THE STREET CHILDREN WORLD (1)

""At least 58% of children are on the street because of a conflict
with their Koranic master or with their family."

Who are the street children in Bamako? And why is it so difficult to integrate them into normal social life? Samu Social is an international N.G.O., installed in Mali since 2001. Their Report (extracts) of 2005 attempts to answer these questions, and gives the figures f the various elements.

A universal urban phenomenon: unequal and uncontrolled urban development, the pauperisation of large numbers of town dwellers; the disintegration of families and the rupture of traditional community solidarity in the urban areas; the rural exodus related to the economic attraction of towns: all are factors in the phenomenon of street children in all the big towns of the world. Victims of family conflicts exacerbated by poverty, street children are excluded from society, deprived of their rights and their future.

The social exclusion of children: in Bamako, street children suffer three types of exclusion:

Children are extremely vulnerable to the risks of the streets: to the risk of physical violence (muggings, sexual attacks); vulnerable to sanitary risks and infections (HIV/AIDS, epidemics related to their conditions); vulnerable to psychological risks (problems with comportment).

Children "paradoxically over-adapted" to life on the streets: how to explain the facility with which the street children seem to adapt to such a hostile and difficult environment? How not to be surprised by a child who says all is well when he is sleeping on a patch of pavement and passes his days in the anguish of not having found food and suffering from multiple infected sores? How to understand the refusal of such a child to be helped towards a reception centre, where he can sleep inside and receive a meal? How to understand the refusal of the child to quit the road?

Tackling the clinical and psychopathology of childhood and adolescence which is in danger on the street puts the spotlight on the notion of "paradoxical overadaptation",a consequence of accumulated traumas experienced by the child. The family history, the departure from home, the arrival on the streets are some of the sources of psychological traumas if the child has not had the opportunity to express himself, to be heard, and to understand the events. The precariousness of life on the street, in so far as it influences the relationship between time, space, the body and other people, make the child even more vulnerable, who instinctively forges a protective shell, putting on the role of "little chief" who needs nothing and nobody. The overadapted child is in danger as soon as he is no longer able to adapt to another way of life.

Samu Social Mali works especially with endangered or psychologically distressed children on the street. Their approach is clinical and psychopathological, in other words: healing the psychic wounds of the child through taking care of their body, by listening and by talking, so that they feel able to leave the street. They must develop confidence in themselves, before being able to express ideas about the future: they must have confidence in adult society in order to quit the world of street children.

Age : 19% are less than 13 years old 46% are from 13 to 16, 35% are more than 16: 81% of the children are adolescenrts or preadolescents.
Where they come from : with the boys, 78% are Malian ; Malian girls represent 95% of all girls. The origins of foreigners: 50% of foreign girls are from Burkina Faso and 50% from Côte d'Ivoire ; with the boys, 72% come from Burkina, 8% from Côte d'Ivoire , 13% from Guinée , and 5% from Sénégal

At least 58% of boys are on the streets because they are in conflict with their ffamiltor the koranic master: at least one child in three arrived on the street after a disagreement whilst entrusted to a koranic school.

37% of the children did not state their reason for being on the street, something which reflects lthe difficulty of establishing a trusting relationship with them.. The girls are more distrusting than the boys..

Survival strategies:

68% of the childen that were met live from begging ; 44% of girls prostitute themselves. The street trades include shoe shining, portering window washing, selling etc..

At 55%, skin problems represent the dominant health risk for boys on the street, along with the physical violence that they experience and the precarious hygienic and sanitary conditions of their lives. Sexual infections represent 27% des pathologies diagnosed among the girls, a prevalence linked to their low level of knowledge about the risks of unprotected sexual activity, as well as their exposure to commercial sexual exploitation.

Declaration of the Rights of the Child:
" Humanity owes it to humanity
to give of its best to the child … "

This Charter, which emerged from the High-Commission for Human Rights, was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20th November 1959 (resolution I386(XIV). It was ratified by the government of Mali on 28th September 1990 : it is a foundational text and here is the full text.

In Koranic schools, this Charter is violated in Article 7 (civil rights), Article 28 (the right to education), Article 31 (the right to rest and leisure), Article 32 (protection against economic exploitation) and Article 13 (liberty of expression).

After a preamble (general human rights), the text is organised around ten principles (the universal value of the text, the development of the child, name and nationality, social security, the rights of handicapped children, the right to family life, education, help, protection from exploitation, and protection against discrimination).

Preamble
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have, in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person, and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas the United Nations has, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,

Whereas the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth,

Whereas the need for such special safeguards has been stated in the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1924, and recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the statutes of specialized agencies and international organizations concerned with the welfare of children,
Whereas mankind owes to the child the best it has to give,
Now therefore,

The General Assembly
Proclaims this Declaration of the Rights of the Child to the end that he may have a happy childhood and enjoy for his own good and for the good of society the rights and freedoms herein set forth, and calls upon parents, upon men and women as individuals, and upon voluntary organizations, local authorities and national Governments to recognize these rights and strive for their observance by legislative and other measures progressively taken in accordance with the following principles:

Principle 1
The child shall enjoy all the rights set forth in this Declaration. Every child, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights, without distinction or discrimination on account of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, whether of himself or of his family.

Principle 2
The child shall enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable him to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity. In the enactment of laws for this purpose, the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration.

Principle 3
The child shall be entitled from his birth to a name and a nationality.

Principle 4
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 pre-natal and post-natal care. The child shall have the right to adequate nutrition, housing, recreation and medical services.

Principle 5
The child who is physically, mentally or socially handicapped shall be given the special treatment, education and care required by his particular condition.

Principle 6
The child, for the full and harmonious development of his personality, needs love and understanding. He shall, wherever possible, grow up in the care and under the responsibility of his parents, and, in any case, in an atmosphere of affection and of moral and material security; a child of tender years shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from his mother. Society and the public authorities shall have the duty to extend particular care to children without a family and to those without adequate means of support. Payment of State and other assistance towards the maintenance of children of large families is desirable.

Principle 7
The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. He shall be given an education which will promote his general culture and enable him, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, his individual judgement, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society.
The best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for his education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with his parents.
The child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavour to promote the enjoyment of this right.

Principle 8
The child shall in all circumstances be among the first to receive protection and relief.

Principle 9
The child shall be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation. He shall not be the subject of traffic, in any form.
The child shall not be admitted to employment before an appropriate minimum age; he shall in no case becaused or permitted to engage in any occupation or employment which would prejudice his health or education, or interfere with his physical, mental or moral development.

Principle 10
The child shall be protected from practices which may foster racial, religious and any other form of discrimination. He shall be brought up in a spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship among peoples, peace and universal brotherhood, and in full consciousness that his energy and talents should be devoted to the service of his fellow men.

To go further as a missionary …

Questions to sharpen our eyes and open our heart.

1. In your parish, are there " street children "?

2. If yes, does it challenge you? Does the Christian community also feel challenged by the presence of street children and their suffering?

3. Would it be possible to conduct a pastoral or social action where you are in favour of these children? If yes, what would it be?

4. Do you have experience with these children? If yes, this Justice and Peace Workshop would be grateful to receive news of such experience in view of the next edition of this Justice and Peace Journal. A big thank you in advance.

The Journals are edited by the " Justice and Peace Workshops "
of the Missionaries of Africa Province of Mali

The Workshop is composed of Fathers Laurent Balas (coordinator - Bamako), Anselm Mahwera (Gao) - Albéric Minani (Nioro-du-Sahel) - José Morales (Bamako) and Yves Pauwels (Bandiagara).

Contact : Fr Laurent Balas Paroisse des Martyrs de l'Ouganda PB. 298 Bamako -
Telephone : 224 27 27 ou 224 35 84 laurent.balas@laposte.net

Causes	Girls	Boys
Conflict with Koranic master	---	30%
Conflict/rupture with the family	32%	28%
Child is lost	1%	1%
Seeking work	20%	9%
Reason not stated	47%	32%

Strategies	Girls	Boys
Begging	36%	84%
Street trades	14%	7%
Apprentiships	2,5%	3%
Prostitution	44%	1%
Stealing and delinquency	2,5%	3%
Working	1%	1%

Pathologies	Girls	Boys
Skin disorders	28%	55%
Malaria	18%	6%
Transmissable sexual infections	27%	1%
Lung infections	-	6%
bilharziosia	-	8%
Cuts and wounds	-	5%