With no care, street kids grow, face exploitation
The number of starved or half-starved street children keeps on growing in the capital and they are getting involved in various illegal activities, including drug peddling, theft and robbery, according to non-government organisations working for them.
What is more alarming is that the kids, living with no support or protection and deprived of all their rights, are addicted to different kinds of drugs at very early ages.
On the loop from Moghbazar Flyover at 10 pm yesterday, a group of four-five kids aged between 12-15 was seen sniffing glue from polythene bags in their hands.
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After consuming the drug called "dandy", they left the place. One of them is Sakib.
Talking to The Business Standard, he said, "It [the gum] is available in stores. A small container costs Tk200-250. We five-six buy and eat together."
Asked if he takes any other drugs, he says, "I smoke cigarettes. Sometimes, I take little Baba [Yaba] with my big brothers. If someone offers me, I take cannabis too."
Shakib said all these are available in Kawran Bazar.
Such kids are used as drug carriers as no one suspects them. "Sometimes we carry Baba and deliver to the buyers' addresses. Both buyers and sellers give us tips."
Stating that there are thousands like him, Shakib said many of them also wash plates in eateries, pull goods in Karwan Bazar, work as assistants in shops, sell different things on streets and beg to make ends meet.
Asked about his age and family, he paused for a while and said, "I have never seen my parents. I do not know my age either. Everyone says I might be 15 years old."
"We have a lot of trouble on the roads. People beat us for the slightest mistake," hapless Shakib said, adding, "Even if I am sick, I cannot go to hospital. All drive us away."
Street-children are a part of the society and their involvement in illegal doing is alarming, said Mohammad Aftabuzzaman, executive director of APON Foundation, a non-profit organisation working with street-children.
The number of underprivileged children is rising due to hunger, early marriage, divorce, poverty, river erosion, premature death of parents, natural disasters, and so on, he also said.
Based on data of various public and private organisations, there are about 1.6 million street children in the country, of which 75% live in the capital.
According to Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, there are about 450,000 street-children in Dhaka city alone and it is rising day by day.
In this situation, he demanded that the government conduct a registration programme for street children.
Facilitating and verifying their birth registration and saving data in a centralised database are needed, he noted.
In the case of registration of permanent address or other legal complications, the social welfare department of the government will coordinate it, he also said.
Country Director of ActionAid Bangladesh Farah Kabir said, street children are being used for begging, stealing, robbing and even drug dealing. As children, they are being used freely by a vested quarter.
"It is also alarming that the number of street children is rising constantly. There are a number of good policies by the government but those bring no fruit due to weak implementation," she also said.
Farah Kabir, "We are more apprehensive about their physical and sexual abuse. Extensive and immediate steps need to be taken to ensure their safety and security."
Meanwhile, a number of national and international non-government organisations are working with the issue without any effective results as they are working scattered.
Regarding this Farah Kabir said private organisations and government have to work together to have an effective result.
