Children

“I cannot sleep at night now, I cannot eat, I am just afraid”
said Rania Hamed, an eight-year-old Palestinian refugee,
who fled the Nahr al Bared camp on foot with her family in May
(Fleeing Palestinian children speak of horrors).

In armed conflict, children always pay the heaviest price from the fighting, displacement, lack of infrastructure and resources.  Therefore Palestinian children seem unable to escape the violence and hardship that has plagued them their entire lives. Fighting has recently broke out in Lebanon between the army and the radical Islamic group Fatah al-Islam. The fighting has now been going on for two months, leaving a strain on resources and preventing the adequate protection of refugee children. Lack of food, safe drinking water, medicine, heath care, suitable housing, education and security, are placing children at even heavier risk. Unfortunately the fighting has made an already grave situation, even more dire, providing basic resources is difficult for aid agencies, let alone providing basic education to children. ‘Although UNRWA is required to provide Palestinian children with elementary and preparatory education, about 60 percent of the young adults have not completed basic education at least in part because of the poor learning environment in the camps (Children Still Caught in Crossfire at Refugee Camp in Lebanon)’.

According to Amnesty International Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon’s biggest problem in accessing education is that, ‘Non-ID’ refugee children have no access to formal education, and though they could can pay for private school, a cost many cannot afford, as obtaining work is also limited as refugees cannot do so legally. Even if an ‘Non-ID’ child is able to go to school, they are unable to take state exams to obtain the intermediate school certificate, therefore are unable to finish school, and even if manage to it is unrecognized.

What can be done to ensure that child refugee’s fundamental human rights are fulfilled and protected?

“Human Rights Watch believes the right to asylum is a matter of life and death and cannot be compromised. Human Rights Watch calls on the United Nations and on governments everywhere to uphold their obligations to protect refugees and to respect their rights - regardless of where they are from or where they seek refuge.”(Human Rights Watch)

Refuge rights, which are guaranteed under the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, include; protection against discrimination, freedom of religion, right to identity and travel documents, work, protection against penalties for illegal entry, right to housing, education and relief, protection against penalties for illegal entry, and freedom of movement.

Amnesty International has made a number of recommendations for the compliance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the Lebanese government. Recommendations in the report included; the right to an adequate standard of living, right to education, right to be registered, right to a name, and the right to social security.

The Lebanese government, as with all governments that host refugees, should ensure that the fundamental rights of the child are met. Governments and aid agencies must work to see that the best interests of the child are met, regardless of the political or social situation. It is therefore essential that refugee children in Lebanon, both ID and ‘Non-ID’, receive a basic education, health care, nutrition and they are protected from violence to the best of the government’s ability. Therefore even in times of violence, the government and aid agencies, must ensure the adequate food and water supplies are delivered to the camps, children a permitted to receive an education, and if the situation is hazardous then children and their families must be moved to safer locations.

As an international community we must look to establish, and follow, a system to ensure the rights of refugees are safeguarded, especially that of the child’s. Children regardless or race, religion or citizenship, are our future, our leaders, and our hope for peace.

Links:
Refugees have rights - Questions & Answers
The Palestine Center -Refugee Rights
International Refugee Rights Initiative
Human Rights First
Human Rights Watch
UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees

Julianne Duncan is the Associate Director for Children’s Services, with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services. This Q&A is to follow-up with yesterdays posting, and bring you more from my interview with Ms. Duncan. If you have not read yesterdays post, please do so, Ms. Duncan has a great deal of information and knowledge to share on the subject of child trafficking.

What do you think is the biggest misnomer or confusion about human trafficking?
“One of the biggest confusions, well there are two, on one side there is confusion and complexity as to if it is smuggling or trafficking. It may not actually be trafficking, but there are circumstances where they children look like they are participating in something looking like the sex trade…”. “The nexus between smuggling and trafficking is complex, there is great confusion on to what level of proof they need. There has been progress, but needs to be much more”.

Does USCCB work with both domestic and international victims of trafficking?
Yes

Do you find you have more hurdles to face with domestic or international victims?/What is the difference in domestic victims and international victims?
“Internal to the US and not thinking about immigration when thinking of trafficking, but US children trafficked within the United States…there is lots of discussion and confusion, with some people in the United states thinking that U.S. born children not getting benefits that foreign born children have gotten. This mired in a lack of knowledge… as really few children are cared for that are foreign. However US children are also facing huge barriers though very different than foreign born children. For domestic children, they do not necessarily have to say “yes, I did work in a brothel“, as most have been picked up for prostitution, therefore they are faced with being treated as juvenile delinquents, not as trafficking victims.” “For foreign born children who are trafficked, the biggest obstacle is being identified, and therefore cared for. They are not easily able to articulate their situation, they are afraid and ashamed to say, “yes, I was working in a brothel”, but if they do not say it they cannot be cared for.” “So often foreign born children are treated as illegal aliens and not trafficking victims”.

The one thing that Ms. Duncan, stated was the most important consensus with children, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, is that “children cannot consent! For children if they are actively participating in the sex trade, they are defacto victims”

When asked what needs to be done to ensure that both foreign and US born children receive more adequate care and protection, Ms. Duncan stated,

“Continuing to raise awareness is quite important and continuing to improve the laws. The biggest issue is to improve our administration of the law with all the agencies involved. All three U.S. federal government agencies who have responsibilities for trafficking have different goals and objectives in mind…victims are touched by all three and it is easy for them to fall through the cracks”.

According to Ms. Duncan it is “easy to fall through some big gapping cracks”, and it is a problem for everyone involved in any aspect of trafficking work, but it is an even bigger problem with children. “Though it would seem to easier in theory, however in practice it is harder as they do not need the children to testify, and therefore children quickly drop off the radar screen…as they focus on prosecution”. According to Ms. Duncan, this problem is completely “unintentional, but the biggest problem in the US”, and she stated that there needs to be a seamless effort, consensus and way forward within in all three agencies.

When placing children who have been victimized by trafficking, what is the most difficult hurdle that the children face in their resettlement?
For foreign born children who have been trafficked into the United States, they have many adjustments to make when they are removed from the trafficking situation and stabilized in foster care if they do not have families to care for them. Being among unfamiliar people, even when they speak the language and have familiar food or customs is the initial hurdle. It takes the child a while to begin trusting anyone. Since they have been betrayed by their traffickers and sometimes by their family of origin, establishing trust is the most difficult hurdle.

What programs are most in need when it comes to the placement and rehabilitation of child victims of trafficking?
Getting a child through the system of referrals and barriers is really the biggest problem right now. The system of identification and referral is simply not as seamless as we all wish it would be. Developing adequate program response to assist the government and potential providers is the greatest lack right now. Once children are identified and referred for foster care or for care in local areas, programs need adequate trained staff and enough skilled foster parents to assist the child victims.

“Since the Victims of Trafficking Act was passed in 2000, the number of victims of children identified are less than 100, and if estimates are correct then there should have been 47,000”. Ms. Duncan stated, “Its amazing how poorly we are doing as a country. It’s a hard problem all the way around, for the government, and for us as NGOs”. “There isn’t a lot of dissension that children should not be trafficking”, yet there are a great many strides that still need to be accomplished if we are going to be able to truly protect, assist and rehabilitate child trafficking victims.

The last thing we in the public remember or think is, that there was a raid and then it slips off the radar of our minds….and when the topic of trafficking falls from our minds, we need to aware that is when children are beginning to fight once again, as they fall through the cracks. It is after a raid and the publicity of a raid or law enforcement action that we need to be offering care to the children who have been caught up in the trafficking situation. We must realize not only that the issue of child trafficking is a problem that does not end with the recovery of victims. There are many people and organizations working hard every day to provide the victims of trafficking a bright future, but they too struggle in the fight. The USCCB continues to work tirelessly on behalf of child victims of human trafficking, and continuously works to advocate and lobby for stronger laws, enforcement and support services.

Links:
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking
Guidance for Identifying a Child Victim of Trafficking
Frequently Asked Questions About Services to Trafficked Children
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 Fact Sheet
Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) of the US Department of Health and Family Services - Administration for Children and Families
The Campaign to Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking

Photo by Mark Edwards

In honor of today being International Refugee Day, I want to draw your attention to the millions of child refugees, who are parentless and alone in their struggle for safety and a home.

For millions of children home is a word has very little meaning, or serves only as a painful reminded of what they have lost and fear will never have again. While for most of us in the west, home is a word we take for granted, to most of us having a home is symbol of what we have accomplished and achieved in life. A home is a symbol of family and safety, a place of warmth and love, yet for all too many children, home is nothing but a fading memory, or a dream. Like the story your grandparents always told you about their childhood, the story of home for many children is that far way land that they can only imagine through the stories of their parents or grandparents. Home often only reminds refugee children of what they have lost, often home is just a fading memory. What refugee children have lost is much more than a physical home, it is the loss of their entire families, their homelands, their culture, and their safety.

Once in a Refugee camp, safety and security, especially for children, is a daily struggle. While all refugees are vulnerable, children are are particularly vulnerable, many children are unaccompanied in the camps, and are therefore at even greater risk. Risks in the camps can often come from those who are put in place to protect refugees, as the infrastructures of refugee camps, and of other law and immigration officials, often prey on children…children can be misled, abused both physically and sexually, and are prime potential victims for trafficking and other horrendous crimes.

Joung-ah Ghedini, a UNHCR spokesperson, spoke of a child Ghedini met in a camp in Burundi, who’s parents where killed in a raid. The young girl told Ghedini:

“I don’t know what to think about anything. Living here, I don’t hear the gunfire, or the shelling, but I’m still scared; maybe I’ll be scared like this for the rest of my life.” Ghedini said of the girl, “Here’s an 8-year-old who has survived more than most adults, and she’s not griping, not complaining. That’s all she knew: being scared about being able to go to sleep at night and not worry.” (National Geographic News; For Refugee Children, “Home” is a Changing Concept)

According to UNHCR there are 20.8 million refugees, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers, and persons of concern worldwide, however the 2006 Global Trends:Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons report, states that the number has risen dramatically to 32.9, which is of grave concern, and should be to all persons and states. In the report the UNHCR was unable to get clear statistics on the ages brake down of refugees from the total refugee population, however it is estimated that almost half, or more, of the worlds refugees are children. Additionally it is approximated that half of all refugees,and others of similar status, are female.

Unaccompanied child refugees is of grave concern, due to the specialized needs and protection of their situation, however a full consensus on treatment of these children has yet to have been made. This includes the ages by country which determines their status as an unaccompanied minor. Therefore this is a large gap in the protection of children, and even more so with unaccompanied children, and it is apparent worldwide. As not only are unaccompanied children ripe for violations in refugee camps, but also when in industrialized nations seeking refuge and asylum. The main reason for this gap in protection, is that children are not seen as politically viable and they do not have a strong voice in the system, and without parents, guardians or agencies to protect them, they can be shuffled around even more as stateless citizens. Children often have no documentation, to prove age or origin, and this can often compound the situation even further.

“These migrant children thus labor under the triple burden of alienation, isolation, and minority status. One of the starkest examples of the tension between state law enforcement mandates and a children’s rights perspective is found in the asylum system. It is here that children regularly face insuperable hurdles and rights-violating procedures. Far from receiving compassionate or protective state intervention, many migrant children encounter punitive and degrading measures that cast them as delinquents and “urchins,” rather than as particularly vulnerable refugees. ” (Triple Burden: The Obstacles to Protection Facing Unaccompanied and Separated Child Migrants Today)

Commenting on the situation of unaccompanied children in the UK, Margaret Lally of the Refugee Council said,

“It’s clear from this report that separated refugee children are not getting the same level of care as any other child would receive under UK childcare legislation. But we should never forget that any child is a child first and foremost and a refugee second. We have a duty to these children under domestic and international law and they must be protected.” (Refugee children arriving alone are being left unsupported and unprotected, reveals UK report)

How do we move forward, and ensure that we are working together in a sustainable and collective world effort to assist those who are forced to leave their homes?

Marc Giménez, Campaign coordinator of Federation of Young European Greens, when asked about the situation of refugees stated, “…a high percentage of migrants are young people and thus it is important to create projects which contribute to the exchange of realities between migrants and young activists of destination countries. Only when sharing experiences and working together, we will be able to row in the same direction”.

We need to look at refugees, especially children, for what they are…normal people who have been forced from their homes, who are scared and vulnerable, they need our help and understanding. No one flees their homes in the darkness of the night, with only the clothes on their back, because the want to…refugees are refugees, because they have to be! Whether desperately waiting for war to end in an a bordering country; living in an internal camp to escape natural disaster; or seeking asylum, for fear of persecution and death, in the West, refugees are people just like you and me, who have been forced to live through the unthinkable.

Please see yesterdays post for more information and links. You may also be interested in Child Detainees, An International Crime, posted on April 9, 2007. Please also see my fellow FPA bloggers Cathryn Cullver and Rich Basas,on their Migration Blog, for more information on this and related issues.

Links:
UNHCR - State of the World Refugee’s 2006
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Refugee Studies Centre
European Council - Refugees and Exiles
Human Rights Watch
Refugees International
American Refugee Committee International
The International Refugee Committee (IRC)
International Committee of the Red Cross Displaced Persons Site
Amnesty International - Refugees
The International Rescue Committee
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children
NineMillion.org
Middle East Info - Has a good forum with lots of photos and discussions on refugees
Human Rights Watch - Forgotten Children of War
2006 Global Trends:Refugees, Asylum-seekers, Returnees, Internally Displaced and Stateless Persons Report
Trends in Unaccompanied and Separated Children Seeking Asylum in Industrialized Countries
SeparatedRefugee Children in the Untied States: Challenges and Opportunities
American Near East Refugee Aid

Photo: Karel Prinsloo - AP

There are 12 million refugees, as of 2005, and an additional 21 million Internally displaced persons scattered across the globe today, approximately 44% of which are children.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, June 20th, 2007 is World Refugee Day, a day set to honor the plight and resilient struggle of refugees around the world. World Refugee Day was created on December 4, 2000, by the United Nations General Assembly, to demonstrate a sign of unity with Africa and coincide with its predecessor, African Refugee
Day. The day is a day to raise awareness to the millions of refuges, many of which have, and continue to live their lives in a harsh, uncertain and unstable environment.

Whether they are from Sudan to Palestine, Bosnia to Burundi, Afghanistan to the Congo, the feeling of isolation and despair remains the same for refugees. Millions of people have spent endless years in refugee camps, children are born in refugee camps and know no other life outside that of a camp. Other children live with haunting memories of a life before war, when there families where happy and whole, now they anguish over the unknown future that lies before them, the future they must make alone. The struggles of a refugee are more than that of food, health care and education, but also of rebuilding a future in their home counties. Take this day to look at refugees for what they really are, people forced from their homes, torn from their families, children whom war has made orphans, mothers trying to care for dying children, but most of all they are people who only want once again to have normal lives.

The Paths of Refugees

For more information on the situation and struggles of refugees around the world, please see the Migration blog, by my esteemed colleagues Cathryn Culver and Richard Basas.

Links:

World Refugee Day Events in 2007

World Refugee Survey 2006

International Rescue Committee (IRC)

IRC World Refugee Events

The Refugee Highway - Blog

The Refuge Council USA

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Refugees International

Refugee Stories

European Council on Refugees and Exiles

UK Refugee Council

Photo by Time

No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time. Convention on the Rights of the Child, article 37(b)

Detention centers rarely look different than prison, and for a child the effects of spending time in such facilities can be detrimental. The complex nature of seeking asylum often leaves children and their parents, often single mothers, in limbo for weeks and sometimes more than a month. The effect that the feeling of isolation and on any person can be extremely hard to handle, but for a child isolation is mixed with fear and confusion, as their is no way to clearly explain that they have done nothing wrong to deserve the restrictions and lock-up they now face.

Holding child detainees in immigration detention centers is of growing concern, and now the subject of much debate on both sides of the water. Just last week grave concern was raised in Brittan about Yarl’s Wood, as many children have been being held at the facility for more than four weeks. The British government admits that detaining children is not ideal, however they see it as the only way. The Minister of Immigration, Liam Bryne, went so far as to place a majority of the blame on the parents, saying the lengthy time in detentions was due to parents stalling the deportation process. However, for the parents and children looking out of locked doors in Yarl’s Wood the view is quite different. One mother of two, who has been detained twice, said:

“The Children found it very upsetting. They kept on asking me if we are in a prison and whether we had committed any crime. They still have nightmares, they don’t sleep, they think about detention.” (BBC: Young are too Long in Yarl’s Wood)

In the United States Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services have been conducting interviews and visits with families who are being held in a detention centers in Texas. The two groups claim that based on their findings the center in Hutto, Texas should be shut down, as children are living in ‘jail-like conditions’, which in the Texas facility is exactly that, a jail! The groups also found that children where not receiving adequate education, if a child is over five they are separated from their parents at bedtime, threats to separate families where used on both children and parents. These conditions are obviously detrimental to the welfare of children and serve little purpose in adding the immigration progress. Both groups recommended that that families holding no criminal or security threat be released, and alternatives such as parole, electronic bracelets and shelters run by nonprofit groups, be used in replace of penal facilities. “The Homeland Security Department defended the centers as a workable solution to the problem of illegal immigrants being released, only to disappear while awaiting hearings.” (Group Seek Shutdown of Immigration Center) That said it is presumptuous of the government to assume all will run, and surely the suggested use of ankle bracelets and a house arrest situation would suit all concerns of flight risk, while allowing children a sense of normality in their daily lives.

In the report, The Detention of Children in Member States’ Migration Control and Determination Processes, the authors looked at the increasing use placing children in detention centers by EU member states. Recommendations in the report included The report concluded that: immigrant minors rights be monitored by the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) , statistics on the detention of minors be composed by all states for report to the FRA on an annual basis, a report be produced annually highlighting each countries when detaining children in regard to the mentioned recommendations, the placement of health care in all detention centers, legal representation for all children before detention, an automatic right for independent judicial review for all children regarding their detention, the use and adherence of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and for all member states to use ‘detention only as a last resort’.

Australia has been in the spotlight, regarding the detaining of children in facilities which have been seen as inadequate and prison like. Concerns have been raised publicly for a number of years, especially over the use of facilities that are mandatory for all asylum seekers, including children, that are deemed by many, as worse than the prisons of the country. The detention of children in Australia is of serious concern, as children do not receive an adequate education, are at risk for mental illness and abuse. In the article, The impact of detention on the mental health of detainees in immigration detention, and the implications for failing to deliver adequate Mental Health Services: Who Cares?, Claire O’Connor researches the mental health effects that are caused by such prison like conditions for asylum seekers, and the governments failure to recognize, treat and prevent these grave health concerns.

The case of unaccompanied children is far more difficult than that of children detained with their families, as children who seek asylum independently face a far more difficult time in obtaining assistance. Children who are alone are also at a greater risk for abuse and often disregarded as nothing more than runaways or delinquents, their rights are then seen as something secondary to their unknown crimes. The Harvard Review of Latin America published an article, Children Seeking Asylum, highlights the grave concerns that have emerged in the immigration and deportation process in a post 911 world, including an increase in children applying for asylum independently. “In the U.S. separated children who seek asylum are regularly and routinely detained, often for months on end. A third of the 5000 children detained each year are locked up in secure jails, alongside juveniles convicted of criminal offenses; they are subjected to handcuffing and shackling, and other intrusive and punitive measures… Refugee advocates report that children seeking asylum are used as baits to find, detain and eventually deport undocumented parents already in the country.” The article also highlights how many children are detained, and many times even deported, due to their parents illegal status, even though they are US citizens.

The use of detention centers for children appears to be a clear violation to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as the best interest of the child are not being met. Therefore we must take efforts around the globe to see that new regulations, procedures and facilities are established, for all detainees, especially children. While the process of asylum is underway, a child should never be denied his or her human rights.

CHILDREN CONFINED- Immigrant Detention at Hutto
d movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/HBCAgSCGM04" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Links:
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children

Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service

Immigrant Detention and Human Rights

Chill Out: Children out of Detention

More Than 2,000 Children of Asylum-seekers Detained

A Last Resort

Photo by Travel Blogs

The problem of homelessness, poverty and street children faces every country and should concern us all. The United Nations estimates that their are over 150 million street children world wide. Whether the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai, Free Town, Bucharest or New York, the problems children face on the street are much the same. Hunger and safety are endless concerns, while drug and alcohol abuse run rampant. Street children are highly susceptible to become victims of abuse or human trafficking. Therefore street children run high risk of drug and alcohol abuse, contacting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

Street children run a huge risk of exploitation by those on the street, including each other, as well as that of the local law enforcements designed to serve and protect. Children on the street face more violence from the authorities, than that of other children, a factor that can often result in death. It was shown in studies by Human Rights Watch, that children where treated as second class or subhuman in many cases, beatings where often the result of nothing more than the fact they where unprotected street kids. Sexual exploitation and abuse by law enforcement has also been a factor for many children on the street, often asked to preform sex acts to escape arrest or harassment. Street children are easy targets for many factors including, innocence, illiteracy, and the sear fact that they are alone. So why are the police committing crimes against vulnerable children in so many cities around the world? “Several factors contribute to this phenomenon: police perceptions of street children as vagrants and criminals, widespread corruption and a culture of police violence, the inadequacy and non-implementation of legal safeguards, and the level of impunity that officials enjoy. (Police Violence Against Street Children).”

While much of life on the street for children is the same, there are various causes leading to a life on the street. Children find them selfs on the street for such indicators such as poverty, domestic violence, rural-to-urban migration (this often includes displacement due to war or civil unrest), unemployment and homelessness of their parents, intolerance (for various reasons including sexual orientation), and sexual exploitation. The marginalization of street children, is often increased due to the above mentioned reasons, as well as by extreme socio-economic barriers and situations.

Brazil by far has the highest number of street children, some estimate the numbers between 12-17 million, becoming more of a social plague that many see little hope of changing. The movie City of God graphically highlighted the violent struggle of everyday life for kids on the streets in the in Rio de Janeiro, and follows the journey of on boy fighting to escape the streets through a camera, not a gun. The extremity of street children in Brazil was changed little by the international publicity of the movie. Millions of children roam the streets of the Rio slums daily, addicted to drugs, forced into prostitution, in fear of death and each other. Brazil is not a legally backwards country with no legislation for the protection of it’s children, as a matter of fact they have one of the best movements for the rights of street children. Therefore why are children continually murdered on the streets, and why does the cycle of the streets seem to be something that is unbreakable? Death Squads are notorious in Brazil targeting street children, and are often made up of ordinary citizens who fear the children, and corrupt officials who fear the children know too much. According to Caius Brandao, ICRI Brazil Project Coordinator, “…killing children is a profitable ‘pastime’ in Brazil. The so called ‘cycle of impunity’ means not only neglect or omission, but a rather profitable corruption scheme within public security and law-enforcement agencies.” There are an estimated 4-5 children murrdered each day on the streets, and few children of the streets can expect to live past their 18th Birthdays.

Photo by Polaris Images

In India the problem with street children Children in India are often victims of the flesh trade and forced labor, rural children. Children are often picked up from the areas surrounding the cities train stations ,and lured by promises of a reliable income to send home to their families. As with other areas children often run away to escape poverty, abuse and sexual exploitation. Though India has substantial laws against the use of child labor, they are often disregarded through corruption, difficulties in enforcing it in the rural parts of the country, or a lack of education on individual human rights.
The plight of street children in Bucharest, Romania was brought to light with the 2003 CNN documentary, “Easy Prey: Inside the Child Sex Trade”. In the wake of a communist free Romania, social reform and welfare where left in the shadows, along with thousands of children. Many children where driven to the streets from abusive homes, turned away from orphanages, families with no money to feed children, or sadly many where simply abandoned or unwanted by families. During communism birth control and abortions where rare and hard to come by, causing the birth rate to skyrocket, and thus increasing the number of abandoned children. Like many former-Communist countries, the situation of the orphanages is extremely harsh, leaving children even more vulnerable, and they are turned away at 15-18 with little or no skills for life outside and therefore soon find themselves on the streets.

Millions of children in Russia, Mongolia, Kenya, Moldova, Congo, Mexico, Tanzania, Guatemala, and many other countries, including the United States, live impoverished and violent lives on the street every day. The issue of street children needs more attentions, as the street is a breading ground for so many children’s rights violations, including the right to education and the right to life. The fight for street children must come from all levels of government, and include the local and international community.

Photo by CNN

Links:

Street Kids International

The European Foundation for Street Children Worldwide (EFSCW)

P A N G A E A: Street Children - Community Children Worldwide Resource Library

Save the Children

World Vision

Street Children Statistics

Friends International

SKCV India - Helping Street Children in India

Follow Me Appeal - Providing support and assistance to the children featured in, “Easy Prey: Inside the Child Sex Trade”

Railway Children

Photo by Hobo Traveler

They look so young, so innocent as they lie sleeping

Held so tightly together, with their faces finally erased of worry

Almost snug looking, half buried in rags on their concrete bed

But this peacefulness will end all too soon

For when sleep wears from their eyes it will reveal pain and despair

Their loneliness only quenched by the embrace they find in each other