Lost Childhood

Unmasking the Lives of Street Children in Metropolitan India

Kapil Dev, Dipendra Nath Das, Sangeetha Esther

• Publisher: Routledge India
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000264500
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Scienze sociali
• Subtopic: Studi sull'infanzia in sociologia

Lost Childhood explores the everyday lives of street children in India. It presents insights on their life on the streets to provide a comprehensive understanding of why they are driven to extreme means of livelihoods.

This volume,

· Inquiries into the histories of street children, and discusses their socio-economic and socio-demographic characteristics to provide a sense of their living conditions;

· Sheds light on the social injustice experienced by these children, their health and hygiene, and also looks at the insecurities faced by the children in their interactions with the society;

· Uses detailed field research data to highlight issues that affect the lives of street children such as education, gender discrimination, and their social networks;

· Suggests a way forward that would not only benefit street children but will also be of use to the community in understanding their lives, problems, and help explore this issue in further detail.

The book will be useful to scholars and researchers of human geography, development studies, child development, urban poverty, and social justice. It will also be of interest to policymakers, social workers, and field workers who work with street children.

Chapter 1

Introduction

Muffled Voices

Among the blur of people and cacophony of noises in the bustling city of Delhi, there are tiny bodies with muffled voices that share their melancholic stories.

Vishnu, a young scrawny boy who is barely ten years of age, narrates how he has been begging on the streets for 5 years. He once thought that he would be able to go to school like his neighbour’s children, but due to his father’s alcoholism, they went into debt and were forced onto the streets. To survive, he helps his mother by begging for alms and food at the most crowded traffic junction in Central Delhi. Unfortunately, his dreams of going to school, wearing a uniform and being able to read and write have been replaced by dreams only of a decent meal.

Naveen, an 11-year-old boy, earns money selling balloons at the traffic signals in West Delhi, shares how his customers would shout at him if he touches their car by mistake or would throw money at him rather than hand it over to him just because he is dirty. Initially, he used to feel very conscious about it, but there is nothing he can do as he barely has access to sufficient water to quench his thirst, much less wash himself.

Mahesh, a 9-year-old boy, works as a rag picker in one of the busiest markets in Delhi. He too has faced abuse and discrimination due to his situation. There have been many instances where shopkeepers and shoppers have openly humiliated him for his lack of cleanliness. It is very hurtful when people shrug away from him and call him names right to his face. Even as a child, he is able to understand the implications of it. Their behaviour towards him both angers and saddens him as he feels that it is not his fault that he doesn’t possess more than one set of clothes.

Deepa, who also works as a balloon seller with her mother, was taken aback by the unfair treatment meted out to her when she had started working. As the eldest of 4 siblings, she was able to study till 4th class. After the demise of her father, she had to forego her schooling to make ends meet. While her father was alive, they were living in a rented house, which they had to vacate after her father passed away. With nowhere else to go, they started living on the streets. Till then she had never faced such a deplorable treatment. Once she started working, she was really angered by how rudely and offensively people would behave with her and her mother. She was always taught in school that people should be kind and polite to one another, but in the real world, she could barely see such qualities in people.

Kamlesh, a 14-year-old girl who lives under a flyover in Central Delhi, also mirrors such feelings. When her parents are away working, she looks after her younger siblings. During these times she is extremely fearful of the adults passing by. Many of them would try to kick and punch the children without any provocation, while others would try to steal or destroy what little possessions they have. When her younger siblings are playing, she has to be cautious that they don’t get hit by a vehicle or they don’t disturb pedestrians. She has had some very nasty incidents with passers-by who had screamed at her, spat on her and even tried to grope her. She feels that these adults use her for venting out their anger and frustration.

Atul, a 12-year-old boy who works as a hawker in a popular market in South Delhi, explains that many people whom he approaches completely ignore him or shoo him off like a stray dog. It infuriates him that when he goes selling his items, they wouldn’t even look at him, while others take his items without even paying for it. These types of incidents have made him lose his trust in the elders around him. Such situations have made him feel like he is less of a human, which is why they treat him and his kind with such disdain.

These are just a few stories of the scores of children who are living on the streets and who have had their childhood robbed from them.

1.1 Introduction

Every day we come across young street children, barely in their teens, dressed in ragged clothes, underweight and stunted with forlorn expressions on their tiny faces. If one were to pay attention while travelling around the city, they would see street children and homeless households in almost every street and corner of our cities. These young children can be seen living parallel lives to ours while navigating through the hustle and bustle of city life. There are a few occasions when their lives cross paths with ours. Some of us may acknowledge them, while others ignore their presence. The interactions with street children are mostly at traffic signals when we see them either begging or selling articles or performing ‘acrobatics.’ We can also see them scavenging through dustbins in popular public areas. Some of us might take pity on these children, but most of us tend to be disgusted by their existence and try to ignore and overlook them. These children are the epitome of the heartlessness that lingers within the society. Street children, the world over, have hardly ever been treated equal to other citizens of the society. In fact, many of them have never even been treated like human beings. The general public are often scared to make physical or eye contact with these neglected children, as though their predicament was contagious and could easily spread through touch. The greatest tragedy of street children does not lie only in the fact that young children are being robbed of their childhood but inhumanity being meted out to these young souls by the general public. Many of these children ponder over what their fault is to incur such treatment. Street children often see other more fortunate children and envy their lives. Things that are taken for granted by ordinary children such as having three square meals a day, clean clothes to wear, going to school and having toys to play with are some of the greatest wishes of these street children.

These unfortunate street children are trapped in a reality very different from that of ordinary people. They are ill-treated, exploited and abused by their own family and also the public. Their lives are filled with fear, hopelessness and loneliness. Being treated in such a pathetic manner makes them feel that they are not humans, but something at par with animals. Many of the street children are treated worse than animals, by sadistic people who try to take advantage of their desperate situation. They are abused, beaten, drugged, raped and sodomized. Even after going through such barbaric treatment there is no one to come to their aid, no one to hear their painful stories and fight for their rights. The only time their existence is acknowledged is when it is viewed as a bane to the scenic beauty of the city.

One has to remember that these children are also like our own children. While every adult loves to dote on his or her children, why is it that we are filled with disgust when it comes to these street children?

1.2 Children: the future

It is often said that children are divine gifts. Children are essential for the continuation of the species, which is why nature itself has put various systems in place that ensure the offspring are tended and looked after until they can fend for themselves. Without a new generation of humans, society and civilization will stagnate and eventually die out. Children are the ones who carry on the culture and accomplishments of civilization. It is not just their role in such a grand scale that makes children precious. At the household level, children are seen as a source of joy. In most societies, it is expected that a married couple complete their family by having children. Children also play a developmental role for the society and economy. Every new generation brings with its new innovations. Children are a huge resource for economic development and modernization (Bandyopadhyay, 1991). Children or the young generation is also at the heart of social development (Foundation for Research on Educational Planning and Development, 2003).

Due to the intrinsic and extrinsic value of children, the State and judiciary have provided various rights to ensure their survival and development as a productive citizen. It is the right of every child to have a safe environment and a proper childhood, and it is the responsibility of the parents and the community as a whole to provide these to them. No country or society can move forward without giving proper developmental support and care to its future citizens (Garg, 2002).

The type of a childhood a person has depends on the status of the parents or the type of welfare system of the State. Since the child not only benefits the household but the society at large, the responsibility of looking after a child should not fall solely on the parents. If in some way the parents are incapacitated, the community as a whole should take up the responsibility of looking after these children. This is the only way we can ensure a proper future for all the children who are born. Only then will a child be able to grow up to be a responsible and productive adult. Given a proper childhood and a conducive environment to grow in, they can be expected to contribute to the society. While growing up, a child requires nutritious food, a proper shelter, clothing and adequate sleep. They also need love and affection, freedom, sufficient physical activities (games and sports) and encouragement from adults. Other than physical growth it is also important to develop the child psychologically, for which it is essential that they be treated with love and kindness. These emotions are the source of power and direct the development of their personality (Singh, 2002). Only when they are properly looked after will they be able to adjust in the society.

1.3 The stark reality

Unfortunately, our society is not egalitarian; not every child gets to enjoy their childhood and live in a peaceful home. Some children for no fault of their own other than being born poor will face the disdain of society. Some children face extreme and painful circumstances which force them into hazardous conditions, ultimately diverting their life onto a darker path. Many of them are forced into this path by the inadequacies of their parents to provide for their basic needs and the failure of the State to look after children belonging to such households. Numerous issues exist today in society which determinedly strips a child of his or her childhood, and sometimes even their humanity. Children from poverty-stricken background, street children, school dropouts, runways or orphans are the easiest targets for child trafficking, to be forced into bonded labour and child marriage, sex trafficking, child labour, child pornography and so on. These children either become victims of heinous crimes or get sucked into the world of criminal activities. Being subject to such situations not only changes the behaviour of the children but also forces them to grow up with a misguided sense of identity and morality, and face a confused life.

Most of these issues stem from poverty and a lack of proper home environment. According to UNICEF Report (2012), 45 per cent of the world’s population of whom almost 50 per cent are children is forced to live with less than $1 a day. Hundreds of millions of children are living in urban slums, many without access to basic amenities. They are vulnerable because their living conditions are stressful (UNICEF Report, 2005a). According to Census of India 2011, 31 per cent (one-third) of total population comprise the children between the ages of 0 and 14 years, who are considered a dependent population. Out of the total child population (0–14 years age group) 52 per cent are male and 73 per cent are living in rural areas. While many of them get basic care in childhood, a large section of the children is robbed of their childhood and does not lead a meaningful existence.

1.4 The reality of street children

If children are seen as the future of the society, then the existence of street children proves an unwanted deviation from the set targets the society has placed for its future generation. These children spend most of their time working on the streets. They often come from slums and squatter settlements. These places are characterized by poverty and uncertain family situations. Some of them are able to maintain contact with their family, friends or relatives for a specific time. They are unable to attend school due to financial constraints or due to overcrowded schools, poor infrastructure and not having a safe place to play (Kopoka, 2000). They live on the streets on the brink of starvation with no proper access to clean water and adequate health care. These children have been dealt a bad hand in life by being born in an impoverished family that is constantly marginalized by the society and suffer the apathy of humanity. Living in such de...