Russia has 1 million street children
Russia has 1 million street children
The Korea Herald : The Nation’s No.1 English Newspaper:"There are more than 1 million street children in Russia, according to government figures.
The street children are known as ‘bezprizornye’ in Russian, which literally means ‘left without supervision.’ The numbers soared in the early 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
According to the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (DWB), some are the children of homeless parents, while others are from alcoholic families. Russia has one of the highest rates of alcoholism in the world.
In the case of 17-year-old Olya, she left on her own. She no longer attends school and sleeps in a train station in Moscow, the capital of Russia.
‘My mother wants to live alone, that is why I came here.’ she told Agence France-Presse. ‘She doesn’t care whether I come back home or not.’
Many of the street children survive by stealing and prostitution. Nearly 25 percent of crimes in Russia involve underage youths, according to Vladimir Ustinov, Russia’s chief prosecutor.
Since 2004, DWB has set up programs to help Moscow’s street children. The organi- zation’s work ranges from washing the children’s clothes to offering medical services. It has also built 10 temporary shelters.
Still, the sole work of DWB may not be enough. Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to deal with the problem of street children. However, there has been little progress.
Before the Soviet Union dissolved, ‘the state used to do a lot for children,’ said Marina Makhtinova, DWB’s educational specialist. ‘But this country has undergone a very deep social shock.
‘The economic situation is better now, but it will take years for the social situation to improve.’
Russia has a population of 145 million, according to the United Nations. Russia’s child population is 30 million.
By Ethen Kim Lieser
