29/03/2012 BBC Channel Islands News

Good evening. Tonight's top stories. Victims of child abuse will be

offered �60,000 in compensation. Jersey's government again says it

is sorry. In December 2010, the Chief Minister offered an

unreserved apology on behalf of government. I reiterate that

apology this afternoon. Up to around 100 people will be

able to make claims for compensation. Victims say they will

be able to move on. For me, the money will bring

closure. But for other people who potentially have been damaged by

what they experienced, I do not know, but at least it is an

acknowledgement of what they suffered. Also tonight, just the

job. Why the timing of the careers there could not have been better

The compensation will be paid nearly 100 victims of child abuse

in Jersey. They were all abused while in the care of the government

over a 50 year period. They will each be able to claim up to �60,000,

depending on the level of abuse they suffered. It was Jersey's

biggest ever police inquiry, investigating decades of physical

and sexual abuse of children in the care of the States. Here at Haut de

la Garenne, and other children's homes. The victims demanded

compensation from the Government. hope this will go some way to

helping them. They have been effected in such a way that it will

affect him for the rest of their lives. Victims will get up to

�60,000 each and will have to complete one of these forms each,

detailing what will happen to them -- what happened to them, and

whether they are reported to anyone at the time, or if they have ever

made a complaint to the police. Their accounts will be matched

against any existing records. The idea of the scheme has to

compensate all those who suffered dating back to 1945 until 1994,

nearly 50 years. Their individual rewards will be decided by a firm

of Jersey advocates within four possible tariffs. In most cases

there will be a joint psychiatric assessment affected -- requested,

to a says first of all the extent of the abuse, and secondly the

impact of the abuse on the individual.

The police officer who led the inquiry welcomes the scheme. This

is not because of a couple of individuals who were in the care

homes at the time. This was a systematic, institutionalised,

sexual abuse of small, vulnerable children over a period of decades,

in institutions run by the Jersey government. The abuse was covered

up by people who had a duty to protect the victims. That is what

today is all about. A public inquiry will be carried out. Today

it was about the victims. No amount of money can return their childhood,

but recognition of their suffering may help them find some closure.

For the victims, it has been a long, painful wait. In many cases years

of abuse have been followed of years of waiting for justice and

recognition. We have been to make one of the victims to hear her

experiences. We have called her Sarah, because she did not want to

be identified. I used to get up early because I used to do my hair

and stuff before I went to school. It used to happen in the morning

because I would go up to the main room early, and he would lock the

door and it would happen. It was most days. A bit like Lord Of the

flies. It was survival of the fittest. You learnt to be really

hard and aggressive, and not to tell anyone anything, because that

was the only way to get through. You learnt never to show anything

to anyone, in case it could be used against you by someone later Ron.

To this day, I do not trust anyone fully. And I mean anyone. Once you

have had your child had taken for whatever reason, you do not get it

back when you're 60. It does not work like that. Unfortunately it is

too late in the day for this because probably most of the

protagonists are long dead. For me, the money will bring closure. But

for other people who potentially were really damaged by the

experience, I do not know, but at least it is an acknowledgement of

what they suffered. Sarah's solicitor is Alan Collins, who also

represents 42 other victims. Earlier I spoke to him from the

Salford newsroom, and began by asking him if he thought the offer

of compensation was there. -- was fair. It is fair. The amount

outlined in the scheme shows what victims of child abuse could expect

if they took their cases to court and succeeded. What has it been

like working with Jersey's government, in comparison with the

UK and other jurisdictions? It has been interesting, challenging.

Where we have arrived today, I would commend the state of Jersey,

and the Chief Minister. And the States of Jersey have, in my

opinion, behaved or a civilised way, if I can put it like that, in

realising that the victims had to have some form of justice. How long

till your clients get the compensation, and do you think they

can put this behind him now? It is very difficult for them because

they have had to live with their memories of physical and sexual

abuse for many years, in some cases many decades. In one sense they

cannot put behind him what has happened, but for some of those, I

believe that today will provide some form of closure for them. They

welcome the scheme, and it does provide them with a degree of

justice, and that is very important for them. It is not necessarily

about what is going to appear on the pay cheque, because no kind of

compensation could ever put right what they endured as children.

Collins speaking to me earlier. In other news, pay talks between

Guernsey's your ports and firefighters have broken down. A

similar dispute three years ago resulted in airports closing

several times. Both sides have agreed to go to arbitration.

Lost it -- Rothschild Trust in Guernsey has announced it is to

lose about a third of their work force, as the company is

restructuring to remove duplication. Affected staff will be helped to

find alternative employment. A new ferry service could be

starting between Albany and Guernsey. The company plans to

offer a crossing four times a week. A custom-built catamaran will be

used, transporting up to 12 passengers at a time.

Jersey's Shell Garden, thought to be the largest of its type in the

world, will be closed to tourists this year. The popular attraction

near St Alban is made of millions of shells. For they want to open,

but decided against it because of ill health.

You're watching the BBC in the Channel Islands. Later, the ride of

a lifetime. We meet the surfer's on one of Europe's biggest waves.

David has the weather forecast and if you moments.

First, at a time when unemployment across the Channel Islands is

rising, the timing of Guernsey's annual careers there could not be

better. Penny went to see what jobs were on offer.

With their career ahead of them, this was a chance to start planning

it, to try a new skill. Or to learn one that you perhaps did not know

that you wanted. Well, it has been interesting. It has more or less

opened my eyes to what I need to do. It is good for young people to see

different places around Guernsey, and different things you can get

into. It has made me realise how much banking happens in Guernsey.

It is a good opportunity for people to see what they want to do for the

rest of their life. But school pupils trying something new here is

not just what this event is about. With unemployment on the up,

particularly in the mail order industry, this could not have come

at a better time for jobseekers. There were people this morning

involved with jobseekers who have come from one of the companies. It

is good, in that they can come to speak face-to-face with people, and

chat about the possibilities there may be within the organisation.

if people are starting a changing their career, the organisers hope

the fair did just the job. Good luck to them all. Now, the

After the warmth of the last two days, tomorrow and into the weekend

it gets a little bit cooler. By the time we get to Monday of next week,

we will be back to normal temperatures of 12 or 13 degrees.

For now, the high pressure is still in charge. A little must tonight,

but the temperatures will come back to what they should be on Saturday

when the wind moves in. Temperatures are ranging from 78

this evening. The morning starts off a little misty in places. Apart

from that is as -- it is another warm day. Winds from the north or

north-east, and 15-17 degrees of temperature. As for the coastal

waters forecast, it is hazy with For the surface, -- surfers, the

weeds pick up a little. I mention the cooler weather moving on, which

is going to happen from Saturday through to Monday. A little more in

the way of plied coming her way, but that will fit in, giving us a

cloudy day on Sunday. We will notice the drop and editors,

particularly from 17 and 18 degrees, back down to 13. -- a drop in

temperature. By Monday we will have break in the cloud, but a fresher