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Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children In the early years of the 21st Century gvnet.com/streetchildren/Ethiopia.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the
situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Steady increase in street children orphaned
by AIDS Indrias Getachew,
BAHR DAR, www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ethiopia_30783.html [accessed 12 May 2011] “The street has been my home since I can
remember. It’s been more than one year since I moved here (Bahr Dar) and all
this time, I have not seen one good thing about living on the street.
Everything is horrible,” says 14-year-old Mandefro Kassa, who grew up as an orphan on the streets of Woreta, a provincial town in Ethiopia. ***
ARCHIVES *** UNICEF
– www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ethiopia.html [accessed 12 May 2011] The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/ethiopia.htm [accessed 4 February 2011] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - In urban areas, children work predominantly in the
informal sector in activities such as street peddling, messenger service,
shoe shining, portering, assisting taxi drivers... Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61569.htm [accessed 4 February 2011] CHILDREN
- The
government estimated the number of street children totaled 150 to 200
thousand, with approximately 50 to 60 thousand street children in Concluding Observations of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child (CRC)[DOC] UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1
November 2006 [accessed 4 February 2011] [69] The Committee is
deeply concerned at the increasing number of street children, especially in
major urban centres, who are also victims of drug
abuse, sexual exploitation, harassment and victimization by members of the
police force. Furthermore, the
Committee is concerned at the stigmatization of street children and negative
attitudes in society towards them based upon their social condition. Concluding Observations of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
26 January 2001 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/ethiopia2001.html [accessed 4 February 2011] [74] The Committee
is concerned at the large numbers of children living or working on the
streets of the main cities in the State party, and at their lack of access to
education, health care, essential nutrition and housing. The Committee is
also concerned at the numbers of children involved in child labor. Sticking its red nose in where it matters Angela Robson, The Times, March 11, 2009 www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5883542.ece [accessed 12 May 2011] Fourteen-year-old Tegan has been attending the school for the past year.
Every night he sleeps under a stairwell in the city centre, cuddling up with
a group of 20 other boys to keep warm. He came to Awasa
when his mother died and his father remarried. He gets up early to beg,
rarely eats breakfast before school and hides his class books under a
pavement slab so that they won't be stolen. Unlike the other
children in the school, he looks clean and washed, and his uniform is
immaculate. “That's because I wash it once a week in the river,” he says with
pride. “I have to keep clean as I can't afford to miss school.” Getachew Zewdie says that Tegan is a highly intelligent child who will flourish,
providing he keeps attending classes. “He has huge
challenges as a street child, but is a remarkable boy who seems to be able to
rise above his social situation. Many of the other children here have huge
problems - they regularly fall sick or turn up late. Tegan
has some kind of inner strength and inspires the others.” Tegan,
himself, says that his dream is “to become someone and support myself either
as a doctor or teacher”. But this is not all he wants. “My friends on the
street pretend to be strong but sometimes I see them crying at night. Life
shouldn't have to be like this. I'd like things to change for them.” Understanding Poverty's Impact on Children Sisay Abebe,
Inter Press Service News Agency IPS, www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=43836 [accessed 12 May 2011] When the school
bell rings, Alemtsehay and her three younger
sisters rush home to change out of their school uniforms and into tattered
clothes to go out begging around For Alemtsehay, begging is degrading but she has no other
alternative to get money, feed the family and keep herself in school. At
night they are harassed by men who want to use them for sex, thus exposing
them to HIV. Genet's story: A life on the streets BBC News, 20 November 2007 news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7103290.stm [accessed 12 May 2011] Violence and sexual
abuse within the home are among the main reasons children run away to live on
the streets, according to a report, the State of the World's Street Children,
published by a coalition of charities. In Ethiopia, an
estimated 150,000 children live on the streets. The story of Genet, now
living in a safehouse in Addis Ababa, is similar to
those of many such children, especially girls. A glimmer of hope in Ethiopia Ronan Scully, www.goalusa.org/newsroom/galwayindependent0307.shtml [accessed 23 September 2011] There are twice as many
Ethiopians hungry today as there were during the 1984 famine when one million
people starved. This uneasy truth
means that, every year, up to eight million people, twice the population of Ethiopia receives
the most relief aid but the least development aid in the world. More than 80,000 children die from malaria
each year. Untreated mosquito nets cost just €2 and treated mosquito nets
cost only €5. Average life expectancy
is 44 years, infant mortality is at 20 per cent and unemployment rests around
80 per cent. Most of the 75 million
people who live in Ethiopia survive on less than 50 cents a day. There are over
seven million orphans and close to half a million street children. Dancing to a better future in Ethiopia Elana Ringler,
Reuters, uk.reuters.com/article/2007/03/28/us-ethiopia-dancing-idUKL2658612120070328 [accessed 12 May 2011] At the age of 12, Jemal was one of 18 street children picked by the troupe
to receive dance instruction in one of the world's poorest countries. After five years of intensive training, Jemal became a world renowned professional contemporary
dancer, receiving the prestigious Rolex Mentor and Protege
Arts Initiative award for his choreography. Committee on Rights of Child examines
report of Ethiopia UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Press Release, 12 Sep 2006 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12 May 2011] There were some
issues related to detention of street children and in connection with some
arrests that had taken place in recent times, the delegation said. The law
was clear that if the police were to detain a person, they had to be taken
before the courts in 48 hours. There was also a policy of habeas corpus on which
the law was very clear. With regards to the detention of children in various
incidents of recent civil unrest, there had been supervision by the courts
and the prosecution, with the result that some of these schoolboys had had
their prosecution dropped and the suspects had been released. There were a
lot of street-children in Addis Ababa, and they were not detained merely
because they were street-children. Woman sells possessions to build a
children's home in Ethiopia Rosanne Zammit, Oromia Times, December 29, 2006 oromiatimes.blogspot.com/2006/12/woman-sells-possessions-to-build.html [accessed 12 May 2011] Work on a home for
sick street children in The primary
objective of the Angels Children's Home is to provide care and support for
about 25 sick street children by creating a nurturing environment where the
children can live together as a family. Child Prostitution in www.childexploitation.org/prostitution3.html [Last access date unavailable] "I've been
working on the street for 3 years because I had a conflict with my parents.
My stepfather used to get drunk and beat us. Also, he used to favour my sister who is his real daughter. I met some
girls on the street and I began to get close with them. I became friends with
them, and we're still friends. Two of the older girls used to work and give
us the money to live. All I used to think about was my family, but these
people were good to me so I followed them. I was really hurt by my family
experience and these people were nice to me. Goal activities - Sep 2006 GOAL, 20 Sep 2006 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12 May 2011] In pictures: Underground children BBC News, Jun 12, 2006 news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/06/africa_underground_children/html/1.stm [accessed 13 May 2011] IN HIDING - Blink and you
will miss the underground children in Child Protection: Street Children Angel Tabe, Voice
of ovcs.blogspot.com/2006/06/in-pictures-underground-children.html [accessed 13 May 2011] Assefa Bequele is the executive director of the African Policy
Forum, an advocacy center in The reversal of a boy's HIV status is the
road to new life. He's one of lucky ones [PDF] Jonathan Clayton in cfsc.trunky.net/_uploads/Publications/The_reversal_of_a_boys_HIV_status_is_the_road_to_new_life.pdf [accessed 20 April 2012] There are estimated
to be 50,000 street children in the centre of Arrive. Make a Scene. Take A Photo. Leave May 20, 2006 – Source:
noyau.com/%7Erwalsh/wordpress/?p=77 This article has been archived by World
Street Children News and may possibly also be accessible [here] [accessed 23 September 2011] The main reason I
did not want to attract attention is because the Federal Police are notorious
for treating street kids inhumanely, and I did not want them to find these
kids’ shelter. They would no doubt run them off, and the boys would be in an
even worse position. Steady increase in street children orphaned
by AIDS Indrias Getachew,
BAHR DAR, www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ethiopia_30783.html [accessed 12 May 2011] “The street has
been my home since I can remember. It’s been more than one year since I moved
here (Bahr Dar) and all this time, I have not seen one good thing about
living on the street. Everything is horrible,” says 14-year-old Mandefro Kassa, who grew up as
an orphan on the streets of Woreta, a provincial
town in Ethiopia. Poverty hits hard on Panafrican News Agency PANA, www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9754199_ITM [accessed 13 May 2011] Their personal
accounts of survival in poverty are emotionally gripping and profoundly
disgusting, yet Background
Report On Street Children In Hilletework Mathias, Voice of www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2000/01/000107-ethiopia1.htm [accessed 13 May 2011] UNICEF estimates
that there are more than 150-thousand street children in the country and
economic problems have made many of them assume responsibilities normally
reserved for adults. Their ages range
mostly between eight and 20. They
include orphaned, disabled, neglected, and abandoned children all over the
country. They can be seen on any day,
wearing torn clothes, roaming barefoot, and begging
motorists and pedestrians in Circus
In Henriëtte Emaar,
The Power of Culture, Current Affairs, May 2004 www.powerofculture.nl/uk/current/2004/may/circus.html [accessed 13 May 2011] The circus is more
than performing feats. Street children and AIDS orphans there are trained as
performers, and their songs deal with topics including AIDS and children's
rights. Focus
on the Plight of Street Children UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
IRIN, www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=29736 [accessed 13 May 2011] Surviving on scraps
from garbage she soon became sick, her stomach infested with worms and her
skin and hair riddled with lice. But Frehiwot is
lucky. She is described as a success story – plucked from the streets of UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
IRIN, www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=48799 [accessed 13 May 2011] MORE THAN HALF A
MILLION STREET CHILDREN
- Aid agencies estimate nearly 600,000 street children country-wide and over
100,000 in Information about Street Children - This report is taken from “A Civil Society
Forum for East and Southern Africa on Promoting and Protecting the Rights of
Street Children”, 11- 13 February 2002, At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 23 September 2011] CONSTRAINTS AND
CHALLENGES
- Extreme level of poverty cannot be easily tackled with piecemeal program
activities; rural/urban disparities and the prevalence of traditional
practices and customs in rural areas; Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
does not have adequate resources and capacity to address the ever-increasing
problems of children. Cruel and Inhumane Actions Against Street
Children in Children's Rights Programme,
World Organisation Against Torture OMCT Case ETH
080501.CC, Child Concern, 8/5/2001 www.omct.org/rights-of-the-child/urgent-interventions/ethiopia/2001/05/d15284/ [accessed 13 May 2011] Brief description
of the situation The International
Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Ethiopian Human Rights Council
(EHRCO), a member of the OMCT network, that the government is engaged in
cruel and inhumane actions against street children in Addis Ababa. Due to the recent
conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, children who do not have parents or
economically strong relatives to support them are forced to discontinue their
education. The streets, churches, mosques, bus and taxi stations of cities in
According to the
information received, as of February 2001, the government tried to solve this
problem by rounding them up, taking them to and abandoning them to hyenas and
other wild animals in forests outside the city. A number of the children that
EHRCO has been able to interview reported that some of their friends,
especially the very young and weak, which had been taken with them to these
forests, have so far not returned. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Street Children - |
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