By Arif Kapadia
July, 2011.
one India One People Magzine
http://www.oneindiaonepeople.com/
Just a few hours before writing this article, I had walked out of my office towards the railway station to catch a train. On the way, I was listening to the news on All India Radio. I heard the news that India had installed an advanced radar system near Bhuj in Gujarat, with the help of Israel. We have spent billions of rupees to install this Radar System to protect our borders from external attack and apparently strengthen the air security of our country. Few minutes after hearing this news, my cell phone rang and the voice on the other side says, “Arif Bhai, mein Salim bol raha hu, underground wale Raju ko police wale utha ke le gaye, aur bhi chokre log ko utha ke le gaye hein” [Brother Arif, I am Salim speaking, police has picked up Raju who stays in Subway of Mumbai Cst Station, and they have also picked up other boys as well]. I do not have a solution to give to Salim and neither does he expect one from me. He is satisfied just talking to me, because I’m the one with whom he shares his problems. I’m the one he relies upon. When I relate these two bits of news, a question that comes to my mind is- when our country can spend billions of rupees on foreign technology and weapons, why have we failed in protecting the rights of millions of citizens of our own country.
Today 18 million children and youth like Salim, Raju, Rupa, Sanjay, Shiva, Sohel and Geeta are forced to spend their lives on the streets of urban India in extremely adverse conditions. Violence, assault, unlawful detention by police, theft, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, child labour, physical and mental illness and humiliation are a daily part of their lives. Formal education, which is a fundamental right of every child, still remains a distant dream to most children living on the streets. And most of them remain far from the coverage of most of the social welfare schemes run by the government. These homeless children and youth living on the streets are the poorest of the poor of urban India. How can we defend the rights of these citizens? How can we provide protection, facilities and social security to this deprived group in our country?
India has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), according to which we are obliged to fulfil the rights of children our country, according to international standards, and we are also accountable to the international community on the status of our children.
A few weeks ago, a 22 year old youth, Wasim, who is living alone on the streets of South Mumbai since the last 15 years, came to me and asked me, “Arif Bhai Muj Par ek Ehsaan Karoge?” (Can you do me a favour?). “Mein bahot pareshaan ho chukka hu, aap mujhe Jail mein Daal dijiye, taki mujhe thoda sukoon mil sake” (I am quite distressed, can you please send me to jail, so I may achieve some peace of mind). I was shocked to hear that, but this is perhaps an indication of how grave the situation is.
When these sons and daughters of the streets cross the age of fifteen, NGOs refuse to take them in their fold and once they are eighteen, most of them are abandoned by NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) and with no proper rehabilitation system by the government, they are forced to live in miserable situations. And at this stage they become “anti-social elements” for the police and for “civil” society. Most of these children and youth are working in the unorganized sector as rag pickers, hawkers, casual labourers especially for the catering industry, and other small scale industries. They play a significant role in the city’s economy and its smooth functioning. But in return, the city exploits them day and night, and shatters their dignity and self-esteem. According to public perception, they are seen as pickpockets, thieves, loafers, goons, but their reality is far from this. Most of them are striving hard to move forward in life. But with minimum or no education at all, lack of employability skills, no identity documents, no permanent residence, and constant substance abuse their life is caught into a vicious cycle. They find it difficult to get minimum basic facilities of food, clothing, shelter, health and hygiene, protection from violence and opportunities for sustainable livelihood.
Poverty, dysfunctional families, natural calamities, man-made disasters, mental illness, search for livelihood- these are some of the reasons which force these children on to the streets. What they really need is empathy and strong support from the government and society at large to help them build their self-esteem and dignity.
If we provide support to these kids and youth, surely the picture will change, In Saathi (www.saathi.org) since last fourteen years we have been making efforts to break this vicious cycle so they can get their basic rights. We are working for their identity, livelihood, shelter, health, restoration, education and training, we organise them, create awareness among them so they can work towards facilities they are entitled to. And after these all years we can confidently say that if we strive, we can achieve what we want. Hundreds of kids and youth have changed the course of their lives and are not only working for themselves, but are also proactively working for their fellows. And they are acting as radars through which they identify new kids/youths that are vulnerable to exploitation and help them to get out of the situation.
Just a few months back, dozens of these youth helped the census department during the census of homeless population in Mumbai. With their help census enumerators were able to reach out to remote places to citizens who were never counted since last fifty years.
However we must admit that, unfortunately, the reach of Saathi, and other NGOs remains limited due to inadequate resources as compared to the gravity of the issue. It requires strong political will and determination of the government to think beyond electoral politics to change the entire scenario. Only then would we be able to create safety radar through which we can identify every child before he/she is caught by the vicious cycle of exploitation. There is a need to strengthen our social security system by ensuring quality education, health care, housing and better livelihood opportunities for every citizen without any discrimination. If we want to really change the lives of Salim, Raju, Rupa, Geeta, Wasim, Pappu, children of our streets then there is need to provide sufficient and efficient resources on the grass root level, then only we will be able to build the nation on which we can proud. If we can spend billions to achieve Protection from external forces then why we are not spending adequately for the protection of our own children’s rights?
Lastly I would like to say that, next time when you see any sons and daughters of the street look at them with empathy and dignity as your fellow citizens…..that would be the first step towards the process of change …….
