The collective amnesia around the plight of street children
We are terribly biased and deliberately try to unsee the wrongs done to these children on a daily basis
Every day I wake up early in the morning, help my four-year-old son brush his teeth, put some palatable food before him so that he can satiate his hunger sitting on a lacquered chair, and then leave my home for the office.
On the way to my office, I experience something antithetical to what I see at home – newborns and children left at the mercy of someone else being used as a tool for begging, while many of them keep wailing for food and help.
Every day I see the same thing. The new year arrives, we celebrate Eid and other occasions, but these hapless children's lot remains unchanged. And I feel guilty and a lot goes on in my mind on the down low.
The very sight of a small kid asking for alms from passers-by wrenches my heart every time I pass by them, and the disturbing images shatter my perceptive insights about life and an equal world.
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It reminds me of the black boy depicted in the poem 'The Chimney Sweeper' from 'Songs of Innocence', a poem collection scribed by William Blake. In that poem, the boy was sold at a very young age to a master chimney sweeper when the boy could not even pronounce 'sweep' properly. The boy is exposed to the harsh realities of life without being given a chance to swim in the innocence of childhood.
Just like this chimney sweeper, there are thousands of children, whom we call street or floating children, in the capital and other major cities of the country who are being subjected to inhuman treatment every single day and treated like the dregs of society, with people turning a blind eye to all their rights as a child.
There is no concrete stat specifying the number of urchins in the country. However, according to data revealed by different public and private organisations, there are about 1.6 million street children in the country, whereas Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) data claim that around 450,000 street children live in Dhaka.
These children are out of the ambit of any safety net implemented by the government as they are being abused and forced into begging openly on the streets. No one really bothers – neither the police personnel who keep standing very near to that child nor the passers-by who are getting emotionally numb day by day.
Such sheer indifference brings forth some pertinent questions – are we really serious about child rights? Why are these children having an austere childhood, instead of frolicking on the river or sand and deriving the fun of life? Where are their parents? Why are the parents not being held accountable and given a slap on the wrist for forcing their kids into child labour? What is the role of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in all of these?
To lay bare the truth, we are terribly biased and deliberately try to unsee the wrongs done to these children on a daily basis, leaving them out on the streets exposed to different vulnerabilities, including sexual harassment, inhumane treatment, drug abuse and other forms of oppression.
This is partly because we are socially programmed not to question the parents, as we beautify them as angels who can do anything for their children. Media reports also do not focus much on the travails of the street children, making it all the more convenient for mafias and irresponsible parents to use kids as a tool for making a quick buck through different illegal and inhumane activities.
Moreover, the state and other government agencies like the Women and Children Affairs Ministry seem to be reluctant about street children's rights. What do we actually mean when we talk about child rights? Are these children out of the purview of those rights? Are they not entitled to get those rights? If so, then why are they still begging? In reality, these agencies show sheer apathy to this issue as children are being subjected to different oppressive behaviour right under the nose of law enforcement forces.
In such a backdrop, we need to jolt ourselves out of the inertia that is dominating the bubble we live in. We need to look beyond the bubble and consider different optics. If I don't have the ability to raise a kid, then why should I, in the first place, take a baby and just push his/her life into abject misery and uncertainty? We don't have any right to play with someone's life just because we don't want to miss out on momentary postcoital pleasure.
So, what could be done to save these hapless children who are always kept on a short leash? At an individual level, everyone should first try to gain the financial stability necessary to raise a kid in a decent way and then try a baby.
With regard to the role of the state, it should be the first and foremost duty of the ministry and other concerned bodies to hold the parents accountable. If necessary, the government needs to create economic opportunities for those families so that children are not turned into homeless mendicants.
Meanwhile, the government cannot abnegate the responsibilities it has towards street children and needs to do more to bring street children out of the woods. Just like Ashrayan Project meant for the homeless and displaced people, the government could map out another development project (child homes) which will be for the floating and street children, with all kinds of facilities like schooling and health services available there.
We have to adopt a zero tolerance policy against the oppression of children. Under no circumstances, should tender-hearted kids be allowed to beg or perform the role of a drug peddler. If anyone is seen begging on the streets or in a miserable situation, he/she should be immediately rescued and sent to a children's home for a better future.
The equation is very simple - no one has any right to jeopardise a newborn's life. It's usual and acceptable that children will make mistakes, but as an adult, you cannot decide to produce a child by mistake. The poem 'The Chimney Sweeper' ends with the line, 'So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm'. We have to realise the connotation of these words.
The buck should stop with the state and the society as the onus is on them to do whatever it takes to make sure that all the children get the opportunity to bloom like a flower and have a good upbringing. A child's future should, in no way, be left at someone's mercy, no matter whether that person is his/her parents or anyone else.
Md Morshedul Alam Mohabat is a columnist who likes to delve deeper into the human psyche and social incongruities with a view to exploring the factors that influence these.
