With rapid urbanization and growth in city-centric opportunities and privileges, the crisis of street children is increasing with each passing day. Children, especially from rural areas and underprivileged families, are being forced to live on the streets of cities like Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, Narayanghat and Biratnagar because of abject poverty, abuse in the family, loss of parents, lack of love and protection from parents and search for employment. However, their life on the streets is so vulnerable and miserable that they become victims of even harsher realities such as physical violence, sexual exploitation, unpaid labor, trafficking and substance abuse.
The plight of street children is one of the major issues in many countries of the world including Nepal. According to UNICEF, there are more than 100 million street children in the world. Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN) estimates that there are around 5,000 children working and living on the streets of Nepal and the number is constantly increasing.
When children end up on the street, they are almost destined to work as rag pickers, beggars, porters and other such menial jobs. Needless to say, street life has various adverse effects on their physical, mental and psychological development. They suffer from different types of abuses, drug addiction, social exclusion, health problems, malnutrition, alcoholism and starvation and have to cope alone with lack of love, health care, support, shelter, education, clothes, food and opportunity for skills development. When they continue living on the street and have to earn a living, they get involve in various illegal, immoral and criminal activities. As they grow up in the harsh environment of the street and adapt to a nomadic lifestyle, their physical, social, emotional and spiritual growth and well-being remain stunted.
Street children often cannot afford one full meal a day. So they widely use different types of intoxicants like cigarettes, glue, petrol, shoe polish, heroin, opium etc. to help them forget their hunger and other travails and to temporarily escape from their painful reality. The effect of alcohol and drug abuse on them ranges from acute and chronic health problems to emotional imbalance, disruption in interpersonal relationships, social marginalization and criminal behavior. They are also vulnerable to HIV/AIDS as they indulge in group drug abuse and unsafe sexual activities.
Though some national and international non-governmental organizations are making an effort to make the lives of street children relatively better and secure their future to some extent, there is no effective policy and program by the government to support these hapless children. These organizations have tried to address the issue of street children with temporary shelters providing food and basic education. However, the government needs to initiate a cohesive policy that would encompass both preventive and rehabilitative strategies.
To begin with, the government should formulate and implement the public awareness campaign to educate parents, community leaders, local organizations, teachers and civil society about the destructive cycle associated with street children and its negative long-term effects. In the absence of such programs, the task of protecting street children, providing them education and enabling them to live like normal children becomes even more difficult. Second, the government should operate transit homes to house street children wherein their fundamental rights can be ensured. The transit homes should have schemes to provide health care, vocational training, counseling and provision of food and education which can make a meaningful difference to the lives of these children. Third, the government should adopt a policy to re-integrate the street children from transit homes into their families or rehabilitate them so they can be incorporated into the ‘society’.
Children living in abject poverty are deprived of their fundamental rights to education, nutrition, health care, love and security. UNICEF describes poverty as the ‘worst form of violence’ and as a ‘denial of human rights and dignity’. That is to say, the phenomenon of children living on streets is itself a violation of basic human rights. Since poverty is one of the primary reasons for children coming to the street, government should prioritize and focus on its poverty reduction programs. Economic and social policies must be reviewed and applied to protect the children of poverty stricken families.
Overcoming the problem of children forced to live on streets requires an in-depth understanding of the factors that drive them to such a situation. It is imperative to bring about an improvement in the socio-economic environment to support the poor and disadvantaged through a more inclusive policy and institutional strategy. Various income and skill generating trainings should be imparted to the disadvantaged people.
It is recognized that educational development is another crucial strategy to fight poverty and consequently, the phenomenon of children living on streets. Many developed countries now have compulsory school education for children and the law mandates that parents send their children to school. However, in Nepal, this realization is yet to hit the poor rural families though the government is committed to the provision of primary education for all. Besides, adult literacy programs might play a vital role in creating consciousness among elders, thus making them aware of the ill effects of abandoning their children on urban streets.
Children living on streets are extremely vulnerable to victimization, exploitation and denial of their fundamental rights. It is time we drew attention of the public towards the plight of street children and put pressure on the government to devise a comprehensive strategy to effectively tackle this regrettable trend.
madhabreg@yahoo.com
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