runs the organization.
"We didn't just give the baby away. We have our own vetting procedure. This couple was already registered with us and had four or five sessions with us."
But, the couple didn't know they would be handed a newborn when they were invited to take part in the show and paperwork was not processed before the live broadcast.
Adoption is not officially recognized in Pakistan and there is no adoption law. The couple will have to apply for guardianship at a family court.
Some viewers praised the show's baby giveaway but others declared it a publicity stunt.
"Pakistan wake up," Shamim Mahmood wrote on the NGO's Facebook page. "Babies are not trophies to be handed to just anyone."
Hussain says it isn't a gimmick to win ratings during the Islamic holy month. He believes his show is unifying a fractured nation, plagued by sectarian violence, religious intolerance and terrorism.
"These are the disenfranchised babies that grow up to be street kids and used for suicide bombing attacks. We have tried to show an alternative," he said.
"Telling people to take these kids off the rubbish on the streets, raise them and make them a responsible citizen, not to destroy society through terrorism," he said.
The show has proved extremely popular, breaking ratings records and may be extended beyond its Ramadan run. He is also planning another program where the audience will be from the minority Hindu, Sikh and Christian communities.
"We've created a symbol of peace and love, that's our show's theme -- to spread love. I'm setting an example. Giving a childless couple an abandoned child," Hussain said.
CNN's Saima Mohsin reported from Karachi, journalist Katie Hunt wrote and reported from Hong Kong |
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/29/world/asia/pakistan-baby-giveaway/index.html?hpt=hp_c1 |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
| escargot1 Joined: 24 Aug 2001 Total posts: 17709 Location: Farkham Hall Age: 3 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 04-08-2013 12:21 Post subject: |
|
|
|
Someone posted about this on Facebook. I replied 'Couldn't eat a whole one.' That didn't go down well.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Ronson8 Things can only get better.
Great Old One Joined: 31 Jul 2001 Total posts: 5970 Location: MK Gender: Male |
| Posted: 04-08-2013 13:18 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| escargot1 wrote: | | That didn't go down well. |
Why, did it get stuck in your throat? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| cherrybomb Skating the thin crust
Great Old One Joined: 26 Aug 2009 Total posts: 942 Location: Sitting on the roof at dusk Gender: Female |
| Posted: 09-08-2013 11:40 Post subject: |
|
|
|
I over heard someone on the bus the other day saying "mmmm, roasted baby legs" lmao! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| escargot1 Joined: 24 Aug 2001 Total posts: 17709 Location: Farkham Hall Age: 3 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 09-08-2013 12:28 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| There's a video on youtube of a bloke apparently eating a roasted baby. It's actually chicken or something, and the whole thing is an art stunt or whatever but it caused plenty of outrage. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| cherrybomb Skating the thin crust
Great Old One Joined: 26 Aug 2009 Total posts: 942 Location: Sitting on the roof at dusk Gender: Female |
| Posted: 09-08-2013 14:23 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| good stuff! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| OneWingedBird Great Old One Joined: 19 Nov 2012 Total posts: 418 Location: Attice of blinkey lights Age: 44 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 09-08-2013 18:35 Post subject: |
|
|
|
We need a crossover here with the Milgram Experiment for good measure.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| Ronson8 Things can only get better.
Great Old One Joined: 31 Jul 2001 Total posts: 5970 Location: MK Gender: Male |
| Posted: 09-08-2013 22:23 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| OneWingedBird wrote: | | We need a crossover here with the Milgram Experiment for good measure. |
You mean someone makes you eat a baby even though didn't want to?  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| OneWingedBird Great Old One Joined: 19 Nov 2012 Total posts: 418 Location: Attice of blinkey lights Age: 44 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 09-08-2013 22:26 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| Yeah, you could give them a knob to turn and a dude in a white coat can persuade them to turn the knob to make you eat the baby all the way upto 11. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
