World Street Children News :: Pakistan Streetkid News

The Lost Souls
Documentary on the street children of Karachi, Pakistan.

Pahchaan planning drop-in centre for street kids

Staff Report

LAHORE: Pahchaan, a local non-government organisation said on Tuesday that all those responsible for the well-being of society had to play an active role in protecting street children against neglect and abuse.

The NGO also said it was planning to open a drop in centre for such children with the help of international sponsors including the European Commission and Groupe Developpement and the organisation End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT).

Pahchaan issued a press statement, saying that its seminar called ‘Key Stakeholders’ Role in Protecting Street Children’ convened earlier in the day was primarily aimed at creating awareness among stakeholders including policemen, local governments, legal agencies, and employers to help rehabilitate and rescue street children.

Dr Naeem Zafar, president of Pehchaan, said the NGO was providing several services including food and shelter, skill building courses, hygiene courses, rest and recreation, psycho-social counselling, detoxification and legal protection. Also, the organisation was educating 200 street and working children in the city.

Other speakers discussed the impact of physical, emotional and sexual abuse, their vulnerability to abuse in public and work places such as parks and markets, the need for a system to detect AIDS in children and the need for the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau to register NGOs through a proper criteria.

The role of police and shrines was also highlighted in preventing street children from falling into the hands of drug dealers.

Police encouraged to cooperate with street children

KARACHI: To ensure a protective environment for street children and prevent them from street victimisation, 70 police officers were trained during a session of capacity building conducted jointly by the Capital City Police Karachi and The Azad Foundation at the ADRC office of the police station on Thursday. The purpose of the workshop was to encourage collaboration between the police, NGOs and the masses to take remedial measures for the prevention of child harassment, an issue largely overlooked and ignored in the public eye. Citing the official statistics of Azad Foundation, Legal Officer Farah Muzzamil Ehtisham said that there are approximately 10,000 -12,000 street children in Karachi, most of which live in Saddar and Jamshed Town. She said it is essential for the police and other officers to remain in contact with these children while patrolling the areas, and help maintain coordination among service providers who are working for the rehabilitation and reintegration of these street children. A situation analysis of Karachi conducted by The Azad Foundation further revealed the criminal record of street children. More than half of them had a criminal record. On average, approximately 3,500 street children have remained in police custody for 2-7 days. Data also showed that more than 3,000 were charged of theft, 3200 were arrested for drug addiction, and more than 2,000 claimed to be arrested without any reason. The main purpose of the training session was to sensitize the police officials about the grim situation of street children, and to bring an understanding of what they were feeling. Street children frequently come into contact with the police either because they need protection or are in conflict with the law. Through the workshop, the police staff was also reminded of the child friendly laws present in the constitution, and encouraged their implementation to prevent street victimization. Also present on the occasion was Sanaullah Abbasi SSP, Additional IG, CCPK, who elaborated that such awareness raising sessions can play a vital role to curb social evils. Two further sessions will be conducted in the near future with other police officials.

Horrific fate awaits children spurned by society

KARACHI: Out of the approximately 12,000-14,000 street children in Karachi, 50 percent fall victim to commercial sex exploitation, a majority of them being male children between 7-11 years of age. According to data recently revealed by NGO Azad Foundation, the number of street children in the city rose from 10,000 - 12,000 in 2004 to 12,000 - 14,000 in 2006. Consequently, an increasing trend in sex exploitation was also witnessed over the years. As disclosed by the street children near Bahadurabad and Allahwala Chowrangi, they continue to be harassed and sexually abused at the hands of passers-by. Due to this fear, these children prefer spending most of their time at drop-in centres that are operational during the day. “We feel more scared at night because that is when truck drivers and policemen harass us, but this centre is helpful because they teach us self-defence techniques,” says 13-year-old Umair Ali who has been living on the street for four years after he ran away from home because his family pressurised him to get a job. Most of the children, spotted in Saddar, Karimabad, Tariq Road, Kala Pul and parts of Clifton, when refused job opportunities, resort to pick-pocketing or sell sex for their day-to-day survival. The money earned is then spent on addictives like cigarettes, drugs and inhalants, mostly glues such as ‘Samad Bond’. “There are a lot of small hotels and restaurants that offer us food so that is never an issue for us. We don’t earn to make a living. The streets are where we spend our lives. It’s the drugs we need money for,” adds Umair, who further revealed that he was addicted to glue sniffing, a habit he is unwilling to give up. While most children are exploited by different kinds of abusers, many admitted that they indulge in sexual activity merely to satisfy their physical urge. “Male children usually become sexually active around the age of 11 years, and in some cases as early as the age of seven. The urge to satisfy this desire leads to a high number of sexual partners,” explains Dr Farah Iqbal, Professor at the department of Psychology and Research Coordinator for the NGO. She said that street children are at a high risk of sexual abuse, targeted primarily because they are vulnerable. Consequently, some children begin to offer sexual services to these people and become involved in ‘survival sex’. “Saddar is the hub of street children from all areas of Karachi,” says Aqsa Zainab of Azad Foundation, adding that child abusers are mostly found near shrines where ‘langar’ is distributed or near railway stations where they arrive from other cities. It is from here the young boys are kidnapped and sold as commercial sex workers. It was also stated by another 12-year-old, who refused to reveal his identity, that mini cinemas in Lines Area is one such place where they are taken by abusers to indulge in sexual activity. Aqsa also adds that they do not have any trusted adults or a support system that they can access which is why they prefer living in groups which makes them feel safer. Maqsood is one such leader of a group who, unlike most, tries his best to prevent the younger members of his group from abuse. “I have been on the streets for six years now and after several experiences of abuse, I have become well aware of people’s wrong intentions. I try to protect the younger children from abuse as much as I can and even fight for them if I have to, but there are times when abusers overpower us and kidnap the boys they like,” says the 16-year-old, who is mature enough for his age. “Some molesters riding in expensive cars come to us also and insist on taking the best looking and youngest child among us to satisfy their urge,” he adds. Maqsood says he has seen himself change after receiving an education and counselling by psychologists at the NGO. Apart from this it is reported that daily above 5,000 immigrants enter Karachi. Many of the international refugees, including Afghans and Bangladeshis, are mostly children who face even more exploitation and eventually become an easy prey for child abusers. Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) are found to be highest among these children too, who hardly survive their teenage years. When approached by The News, the children were particularly reluctant to share their sexual experiences and awareness about HIV/AIDS. Few of them admit that although they recognise the disease, they do not completely understand how it is transmitted and nor are they aware that the use of condom can protect against the disease. Given the observed situation of street children exploitation that dwells in parks, under bridges and abandoned buildings making children extremely vulnerable especially at night, it is imperative that the government and civil society be made responsible for their safety. Night care centres be established to discourage the practice, and they must be educated about sexually transmitted diseases to help build the self-confidence which is required to challenge a physically and mentally stronger adult. Moreover, training and self defense programmes should also be encouraged to ensure their protection.

Parents renting children out to gangs: Report
Web posted at: 1/30/2007 0:34:19
Source ::: Internews

KARACHI • Various reports compiled by different child rights organisations in Pakistan suggest that renting children by the parents to gangs is becoming a common practice in the country with Karachi having ample contribution to the menace.

These reports say these gangs use these children for begging by paying specific amount to their parents and taking their share from the child’s earnings.

“This menace is on the rise and the reason might be increasing poverty in the society,” Akhtar Hussain Baloch, regional manager of a private charity, Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc), says. He said that the gangs paid more money for a girl child than boys given the fact that girls attracted more attention of people for alms.

According to him, reports such as this should come as no surprise when everyone is aware of the existence of child beggar rackets.

“This nonetheless exasperates a situation where a child escapes the violent private domain to seek refuge in the sanctum of the public where all is visible, where indiscriminate violations are conducted less hastily for fear of reprise from the law,” he said.

Baloch said that such situations were increasing escapism among the children. They escape from a non-life of begging and abhorrent abuse at the hands of the adults of their society who are meant to protect them, he added.

Referring to such reports, he said as early as four, these children beg and scavenge around rubbish dumps or industrial waste sites and took on menial jobs as cart-pushers or dishwashers working 12-15 hours a day to earn around Rs75 — enough to buy a meal.

A report compiled by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) said most children survive by prostituting themselves and stealing, making them vulnerable to contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as HIV/Aids.

“They are also at high risk from health problems such as tuberculosis, jaundice and kidney disorders.”

The report suggests that 83 per cent of street children were sniffing glue between the ages of eight to nineteen. Some 54 per cent left home at age

10-12 while 45 per cent children living on the streets are involved in crimes and 49 per cent are at high risk of HIV/Aids.

Baloch referred to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime assertion that 72 per cent of all street children had no contact with and 10 per cent had no knowledge of their families.

A large proportion of these children sniff cheap readily available glues to starve off hunger, loneliness and fear. He said some 35 laws pertaining to child rights existed in Pakistan but it seemed the authorities were doing a lot but to no avail.

According to him, since independence successive governments had passed and promulgated 27 laws pertaining to child rights while eight laws existed already including the Female Infanticide Prevention Act of 1870.

Pakistan street kids plagued by glue sniffing
07 Jan 2007 23:03:31 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Waheed Khan

KARACHI, Jan 8 (Reuters) - It’s a chilly night in a run-down part of the Pakistani city of Karachi and several boys squat in a dirty alley, getting high on glue.

Breathing in fumes from glue-soaked rags and glue-filled plastic bags is a daily ritual for these boys who live rough on the streets of Pakistan’s biggest city.

"The fumes burn the eyes and leave the body dry. It kills your appetite. But after being kicked and treated like a dog it gives you peace," said one of the boys, Mohammad Naeem.

Cheap at 50 rupees (85 cents) a tin and easier to get than illegal drugs, "Samad Bond" glue — the sniffers’ favourite brand — is flooding the streets of Karachi.

The Pakistan Medical Association says substance abuse among street children has reached alarming levels.

"If more is not done soon, Pakistan is heading for a street children hooked on glue crisis on the scale of other countries like Morocco and Brazil," said Qaiser Sajjad, the association’s general-secretary.

There are about 14,000 street children in Karachi and most are sniffing glue, said Aksa Zainab, a social worker who helps street kids at a drop-in centre operated by the Azad Foundation in cooperation with UNICEF.

"According to our research, 90 percent of these children are involved in glue sniffing or in some other solvent abuse," Zainab added.

The problem is getting worse as more and more poor parents with large families are unable to make ends meet and their children end up in the streets of Pakistani cities and towns.

Severe urban poverty, a rising cost of living and few job opportunities for the poor are causing the growing street children problem in Karachi, explained economist Asad Saeed.

"There is also no law on the compulsory education of children. It’s a free-for-all society," Saeed said.

LIVING ON THE STREETS

Akram, one of the boys sniffing glue in the alley, explains how he ended up homeless.

The 15-year-old, dressed in a ragged blue shirt and dirty jeans, said he ran away from his stepfather who beat him with iron rods and scorched him with cigarettes.

The boys make money cleaning cars and scavenging for scraps in rubbish.

"I wash cars, collect paper and metal from garbage dumps. I even beg for alms but I’m committing no crime," said Mohammad Khalil, one of few who prefers to sleep on the streets with his friends because of family fights at home.

Abdul Karim, a scruffy-haired boy with bucked teeth, is among a small group of street children who have kicked the glue habit.

Small and cocky, Karim attended a detoxification and rehabilitation programme at the Azad Foundation drop-in centre, which is housed in five small rooms in a narrow lane of a downtown residential area.

Karim is a regular visitor to the centre where children get clean clothes, food, medical aid, counselling and even schooling.

"I used to sniff glue until three months back. I used to feel dizzy and sleep all day. Now I feel better and am also trying to stop smoking cigarettes," said Karim.

One room at the centre has a television set, a major attraction for the kids, another has games and a third has been turned into a classroom with colourful charts and a chalk board.

"The numbers are increasing as they tell their friends of what benefits they get here," said social worker Zainab.

Vulnerable and helpless on the street

December 20, 2006 By Amir Zia We see them daily on almost every major road, every busy traffic junction — begging, washing cars, selling flowers, roaming idly, being chased and harassed by policemen and bullied by petty criminals and thugs. Some of them are barely six or seven-year-old. They earn, eat, sleep, and live on the streets. The traffic choked roads are their playgrounds and footpaths their homes. The world gives them lessons about life, relationships and the society in the hardest possible way. Those of us, who pity them, toss a few rupees on their extended palms, but most just ignore them. Many seem oblivious to their very existence, others appear afraid to see them eye-to-eye. Perhaps the guilt of living in such a callous society sometimes becomes burdensome even for the most thick-skinned among us. However, the public apathy or occasional burst of sympathy, hardly make any difference for these wretched souls. They cling to their miserable life — if it is one — on day-to-day basis. Yes, the plight and suffering of the street children of Pakistan is hardly news now. These little tragic stories float around us unnoticed in every major city — be it Karachi, Lahore, or Rawalpindi-Islamabad. A vast majority, or perhaps the collective will of the society, has accepted them just as another fact. The debate whether is it pleasant or unpleasant one does not seem to matter at all. Therefore it should not come as a surprise if one is told by some of the stalwarts of rights groups that there is no reliable data available even on the approximate number of these children who live on the streets. The number of this floating-population is increasing as fresh homeless children keep trickling down to their ranks. In Karachi alone, the number of street children is estimated somewhere between 15,000 and 25,000. They could be less or more — but mere statistics, fudged or accurate, conservative or exaggerated won’t bring any smiles on their faces or more tears in their eyes. For these are children not just numbers. And let’s be clear that these street children do not include the ones involved in manual labour with the consent of their parents. The children who are into labour under the supervision of parents are certainly better off. At least they are more protected. But those who live on the streets are among the lowest of the low and the most vulnerable. They have nowhere to turn to for protection, emotional support and comradeship except the members of their own band in which often a bully — who himself could be a victim of physical and sexual abuse — treats the young or weaker ones as once he was treated as a child. A vast majority of the children who end up on the roads are driven away from their homes because of domestic violence, corporal punishment, abuse, and poverty. They are usually members of divided or single-parent families. In some cases, simply bad company, the desire of unrestricted freedom, and the pull of the hustle and bustle of cities, prompt them to leave homes in rural areas and low-income localities of our cities, especially belonging to southern Punjab and parts of North West Frontier Province. Some limited surveys and interviews conducted by various non-government organisations show that an alarming 80 to 90 per cent of the street children are victims of sodomy, sexual and physical abuse not just by elders but older children within their own gangs. A majority of them are drug addicts. The most popular and affordable of the durg is a type of glue — used mostly in home repair and maintenance — which these children inhale by putting it on a piece of cloth. One can see young boys sniffing this glue openly on the streets and pavements that according to one user, "tingles nose and make one slightly drowsy." The use of other drugs including hashish, and even heroin are also rampant among many of these streets children. Organised gangs of criminals — peddling drugs or operating begging rackets — take these children under their wings and use them in criminal activities. Many children also resort on their own to begging and petty crimes, raising enough money to buy themselves food and favourite drug. There are a few small NGOs working for the rehabilitation of these children, but their network is much small given the enormity of the task. Some NGOs operate a few small day-care centres, but they are closed during the night when these children are most vulnerable. As far as the authorities are concerned, the less said about them the better. The issue does not seem to exist on their radar. There seems to be no awareness about this festering problem in the official quarters. There is no government initiative to protect and rehabilitate these children, who grow up on the streets, amid extreme forms of abuse, harassment, and violence. Establishing state-run shelters where these children can have food, clothing and education, does not require mega-bucks, foreign currency, or a vote of two-third majority in parliament. It needs a little sensitivity, consideration, and above all channelling of efforts to help these miserable souls, who are not asking for the moon, but only a right to live and lead normal lives. We, as a society, need to take this responsibility and attempt to pull these children out of the deep pit of crime, ignorance, and exploitation. If we allow them to live as they are, tomorrow they would be justified in returning and inflicting the same violence on others that our society has perpetuated on them. Yes, these children can live and die on the roads, turn out to be petty thieves, hardened criminals, or even terrorists. After all what options do they have? What options the society has given them? What have they to lose? Let’s all help these children to get back their precious childhood. It should not be denied to them. But are we willing? Let’s try to find this answer in our hearts — perhaps we can find some light. We need it badly. The writer is a senior Karachi-based journalist. Email: amir.zia@gmail.com

District government setting up drop-in centres for street children

RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi district administration will establish drop-in centres to eliminate child labour present in the forms of children who beg or collect garbage, said District Nazim Rawalpindi Raja Javed Ikhlas on Monday.

He said this while talking at a ceremony held to mark the Universal Children’s Day by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA). He said that the centres would provide education to the children to make them a useful part of the society, adding that the government and non-government organisations should coordinate their efforts to eliminate child labour from the country and to safeguard the future of the younger generation.

“The children are our most important assets and their education is imperative for the development and progress of the country,” he said. He said that it was a “criminal act” to deprive children of their rights and force them to do manual labour. He said that the Rawalpindi executive education officer would soon submit a summary of the estimated expenditure and other requirements of the centres. He said that the district government would provide all funds for the project and would run the centres.

He appreciated the efforts made by the ILO and ITO for resolving the problems being faced by homeless children despite their small financial resources and said that the Rawalpindi District Coordination Committee had been directed to cooperate with the NGOs to eliminate of child labour. He said that local government representatives would extend all their support to the ILO representatives in implementing the project.

ITA Chairperson Baela Raza Jamil said that street children who made a living either by begging or selling garbage were leading a “miserable and inhuman life”. She said that the government should set up a special commission to check violence against street children and take stern action against people who were involved in the crime.

Lahore’s street children find alternatives at UNICEF-supported centre

© UNICEF Pakistan/2006

At the Nai Zindagi drop-in centre in Lahore, Pakistan, a UNICEF-supported project is helping street children get off drugs and return to a normal life.

By Mary de Sousa

LAHORE, Pakistan, 8 November 2006 – “Nobody, not even the police, dares to touch me,” says Rehan, a sharp, funny teenager with roughly cropped hair, dressed in a dirty shalwar kameez (the traditional South Asian trousers and tunic) and an oversized man’s wool jacket.

“I might look weak, but God has granted me the strength to fight,” Rehan adds.

Rehan, who may be “nearly 18,” does not have the physique of a teenage boy. That’s because Rehan is actually Rehana, a girl disguised as a boy to survive on the streets of Heera Mandi, Lahore’s red-light district.

“Can you imagine what would happen to me if I dressed as a girl?” she asks.

Life on the streets

There are few girls on the streets here. Rehana is one of only 2 among the 100 or more boys who regularly visit the UNICEF-supported Nai Zindagi drop-in centre, which offers drug addicts help with recovery. The centre also runs Project Smile, providing street children with a safe haven as well as health and social care, food, clean clothes, counselling, informal education and referral for advanced medical and drug treatment.

Rehana has suffered a brutal life. “I have been on the streets since I was born,” she says. “My father only wanted me to work and sent me to look after children and clean houses. When he started to sexually abuse me, I left.”

She was found on the street by Smile’s outreach programme. Now she has stopped injecting heroin and is trying hard to decrease her dosage.

© UNICEF Pakistan/2006

A homeless teenager takes refuge at the Nai Zindagi drop-in centre, which provides medical care, counselling and support to street children in Lahore.

From addict to mentor

Azar is another regular at Smile, and his life offers a parallel to Rehana’s. He thinks he may be 18 and ran away when he was “less than 10” because his parents died and he was badly beaten by his older brother. 

“I joined a gang of runaways and started taking charas [hashish] and Samad Bond,” he says. (Samad Bond is a solvent that children spread on material and sniff.) Azar eventually began offering sex in exchange for drugs.

A friend brought him to Nai Zindagi and now he is a peer mentor responsible for marking down the names of children who arrive and checking in their drugs at the centre, where no drug use is allowed.

‘I learned to communicate’

“We help them to understand why they take them and how they could stop,” says staff training manager Bushra Rani. “When it comes to transactional sex, we teach them how to negotiate themselves out of the situation and protect themselves.”

Azar is happy with the changes in his life. “I have stopped drugs, and here I learned to communicate with people, to look neat and tidy and to have safer sexual practices,” he says. Smile counsellors have started negotiating for Azar to return to his family.

“I want to be a motor mechanic or have any job where people don’t call me a charsi [drug addict],” he says. “I want to live a healthy, happy life.”

As for Rehana, the girl masquerading as a boy to survive on the streets, her hopes for the future are modest but clear. “I want to work at weaving chairs or coats,” she says, “and I want somewhere I can live all on my own.”

SPARC starts campaign for street children’s rights

Friday, October 06, 2006
Staff Report

PESHAWAR: The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) has started a campaign to raise awareness about the rights of street children in collaboration with Save the Children, Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK) in Peshawar.

“The project aims at raising awareness among children about their rights, protection issues and empower them to protect themselves as well as other children in the area from abuse, exploitation and providing access to psycho-social support, education, recreation, health facilities and reintegrate street children into their homes and parents,” said Jahanzeb Khan, the SPARC regional manager.

“We (NGOs) require a law on the pattern of the Punjab Borstral Schools Act and Sindh Bortsal Schools Act to protect children from violence, exploitation and abuses,” he said.

He said that the government had the responsibility to provide protection to all children, especially street children, which, he said, were the victims of various social evils. He said that according to the UN convention on children’s rights, government were required to make all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect children from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse. He said that the society was trying to promote and protect the rights of children.
Courtesy DailyTimes.com.pk