Those eyes keep you up at night! Some might ignore the giggles, while others' hearts break at seeing their plight. What cannot be ignored is their presence on the streets and how much our hearts ache at their condition.
Children running towards cars with balloons and other knick-knacks to sell, or performing acrobatics while artfully dodging traffic, are common sights on city roads. In Guwahati, the streets are filled with these children, who, due to various circumstances, have resorted to the streets—living, eating, sleeping, and surviving on bare minimums. They mature early to survive in this cruel world.
Across the world, children are left homeless and forced onto the streets to fend for themselves due to numerous reasons: primarily poverty, war, previous violence and abuse, exploitation, and desperation.
Once on the streets, children can become further trapped in new and repeated cycles of poverty, crime, maltreatment, and neglect. Not only are they more exposed to potential health risks while living on the streets, but homeless children are often targeted by criminal gangs due to their vulnerable and unprotected status. But one cannot disagree that these children have the right to an adequate standard of living and to be protected from a dangerous life on the street.
Research conducted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2016 estimates that there are around 150 million street children in the world.
Street-connected and homeless children are susceptible to several serious health problems, which include HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, drug and alcohol dependence, and exposure to harmful chemicals and pollutants as a by-product of their living environments (United Nations Human Rights Council, 2011).
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, asthma, poor nutrition, and respiratory diseases such as pneumonia were common among street-connected and homeless children. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the preservation, promotion, and protection of the right to health and the accessibility of adequate health care services for street-connected and homeless children were impacted in several ways.
They were disproportionately affected in accessing basic needs such as health care, adequate sanitation, clean water, and food, and support from the justice system.
There are several risk factors that left these children vulnerable, including lack of access to clean water, adequate sanitation, and the inability to social distance or self-isolate due to their living conditions.
Despite all this, there is that smile that sometimes sneaks up on their face. When they see a toy, sometimes playing among themselves, or just an act of kindness from strangers. They didn’t ask to be born into such situations, but they are making the most out of it.
All they ask from society is just a hand to help them stand strong. Many would love to study, even know which cartoon is which, or know how to operate a smartphone. These show how sharp their minds are—and why shouldn’t they be? They are living on the streets, with danger always lurking above their shoulders.
So, what can we, as a society, do to help these children? The bare minimum we can do is to raise awareness about their plight. Many people are simply unaware of the severity of the situation or choose to ignore it.
We need to advocate for policies that protect and support street children. This includes ensuring they have access to basic needs such as food, clean water, shelter, and healthcare. It also means pushing for educational opportunities and programs that can help break the cycle of poverty and give these children a chance at a better future.
Don’t just ignore their giggles and plight—lend a hand and help them take flight!
(The author is the IGP (Admin & STF), Assam. All views and opinions expressed in the article are the author’s own)
