At the crack of dawn, a squad can be seen on the avenues of Abbotabad, Pakistan. Numbering up to three hundred it troops across, and plays havoc in the lanes. Its members are well organized, and punctual in their duty.
Uniform doesn’t carry importance to them,they always wear the same shabby clothes and worn-out shoes for several days, and perhaps several months. They get their basic training from their houses and weapons as well. Their most deadly weapon is a sack, which they always carry on their shoulders.
This is not the story of a terrorist gang, but of an army of street children. These poor-souls have to labour from dawn to dusk, in harsh weather conditions. To bring in few bucks, they do almost all sorts of labour including scavenging for scraps in rubbish, collecting paper and metal from garbage dumps,and begging etc.
The fruit of their whole day’s labor is less than 3 dollars. Their job is not an easy one, they have to face my challenges during their self-imposed working hours. Many of them fall victim to rape, abduction, sexual servitude, sodomy, HIV, STDs, and beatings.
“I always come here, under the protection of my younger brothers, otherwise people chase me, and try to do bad things with me”, said a girl.
“My sister was abducted three years back while returning home in the evening, and is still missing”, a sad-looking boy bared his heart.
These young ones haven’t chosen this profession by choice; numerous factors enforced them into it. Extreme poverty, lack of education, sudden death in the family, domestic violence, meagre sources of income, are notable in this regard.
A young boy who resides in a nearby slum remarked,
“Iam the only bread-winner for my family, my father has died and there is no one to support us financially.”
Whatever be the reasons, this small but oppressed class of the society, needs our support and consideration.
Continuous apathy on our side will not only add to the miseries of these broods, but also bring about dire effects on the overall situation of the country.
These un-armed, innocent kids will turn into merciless assassins, voracious terrorists, sentimental suicide bombers, and voluptuous prostitutes, if not provided with the basic necessities of life.
The government and the NGOs should pay heed to the deplorable condition of the street children, before it’s too late.
We are sanguine that the local NGOs will give a helping hand to these needy children, and put an end to their miseries.