Human Trafficking in  [Somalia]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Somalia]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Somalia]  [other countries]
 

Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children

Somalia                                                                                          [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

Somalia is located in extreme E Africa [map] directly south of the Arabian peninsula across the Gulf of Aden.  It comprises almost the entire African coast of the Gulf of Aden and a longer stretch on the Indian Ocean.  It is bounded by Djibouti (NW), Ethiopia (W), Kenya (SW), and the Indian Ocean (S & E).  Mogadishu is its capital.  Somalia remains a fragmented country both politically and administratively.  Despite continuing stabilization in the Northwest Zone of Somaliland and limited but encouraging progress in the Northeast Zone of Puntland, humanitarian personnel have faced varied and complex challenges.  In the Central and Southern Zone in particular, insecurity prevailed.  Key development indicators identify the situation in Somalia as one of the worst in the world.

 

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Somalia.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

UNICEF - The Big Picture

U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Self-employment and casual labor were more often observed in urban areas, while unpaid farm labor was the primary form observed in rural areas.  Boys as young as 14 or 15 have participated in combat and many belong to gangs who raid indiscriminately.  In 1999 UNICEF estimated that 58.4 percent of primary school-age children attended school, and that 72.5 percent of children who had started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

CHILDREN – The authorities were generally not committed to children's rights and welfare. The lack of resources limited the opportunity for children to attend school. Approximately 22 percent of the school-aged population attended school, according to UNICEF officials.

Children remained among the chief victims of the continuing violence. Boys as young as 14 or 15 years of age have participated in militia attacks, and many youths were members of the marauding gangs known as "morian" (parasites or maggots). This year's annual report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict documented grave violations against children in Somalia. The report focused violations that are being systematically committed against children in Somalia: killing or maiming of children; the recruitment or use of child soldiers; attacks against schools or hospitals; rape or other grave sexual violence against children; abduction of children; and denial of humanitarian access for children.

The Long Journey

AHMED HASSAN … In 1991, he was shot in the back and robbed by one of Mogadishu’s countless khat-chewing, gun-toting street children. “I’ll show you,” he says to me, standing up and removing his jacket. He rolls up his shirtsleeve and shows me the light brown circle of scar tissue on his bicep, where the bullet exited. It went into his back and came out his side before penetrating his arm. “They shoot first, ask questions later. But what can I do?”

Separated Somali Children

In Hargeysa, young homeless girls sleep in among the petrol containers in the hope that the smell and the danger of the petrol will keep away potential attackers. Having to live on the streets of the large urban centers is one of the most dangerous prospects for Somali children. In some cases street children were forced to beg for gangs after being raped and beaten.

UNICEF Humanitarian Action: Somalia donor update 4 Jun 2004

Protection and Youth Participation - During the first quarter of the year, child protection coordination networks have been established in Bari, Nugal, Mudug, Benadir, Lower Shabelle and Hiran regions, and similar initiatives are under way in other areas.   Successful efforts include: access to education for disadvantaged children; commitment from businesspeople to provide support and care to street children; community action to protect children against prostitution and exploitative labor; and the commitment of some militia leaders to support children's attendance in school as opposed to involvement in the conflicts.

Displaced Children Lack Protection

www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/%28httpEnvelopes%29/

13EAEFB63B9EDE82802570B8005AACEF?OpenDocument

Displaced children often from southern minority groups are forced to seek ‘protection’ by joining urban gangs … Displaced children are often exploited and have jobs dangerous to their health … Children displaced from minority groups suffer from deprivation and abuse … Displaced children are sexually abused … Displaced children in single-headed families often end up on the streets and are often drawn into drug-dependency

Decision by USA leaves 3 000 children homeless in Somalia

Several orphanages will be forced to close their doors in the coming days due to a lack of financing, resulting in at least three thousand children being abandoned in the streets. The reason: the entity which financed these orphanages, the aid agency Al-Haramayn, from Saudi Arabia, has been banned from working in Somalia.

PROFILE OF INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT : SOMALIA [PDF]

[page 163] In the ICRC-supported hospital south of Mogadishu, as many as 90% of all patients are gunshot-wounded civilians most of whom are IDPs and street children

Novib Civil Society Organisations - Profiles

STREET CHILDREN REHABILITATION PROJECT - Street Children Rehabilitation Center was established in 1994 in response to an increasing need for child protection in Hargeisa. The project provides food, shelter, literacy classes, counseling, family tracing and family reunification. Approximately 45-50 children are assisted through the center each year.

All material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use

 

 

Human Trafficking in  [Somalia]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Somalia]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Somalia]  [other countries]