Human Trafficking in [Morocco] [other countries]Street Children in [Morocco Child Prostitution in [Morocco] [other countries] |
Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children In the
early years of the 21st Century - 2000 to 2010 gvnet.com/streetchildren/Morocco.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 *** Shelters for Morocco's street children are a drop in an
ocean Imane Belhaj, Magharebia, www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/reportage/2008/03/14/reportage-01 [accessed 22 June 2011] Othmane left his home and school at the
age of 14 to live on the street. He no longer wanted to see his mother fight
the daily battle to get bread for his five little siblings, struggle to lease
a shantytown house and pay for his school expenses. "The street is not
more merciful," Othmane says "This is a
lie; but at least she will not have to think about my daily living. In the
meantime, I may be able to help her." Othmane
carries bags of vegetables and other purchases for customers at a nearby
market. In this way, he earns a few dirhams a day,
enough to bring a little money back home when he visits once a week and still
be able to buy the cheap narcotics which help him endure his suffering. Othmane is part of the growing number of
street children in Morocco. These are the homeless and marginalized youths
without identity or family. The sidewalks are their shelters and the
bakeries' doorsteps are their pillows. In Casablanca, these children's
main "residences" are alleys in the old city, the port, the train
station and the fruits and vegetables wholesale market. The port provides
them with an opportunity to emigrate illegally. The wholesale market gives
them the chance to work as porters and make money to buy drugs. At the train
station, they can earn a bit from helping passengers or by begging for
handouts from tourists. ***
ARCHIVES *** UNICEF – www.unicef.org/infobycountry/morocco.html [accessed 22 June 2011] The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on the Worst Forms
of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/morocco.htm [accessed 21 February 2011] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - A 2001 study found that street children in Human Rights Reports » 2005
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61695.htm [accessed 21 February 2011] CHILDREN - A May 2004 report from the Secretariat
for Literacy and Non‑Formal Education estimated that as many as 1.5
million children between the ages of 9 to 15 were not in school. Over 140
thousand were enrolled in government remedial and vocational education
programs. The Ministry of National Education
stated its goal was to reduce the student dropout rate from the current 40
percent to 20 percent. In the past the dropout rate had been as high as 70
percent. The ministry attributed the reduction in the rate was a result of
boarding schools established in small towns and rural areas. Students were
able to attend these schools, spend the night, and receive meals. In 2003 the government signed an
accord with Concluding Observations of the
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 6 June 2003 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/morocco2003.html [accessed 21 February 2011] [52] The Committee notes the
efforts undertaken by the State party, notably through the National Five-Year
Plan for Social and Economic Development (2000-2004), but remains concerned
about the large number of children who do not enjoy their right to an
adequate standard of living, including children belonging to poor families,
children living in remote rural areas and street children. [58] The Committee is deeply concerned at the situation of
Moroccan children who are deported, notably in the cities of [64] The Committee welcomes the
study on street children undertaken by the State party (report, para. 318), but expresses its concern at their
increasing number and at the lack of specific policies and programs to
address this situation and to provide these children with adequate
assistance. Haunting images of 5,000 African charity trip This is [accessed 22 June 2011] After boarding an overnight ferry
from King George Dock to Justine said: “I knew the people
would be poor, but I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to see. In every
village and town we went through, from Morocco to Senegal, there were hoards
of street children chasing our vehicles. “They had no money, little food,
few clothes and had lived in real poverty their whole lives, yet they were so
incredibly happy. Just having the chance to play football with us made them
smile and it was amazing to see.” Shelters for Imane Belhaj, Magharebia, www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/reportage/2008/03/14/reportage-01 [accessed 22 June 2011] Othmane left his home and school at the
age of 14 to live on the street. He no longer wanted to see his mother fight
the daily battle to get bread for his five little siblings, struggle to lease
a shantytown house and pay for his school expenses. "The street is not
more merciful," Othmane says "This is a
lie; but at least she will not have to think about my daily living. In the
meantime, I may be able to help her." Othmane
carries bags of vegetables and other purchases for customers at a nearby
market. In this way, he earns a few dirhams a day,
enough to bring a little money back home when he visits once a week and still
be able to buy the cheap narcotics which help him endure his suffering. Othmane is part of the growing number of
street children in Morocco. These are the homeless and marginalized youths
without identity or family. The sidewalks are their shelters and the
bakeries' doorsteps are their pillows. In Casablanca, these children's
main "residences" are alleys in the old city, the port, the train
station and the fruits and vegetables wholesale market. The port provides
them with an opportunity to emigrate illegally. The wholesale market gives
them the chance to work as porters and make money to buy drugs. At the train
station, they can earn a bit from helping passengers or by begging for
handouts from tourists. Nobody's constituency Ahmed El Amraoui, Al Jazeera, Mdiq, northern english.aljazeera.net/focus/moroccoelections2007/2007/09/2008525184652704902.html [accessed 22 June 2011] PRECARIOUS EXISTENCE - At first, Abdel
Fatah was reluctant to revisit his unhappy
childhood or unlock the mysteries of street life, but the promise of a hot
meal and money made him open up.
"I went to school for only one year. I quit because I did not
like it, neither did my mother. My father abandoned us when I was a child. My
mother was cruel and used to blame me and my other two brothers for her
misfortune. I left home and started to work in construction when I was 11
years old. But the man I used to work for was very abusive," Abdel Fatah said. "After working for a few months, I
found myself on the street with nothing to eat, no clothes and nowhere to
sleep. But I found other children out there who later became my friends. Now
I am happy and free." ADDICTIONS
- Abdel Fatah
started to smoke at the age of 11, and a year later his new friends pushed
him to sniff glue. He sleeps in different places every night, mostly in mosques,
public gardens and in bus stations.
His mother never bothered to inquire about him, he said. Moroccan civil society and government try to help children
at risk Sarah Touahri, Magharebia, www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/reportage/2007/02/02/reportage-01 [accessed 22 June 2011] In the backstreets of Child glue sniffing rises in Morocco Pascale Harter, BBC News, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4113441.stm [accessed 22 June 2011] A non-governmental organisation in Information About Street Children - This report is taken from “A Civil Society Forum for North
Africa and the Middle East on Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Street
Children”, 3-6 March 2004, At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 22 June 2011] The structure of the Moroccan
family has changed due to increasing poverty.
Parents are unable to fulfill their traditional role as providers, and
children increasingly become the main sources of revenue in large families. With his traditional authority weakened,
the father turns to violence as an expression of his status and physical
punishment becomes more common.
Families also disintegrate and break up due to the divorce or
disappearance of the father (leaving the mother and children alone);
re-marriage of one of the parents; alcoholism and drug abuse; and maternal
prostitution. Single mothers remain
the outcasts of society, and are unable to garner support from eroding communitarian
solidarity. Street Life BBC World Service, 1st July 2000 www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/highlights/streetlife.shtml [accessed 21 February 2011] A motley
crew of abandoned
children, runaway child maids, and the rejects of broken homes. Children as
young as six live a life on the run from police hunting for children to dump
in borstals run by the Ministry of Youth and
Sports. Human Rights Watch Report, NOWHERE TO TURN: State Abuses
of Unaccompanied Migrant Children by www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2002/spain-morocco/spnmorc0402-06.htm#P1018_181685 [accessed 22 June 2011] Child prostitution and the spread of AIDS www.popline.org/docs/154139 [access date unavailable] In Wafa Bennani,
Reuters, pangaea.org/street_children/africa/morocco.htm [accessed 22 June 2011] As night empties the streets
around ``About 1,000 children live in the
streets of Casablanca alone,'' she said. This article has been archived by World Street Children
News and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 22 June 2011] Street children in www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/990920/1999092048.html [Last access date unavailable] Perilous lives of runaways Europe does not want - Street
Children Who Flee Morocco Face Beatings And Abuse In Spanish Enclave Giles Tremlett, The Guardian, www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jun/15/gilestremlett/print [accessed 22 June 2011] Ismael, just 14 years old, emerged from
behind the breakwater in the Spanish Spotlight on DARNA, Community-based Innovations to Reduce Child Labor through circle.winrock.org/news/ma-DARNA.cfm [accessed 22 June 2011] In 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 - |
Human Trafficking in [Morocco] [other countries]Street Children in [Morocco Child Prostitution in [Morocco] [other countries]