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| Street Child World Cup: 'We should be treated the same as your children' | Street Child World Cup: 'We should be treated the same as your children' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Gilbert Azango knows only too well the dangers of life on the street. The 15-year-old lived on the Kibarani rubbish dump in Mombasa, Kenya, for four years. | Gilbert Azango knows only too well the dangers of life on the street. The 15-year-old lived on the Kibarani rubbish dump in Mombasa, Kenya, for four years. |
| "At first, I joined gangs because if you did not join them they might kill you," he said. "Sometimes children were run over by bulldozers at the dump. I used a hook to pull out food from the rubbish, but it was often poisonous because they would spray chemicals around the area." | "At first, I joined gangs because if you did not join them they might kill you," he said. "Sometimes children were run over by bulldozers at the dump. I used a hook to pull out food from the rubbish, but it was often poisonous because they would spray chemicals around the area." |
| Azango, who sold drugs at the dump before he was offered shelter by an NGO, was in Brazil last week for the 10-day Street Child World Cup (SCWC) in Rio de Janeiro. The event provided a unique platform for 230 street-connected children (a term used for children who are either living on the streets or have done) to share their views about life on the streets in confidence in addition to competing at football. | Azango, who sold drugs at the dump before he was offered shelter by an NGO, was in Brazil last week for the 10-day Street Child World Cup (SCWC) in Rio de Janeiro. The event provided a unique platform for 230 street-connected children (a term used for children who are either living on the streets or have done) to share their views about life on the streets in confidence in addition to competing at football. |
| Violence was a common concern for the children taking part in the conference, all of whom were aged between 13 and 17. Asked to consider what they would say were the whole world listening, their answers were illuminating. | Violence was a common concern for the children taking part in the conference, all of whom were aged between 13 and 17. Asked to consider what they would say were the whole world listening, their answers were illuminating. |
| "I want to tell the world that street children need total protection," said a teenager from Pakistan. | "I want to tell the world that street children need total protection," said a teenager from Pakistan. |
| "Police should not be so aggressive and should not hit children's legs with their batons," said a Kenyan boy. | "Police should not be so aggressive and should not hit children's legs with their batons," said a Kenyan boy. |
| "Stop abusing us and try to see us as you would your own children," an Indonesian teenager commented. | "Stop abusing us and try to see us as you would your own children," an Indonesian teenager commented. |
| Police brutality, the threat of abduction by traffickers, and roundups and arrests were cited by the children, who formed 25 teams that competed in separate boys' and girls' football tournaments alongside the conference. | Police brutality, the threat of abduction by traffickers, and roundups and arrests were cited by the children, who formed 25 teams that competed in separate boys' and girls' football tournaments alongside the conference. |
| Their message was underscored by a huge wall mural that children helped to paint of Rodrigo Kelton. Kelton, a former street boy, had been due to lead the team from Fortaleza in north-eastern Brazil, but was shot dead by drug traffickers as he visited his family on his 14th birthday weeks earlier. | |
| Children's rights campaigners want a goal to protect all children, including street children, included in the new sustainable development targets that will replace the millennium development goals when they expire in 2015. Although there is no chance of a goal that specifically targets street children, they would certainly benefit from a target to protect all children, said Leonora Borg, network director for the Consortium for Street Children. | Children's rights campaigners want a goal to protect all children, including street children, included in the new sustainable development targets that will replace the millennium development goals when they expire in 2015. Although there is no chance of a goal that specifically targets street children, they would certainly benefit from a target to protect all children, said Leonora Borg, network director for the Consortium for Street Children. |
| "Many street children face daily violence, including from the police, and are often the first to fall through gaps in policy and practice. A sustainable development goal that addresses violence against children will put pressure on governments to develop and implement laws and programmes that protect all children from harm, including street children," said Borg. | "Many street children face daily violence, including from the police, and are often the first to fall through gaps in policy and practice. A sustainable development goal that addresses violence against children will put pressure on governments to develop and implement laws and programmes that protect all children from harm, including street children," said Borg. |
| She said children's rights campaigners are pressing for a mix of process and outcome targets to tackle the causes of violence and abuse, including social acceptance of violence, discrimination and power relations between gender and age groups. They are also seeking better data on child protection systems. | She said children's rights campaigners are pressing for a mix of process and outcome targets to tackle the causes of violence and abuse, including social acceptance of violence, discrimination and power relations between gender and age groups. They are also seeking better data on child protection systems. |
| The children's responses from the conference will be taken back to their governments, where they will be formulated into the Rio Rights Declaration, a call to action that will be presented to the UN. The inaugural SCWC in South Africa in 2010 helped host project Umthombo to win its 10-year campaign to end illegal round-ups of street children in Durban. The countries taking part this time were Argentina, Brazil, Burundi, Egypt, El Salvador, England, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa and Zimbabwe. | The children's responses from the conference will be taken back to their governments, where they will be formulated into the Rio Rights Declaration, a call to action that will be presented to the UN. The inaugural SCWC in South Africa in 2010 helped host project Umthombo to win its 10-year campaign to end illegal round-ups of street children in Durban. The countries taking part this time were Argentina, Brazil, Burundi, Egypt, El Salvador, England, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa and Zimbabwe. |
| The right to education featured prominently in comments from the children. "The government needs to provide an education for street children," said a teenager from Pakistan. "Adapt schools to the needs of poor children," and "We want to go to school and be respected," were among comments from Argentina and the Philippines. | The right to education featured prominently in comments from the children. "The government needs to provide an education for street children," said a teenager from Pakistan. "Adapt schools to the needs of poor children," and "We want to go to school and be respected," were among comments from Argentina and the Philippines. |
| Some campaigners were hopeful that the high-profile event could lead to immediate changes for street children. Among them was the Azad Foundation from Pakistan, whose players were invited to the Sindh assembly in Karachi and promised a free education until college on their return. | Some campaigners were hopeful that the high-profile event could lead to immediate changes for street children. Among them was the Azad Foundation from Pakistan, whose players were invited to the Sindh assembly in Karachi and promised a free education until college on their return. |
| Benjamin Lumy, director of NGO Yayasam KDM, said he hoped for lasting change on registration regulations in light of the rapid processing of birth certificates for the 29 children involved in the Indonesian football training camp that eventually provided two teams. "Twenty-nine children from seven cities were at our training camps, and 70% of those did not have a birth certificate," said Lumy. "It is a common problem in Indonesia, where around 60% of 86 million under-18-year-olds don't have birth certificates." | Benjamin Lumy, director of NGO Yayasam KDM, said he hoped for lasting change on registration regulations in light of the rapid processing of birth certificates for the 29 children involved in the Indonesian football training camp that eventually provided two teams. "Twenty-nine children from seven cities were at our training camps, and 70% of those did not have a birth certificate," said Lumy. "It is a common problem in Indonesia, where around 60% of 86 million under-18-year-olds don't have birth certificates." |
| The team's organisers pressed the authorities in the children's local areas to speed up the application process and grant birth certificates, but this was only possible if they could be included on a "family document". As a result, Lumy included them all on his document, becoming the adoptive father of all 29. | The team's organisers pressed the authorities in the children's local areas to speed up the application process and grant birth certificates, but this was only possible if they could be included on a "family document". As a result, Lumy included them all on his document, becoming the adoptive father of all 29. |
| "We found out that it was quite easy to get their papers to come to Rio for the SCWC. It only took three days. Now that we have done this to come to Brazil, we will continue to advocate for this. If they can do it so easily for the SCWC, there is no reason they can't continue to do this," said Lumy. | "We found out that it was quite easy to get their papers to come to Rio for the SCWC. It only took three days. Now that we have done this to come to Brazil, we will continue to advocate for this. If they can do it so easily for the SCWC, there is no reason they can't continue to do this," said Lumy. |
| Other demands may be more difficult to meet: many of the children called on wider society to treat them with respect. "Street children should be treated the same as your children because some of us ran away because we had problems at home," and "We are all equal in this world, treat street children with respect," were comments from South Africa and Pakistan, while a teenager from Philippines said: "We are not animals, we are humans. We are somebody." | Other demands may be more difficult to meet: many of the children called on wider society to treat them with respect. "Street children should be treated the same as your children because some of us ran away because we had problems at home," and "We are all equal in this world, treat street children with respect," were comments from South Africa and Pakistan, while a teenager from Philippines said: "We are not animals, we are humans. We are somebody." |