Human Trafficking in [Madagascar] [other countries]Street Children in [Madagascar Child Prostitution in [Madagascar] [other countries] |
Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children Democratic The Democratic
Republic of Madagascar [map] is an island nation located in the Indian Ocean, and
separated from E Africa by the |
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FEATURED ARTICLE *** Madagascar:
Where Children Dream of Being Gangsters Unlike the thousands of other
homeless children in the Madagascan capital of Antananarivo, Tovo considers himself lucky. He and his friend, Jiva, have secured a begging spot near the luxury Tana Plaza Hotel. Both
the children are unwashed, rail thin and clothed in dirty rags. Tovo told IRIN: "We have the best place for finding
the rich people. We usually get money for food." The two 11-years-olds, like the
capital's other homeless people, sleep in the open, but the approaching
southern hemisphere winter is simply a different kind of discomfort to the
summer cyclones that lash the island nation.
"Sometimes the street vendors let us sleep by their fires. The
grannies who sleep on the pavements know us; they know we have our own money
and we won't steal from them, so they let us stay," said Tovo. Young male vendors tend to hawk
cheap wares like tennis shoes, T-shirts and perfumes from Asia, while
middle-aged women sell fruit, vegetables or food cooked on the sidewalks, but
they all live in their stalls and sleep where they sell. Tovo and Jiva,
taking time off from begging to kick a ragged football around in the street
outside the hotel, said when they grow up they want to be gangsters. "Nobody
pushes the gangsters around," Jiva said. ***
ARCHIVES *** UNICEF - The Big Picture U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Children also work in bars and nightclubs, and as porters and
welders. Commercial sexual
exploitation is a problem in most of CURRENT
GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR - The government recently supplied school materials to
primary school children as part of the Education for All program. The World Bank funded a 7-year program in Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 CHILDREN - In June 2004 the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF) and the government launched a three-year campaign to improve birth
registration rates. The country has no uniform birth registration system, and
unregistered children were not eligible to attend school or obtain health
care services. A 2000 UNICEF study found that approximately 2.5 million
children under 17 were not registered. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2003 [55] The Committee notes the
challenging socio-economic situation and the adoption, in 2003, of a chapter
on special protection in the poverty reduction strategy paper. However, it is concerned about the
increasingly high number of children who do not enjoy their right to an
adequate standard of living, including children belonging to poor families,
street children and children living in remote rural areas. [63] The Committee is concerned at
the increasing number of street children and at the lack of a systematic and
comprehensive strategy to address this situation and to provide these
children with adequate assistance. In addition, the Committee notes the
establishment of several villages for the reinsertion of vulnerable families. Madagascar:
Where Children Dream of Being Gangsters Unlike the thousands of other
homeless children in the Madagascan capital of Antananarivo, Tovo considers himself lucky. He and his friend, Jiva, have secured a begging spot near the luxury Tana Plaza Hotel. Both
the children are unwashed, rail thin and clothed in dirty rags. Tovo told IRIN: "We have the best place for finding
the rich people. We usually get money for food." The two 11-years-olds, like the
capital's other homeless people, sleep in the open, but the approaching
southern hemisphere winter is simply a different kind of discomfort to the
summer cyclones that lash the island nation.
"Sometimes the street vendors let us sleep by their fires. The
grannies who sleep on the pavements know us; they know we have our own money
and we won't steal from them, so they let us stay," said Tovo. Young male vendors tend to hawk
cheap wares like tennis shoes, T-shirts and perfumes from Asia, while
middle-aged women sell fruit, vegetables or food cooked on the sidewalks, but
they all live in their stalls and sleep where they sell. Tovo and Jiva,
taking time off from begging to kick a ragged football around in the street
outside the hotel, said when they grow up they want to be gangsters. "Nobody
pushes the gangsters around," Jiva said. MSF Curtails Homeless Assistance In Favor Of Emergency
Work When we started in 1993, we
intended to help those children and families who were living on the street
but, over the years, we have come to realize that there are many poor
families in desperate need of assistance Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - Reports to Treaty Bodies The Committee further expressed
concern about the lack of free primary education; the increasing number of
street children and the lack of a strategy to address their needs; the
increasing number of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation,
including prostitution and pornography; the lack of judges and criminal
courts for minors; the sentencing of children aged 16 and 17 as adults; the
limited possibilities for the rehabilitation and reintegration of juveniles
following judicial proceedings. Madagascar's
Undaunted Street Children - Photo-story on street children in Antananarivo Blackened by exhaust fumes, the
tunnel under Tana’s city center serves as a dormitory for children,
especially during the rainy season. This Months
Letter Home From Madagascar : Médecins Sans Frontières Australia More than 2,500 street children
now receive regular medical and social follow-up through the program. Some of
them are referred on to a network of doctors providing free medical care
under Médecins Sans Frontières supervision. Médecins Sans Frontières is
working with children held in three juvenile detention centers and a prison.
The main focus this year is on improving the sanitary conditions. Médecins
Sans Frontières has been working in All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC §
107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use |
Human Trafficking in [Madagascar] [other countries]Street Children in [Madagascar Child Prostitution in [Madagascar] [other countries]