Prevalence,
Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children In the first decade of the 21st Century gvnet.com/streetchildren/Ethiopia.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the
situation in HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspect(s) of street life are of particular
interest to you. You might be
interested in exploring how children got there, how they survive, and how some
manage to leave the street. Perhaps
your paper could focus on how some street children abuse the public and how
they are abused by the public … and how they abuse each other. Would you like to write about market
children? homeless children? Sexual and labor exploitation? begging? violence? addiction? hunger? neglect? etc. There is a lot to the subject of Street
Children. Scan other countries as well
as this one. Draw comparisons between
activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Steady increase in
street children orphaned by AIDS Indrias Getachew,
BAHR DAR, www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ethiopia_30783.html [accessed 12 May
2011] “The street has been my home since I can
remember. It’s been more than one year since I moved here (Bahr Dar) and all
this time, I have not seen one good thing about living on the street.
Everything is horrible,” says 14-year-old Mandefro Kassa, who grew up as an
orphan on the streets of Woreta, a provincial town in Ethiopia. ***
ARCHIVES *** Ethiopia moves
children from streets to shelters to slow coronavirus Emeline Wuilbercq, Thomson Reuters Foundation, ADDIS ABABA, 12
June 2020 news.trust.org/item/20200611231733-qqao6 [accessed 8 February
2023] Begging to survive
on the streets had become increasingly tough for Olana,
one of an estimated 10,000 homeless children in Ethiopia's capital, since the
arrival of the new coronavirus. "As soon as
the first case was registered, we were worried because people started to
avoid us," the 17-year-old said. Authorities in
Addis started rounding up street children in March to prevent them from
contracting and spreading the virus - so far more than 4,100 have been placed
in shelters - and the drive is being ramped up as coronavirus cases rise
nationwide. Street children who
are taken to shelters by the authorities or charities receive food, clothes,
healthcare and counseling. They tend to stay for between three and six months
before being reunited with their relatives or returned to their communities. "(Many) have
to recover from drug (addiction) and psychosocial problems," said Nigat Kebede, a director at the
Elshadai Relief and Development Association that
runs seven shelters for vulnerable people, including the one in Hawassa. In the long term,
the government plans to create more job opportunities for children back home,
Mulugeta said, so they do not return to the streets
in Addis where they are prey to abuse. The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/ethiopia.htm [accessed 4 February
2011] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - In urban areas, children work predominantly in the
informal sector in activities such as street peddling, messenger service,
shoe shining, portering, assisting taxi drivers... Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61569.htm [accessed 8 February
2020] CHILDREN
- The
government estimated the number of street children totaled 150 to 200 thousand,
with approximately 50 to 60 thousand street children in Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)[DOC] UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 1 November 2006 www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/426c8f0ecdb895f1c125724300541453/$FILE/G0645009.doc [accessed 4 February
2011] [69] The Committee is
deeply concerned at the increasing number of street children, especially in
major urban centres, who are also victims of drug abuse, sexual exploitation,
harassment and victimization by members of the police force. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned at
the stigmatization of street children and negative attitudes in society
towards them based upon their social condition. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 26 January 2001 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/ethiopia2001.html [accessed 4 February
2011] [74] The Committee
is concerned at the large numbers of children living or working on the
streets of the main cities in the State party, and at their lack of access to
education, health care, essential nutrition and housing. The Committee is
also concerned at the numbers of children involved in child labor. Sticking its red
nose in where it matters Angela Robson, The
Times, March 11, 2009 www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5883542.ece [accessed 12 May
2011] mbasic.facebook.com/notes/partners-for-change-ethiopia/sticking-its-red-nose-in-where-it-matters-by-angela-robson/61004582413/ [accessed 17 January
2017] Fourteen-year-old
Tegan has been attending the school for the past year. Every night he sleeps
under a stairwell in the city centre, cuddling up with a group of 20 other
boys to keep warm. He came to Awasa when his mother died and his father
remarried. He gets up early to beg, rarely eats breakfast before school and
hides his class books under a pavement slab so that they won't be stolen. Unlike the other
children in the school, he looks clean and washed, and his uniform is
immaculate. “That's because I wash it once a week in the river,” he says with
pride. “I have to keep clean as I can't afford to miss school.” Getachew
Zewdie says that Tegan is a highly intelligent child who will flourish,
providing he keeps attending classes. “He has huge
challenges as a street child, but is a remarkable boy who seems to be able to
rise above his social situation. Many of the other children here have huge
problems - they regularly fall sick or turn up late. Tegan has some kind of
inner strength and inspires the others.” Tegan, himself, says that his dream
is “to become someone and support myself either as a doctor or teacher”. But
this is not all he wants. “My friends on the
street pretend to be strong but sometimes I see them crying at night. Life
shouldn't have to be like this. I'd like things to change for them.” Understanding
Poverty's Impact on Children Sisay Abebe, Inter
Press Service News Agency IPS, www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=43836 [accessed 12 May
2011] www.ipsnews.net/2008/09/development-ethiopia-understanding-poverty39s-impact-on-children/ [accessed 29
November 2016] When the school
bell rings, Alemtsehay and her three younger sisters rush home to change out
of their school uniforms and into tattered clothes to go out begging around
Bole Road, one of Addis Ababa's smarter areas. Accompanied by their five-year -old
brother, they roam the streets asking passersby for money. They are each
expected to bring home at least 10 birr (one dollar) a day. "I prefer to beg around Bole, which is
far from my home, because I don't want my classmates to see me and mock me as
a pauper," says 14-year-old Alemtsehay, who is a grade five student. For Alemtsehay,
begging is degrading but she has no other alternative to get money, feed the
family and keep herself in school. At night they are harassed by men who want
to use them for sex, thus exposing them to HIV. Genet's story: A
life on the streets BBC News, 20
November 2007 news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7103290.stm [accessed 12 May
2011] Violence and sexual
abuse within the home are among the main reasons children run away to live on
the streets, according to a report, the State of the World's Street Children,
published by a coalition of charities. In Ethiopia, an
estimated 150,000 children live on the streets. The story of Genet, now
living in a safehouse in Addis Ababa, is similar to those of many such
children, especially girls. A glimmer of hope
in Ethiopia Ronan Scully, www.goalusa.org/newsroom/galwayindependent0307.shtml [accessed 23
September 2011] streetchildrennews.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/a-glimmer-of-hope-in-ethiopia/ [accessed 29
November 2016] There are twice as
many Ethiopians hungry today as there were during the 1984 famine when one
million people starved. This uneasy
truth means that, every year, up to eight million people, twice the
population of Ethiopia receives
the most relief aid but the least development aid in the world. More than 80,000 children die from malaria
each year. Untreated mosquito nets cost just €2 and treated mosquito nets
cost only €5. Average life expectancy
is 44 years, infant mortality is at 20 per cent and unemployment rests around
80 per cent. Most of the 75 million
people who live in Ethiopia survive on less than 50 cents a day. There are over
seven million orphans and close to half a million street children. Dancing to a better
future in Ethiopia Elana Ringler,
Reuters, uk.reuters.com/article/2007/03/28/us-ethiopia-dancing-idUKL2658612120070328 [accessed 12 May
2011] At the age of 12,
Jemal was one of 18 street children picked by the troupe to receive dance instruction
in one of the world's poorest countries.
After five years of intensive training, Jemal became a world renowned
professional contemporary dancer, receiving the prestigious Rolex Mentor and
Protege Arts Initiative award for his choreography. Committee on Rights
of Child examines report of Ethiopia UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, Press Release, 12 Sep 2006 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12 May
2011] There were some
issues related to detention of street children and in connection with some arrests
that had taken place in recent times, the delegation said. The law was clear
that if the police were to detain a person, they had to be taken before the
courts in 48 hours. There was also a policy of habeas corpus on which the law
was very clear. With regards to the detention of children in various
incidents of recent civil unrest, there had been supervision by the courts
and the prosecution, with the result that some of these schoolboys had had
their prosecution dropped and the suspects had been released. There were a
lot of street-children in Addis Ababa, and they were not detained merely
because they were street-children. Woman sells
possessions to build a children's home in Ethiopia Rosanne Zammit,
Oromia Times, December 29, 2006 oromiatimes.blogspot.com/2006/12/woman-sells-possessions-to-build.html [accessed 12 May
2011] Work on a home for
sick street children in The primary
objective of the Angels Children's Home is to provide care and support for
about 25 sick street children by creating a nurturing environment where the
children can live together as a family. Child Prostitution
in www.childexploitation.org/prostitution3.html [Last access date
unavailable] childrensrightsabused.blogspot.com/2010/06/children-rights-being-violated-in-kenya.html [accessed 17 January
2017] [see column on the
right] "I've been
working on the street for 3 years because I had a conflict with my parents.
My stepfather used to get drunk and beat us. Also, he used to favour my
sister who is his real daughter. I met some girls on the street and I began
to get close with them. I became friends with them, and we're still friends.
Two of the older girls used to work and give us the money to live. All I used
to think about was my family, but these people were good to me so I followed
them. I was really hurt by my family experience and these people were nice to
me. Goal activities -
Sep 2006 GOAL, 20 Sep 2006 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12 May
2011] In pictures:
Underground children BBC News, Jun 12,
2006 news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/06/africa_underground_children/html/1.stm [accessed 13 May
2011] IN HIDING - Blink and you
will miss the underground children in Child Protection:
Street Children Angel Tabe, Voice of
ovcs.blogspot.com/2007/05/child-protection-street-children.html [accessed 29
November 2016] Assefa Bequele is
the executive director of the African Policy Forum, an advocacy center in The reversal of a
boy's HIV status is the road to new life. He's one of lucky ones Jonathan Clayton in
Addis Ababa, The Times, May 19, 2006 www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/article1970072.ece [accessed 7
September 2014] There are estimated
to be 50,000 street children in the centre of Arrive. Make a
Scene. Take A Photo. Leave May 20, 2006 –
Source: noyau.com/%7Erwalsh/wordpress/?p=77 streetchildrennews.wordpress.com/category/1/africa/ethiopia/page/2/ [accessed 17 January
2017] The main reason I
did not want to attract attention is because the Federal Police are notorious
for treating street kids inhumanely, and I did not want them to find these
kids’ shelter. They would no doubt run them off, and the boys would be in an
even worse position. Poverty hits hard
on Ethiopia’s vulnerable kids Panafrican News
Agency PANA, www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9754199_ITM [accessed 13 May
2011] www.panapress.com/Poverty-hits-hard-on-Ethiopia-s-vulnerable-kids--13-575060-18-lang4-index.html [accessed 29
November 2016] Their personal accounts
of survival in poverty are emotionally gripping and profoundly disgusting,
yet Ethiopia’s street children are avowedly determined not to go back to
their countryside roots. Many of them are orphans, but in their ranks too are
those who have been abandoned by parents or close relatives after being
intentionally subjected to cruelty, including maiming. Others simply find the
streets as the only haven where they can strike up friendship that actually
gives them the strength to survive as they forage for food. Background
Report On Street Children In Hilletework Mathias,
Voice of www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2000/01/000107-ethiopia1.htm [accessed 13 May
2011] UNICEF estimates
that there are more than 150-thousand street children in the country and
economic problems have made many of them assume responsibilities normally
reserved for adults. Their ages range
mostly between eight and 20. They
include orphaned, disabled, neglected, and abandoned children all over the
country. They can be seen on any day,
wearing torn clothes, roaming barefoot, and begging motorists and pedestrians
in Circus
In Henriëtte Emaar, The
Power of Culture, Current Affairs, May 2004 www.powerofculture.nl/uk/current/2004/may/circus.html [accessed 13 May
2011] The circus is more
than performing feats. Street children and AIDS orphans there are trained as
performers, and their songs deal with topics including AIDS and children's
rights. Focus
on the Plight of Street Children UN Integrated
Regional Information Networks IRIN, www.irinnews.org/report/29736/ethiopia-focus-on-the-plight-of-street-children [accessed 10 March
2015] Surviving on scraps
from garbage she soon became sick, her stomach infested with worms and her
skin and hair riddled with lice. But Frehiwot is lucky. She is described as a
success story – plucked from the streets of UN Integrated
Regional Information Networks IRIN, www.irinnews.org/report/48799/ethiopia-focus-on-street-children-rehabilitation-project [accessed 10 March
2015] MORE THAN HALF A MILLION
STREET CHILDREN
- Aid agencies estimate nearly 600,000 street children country-wide and over
100,000 in Information about
Street Children - This report is taken
from “A Civil Society Forum for East and Southern Africa on Promoting and
Protecting the Rights of Street Children”, 11- 13 February 2002, At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 23
September 2011] CONSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES - Extreme level of
poverty cannot be easily tackled with piecemeal program activities;
rural/urban disparities and the prevalence of traditional practices and
customs in rural areas; Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs does not have
adequate resources and capacity to address the ever-increasing problems of
children. Cruel and Inhumane
Actions Against Street Children in Children's Rights
Programme, World Organisation Against Torture OMCT Case ETH 080501.CC, Child
Concern, 8/5/2001 www.omct.org/rights-of-the-child/urgent-interventions/ethiopia/2001/05/d15284/ [accessed 13 May
2011] Brief description
of the situation The International
Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Ethiopian Human Rights Council
(EHRCO), a member of the OMCT network, that the government is engaged in
cruel and inhumane actions against street children in Addis Ababa. Due to the recent
conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, children who do not have parents or
economically strong relatives to support them are forced to discontinue their
education. The streets, churches, mosques, bus and taxi stations of cities in
According to the
information received, as of February 2001, the government tried to solve this
problem by rounding them up, taking them to and abandoning them to hyenas and
other wild animals in forests outside the city. A number of the children that
EHRCO has been able to interview reported that some of their friends,
especially the very young and weak, which had been taken with them to these
forests, have so far not returned. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Street Children - |
