KUDJO (12) ACCRA, GHANA
LECTURIS
The street child phenomenon is an alarming and escalating worldwide problem. Street children are maltreated, imprisoned and, in some countries, killed. Street children, as the offspring of complex contemporary urban environments, represent one of our most serious global challenges.
ENKHTSETSEG (13) ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA
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The child shall enjoy the benefits of social security. He shall be entitled to grow and develop in health; to this end, special care and protection shall be provided both to him and to his mother, including adequate prenatal and post-natal care. The child shall have the right to adequate nutrition, housing, recreation and medical services. PRINCIPLE 4
Corina lives together with her mother near the Gara de Nord in a small makeshift tent made of plastic. Her mother has six other children who are living in a shelter for homeless children. Four years ago Corina’s father died in a truck accident, and since that tragic day the family has been without a source of income. Every day Corina and her mother walk through the center of Bucharest, begging and looking for food. Sometimes they sleep in a homeless shelter, but this is often overcrowded. Their own private tent is the best alternative, even though it’s cold in winter.
CORINA (17) BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
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SYLVIA (25) BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
VIOLETA (22) BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
PATTI (19) LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
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One of Valentina’s brothers was sold to a rich man because her parents were too poor to raise all of their children. She herself was left in an orphanage. Once the staff found out Valentina still had a family, she was sent back to her parents. Unhappy with this situation, her mother became aggressive and started beating her, and Valentina ran away from home. She ended up in an orphanage again, but was thrown out because of her wild behavior. Finally, she ended up living on the streets. In the meantime, Valentina had given birth to a baby, who was placed in an orphanage by the hospital staff. Distraught at having to let her baby go, she cried and screamed to get the child back. Because of her response, the staff considered her to be mentally ill. Valentina was placed in a psychiatric hospital, but she escaped back to the streets. Years later, she had a second baby with a street boy. This child was also taken away from her in the hospital where she gave birth. “My life is a nightmare,” she sighs. “I’m a mother without children, and I’m afraid I’ll never see them again.”
VALENTINA (26) BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
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Sometimes it’s hard to know where a story begins. Was it when Munkh-Erdene hit his classmate over the head and feared he was going to be punished? Or when his father was put in jail after a series of crimes, leaving behind his desperate and disappointed son? Or when his mother told him at the age of eight that she was really his step mother? Or was it the constant bullying by his stepbrothers? These events all took place in a small provincial town. Munkh-Erdene ultimately decided to leave home, and got a lift to Ulaanbaatar with a truck driver. There he joined up with a gang of thieves and burglars, who put him to work as a pickpocket because of his innocent looks. He says he had a great time, earned money easily, and drank vodka with the adult thieves. Things took a bad turn when the police caught him and nearly beat him to death. Because he was too young to send to prison, they brought him to the state orphanage. Munkh-Erdene couldn’t handle the restrictions this imposed on his freedom, so he fled to the streets again. His goals are clear: he wants to become a professional thief and earn lots of money. He finds ordinary jobs too boring. MunkhErdene, dressed in blue sports clothes, lights a cigarette after our conversation. “I don’t ever want to see my father again. He doesn’t exist for me anymore.”
MUNKH-ERDENE (14) & BATUHAN (14) ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA
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Tulani’s parents died several years ago from a serious illness. Tulani says he doesn’t remember the exact cause of their deaths. AIDS is widespread in Africa, but is also taboo. Some people don’t even dare mention it. The only thing Tulani remembers is that his grandparents said that somebody poisoned their food, a commonly held belief when illness strikes suddenly. After their deaths, Tulani lived with his grand parents. Suffering from the trauma of their loss, he and his younger brother started drinking beer. His behavior became intolerable, and his grandfather threw him out of the house. This happened six years ago, when he was only ten years old. Tulani started roaming the streets of Hillbrow, the most dangerous part of Johannesburg, searching for food and alcohol. On the streets he learned to smoke hash and heroine and also started using paint thinner, the street child’s drug. He sniffed so much of it that he became more and more aggressive. He beat up women and old men and robbed them of their bags and money. When he stopped sniffing thinner, he couldn’t sleep and started to shake – he was addicted. The drug delivered on its promise, and he gradually forgot his terrible past. Tulani was saved when an outreach worker told him about the shelter where he now lives. Here he had to learn to live with his past. In the meantime he found a job and was able to buy his own clothes. He loves nice clothes – they give him a sense of self-esteem. When he finishes school, he wants to become an artist.
TULANI (16) JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
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LETHABO (15) JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
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Chann is often beaten up by the street girls in his gang. The girls find his behavior intrusive and rude. Chann has no parental guidance, and sniffs glue on a daily basis. When asked where his parents are, he looks up at the sky and says, “In heaven.” He doesn’t remember exactly when they died, but knows he has lived on the streets of Phnom Penh for ten years. He stayed several months at the shelter run by Friends, an organization that helps street children. Once his brother heard he was living there, he got him out. When he arrived home, Chann was locked in a house in the village of Preyveng, on the other side of the Mekong, not far from the capital. He had to do household chores and obey his brother. After several months he managed to escape his imprisonment and fled back to Phnom Penh. He didn’t return to the Friends shelter for fear of being taken away again. Now he lives on the streets with his fellow street gang members. He has resorted to pickpocketing, stealing small items like mobile phones and wallets to get some money.
CHANN (16) PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA
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