Child abuse casts a shadow the length of a lifetime.
Child labour in terms of begging is used as a profession by insecure group of people that forces children to beg. A child can earn maximum money by begging. They show burns on their faces and hands so they can earn more. As they grow older their earnings decrease, which gets most of them involve in robbery and prostitution. Child begging is the exploitation of children for money making reasons.
Most of the people view it as way of relief for their hunger and unsatisfied needs. Earlier people believed that beggars were be physically disabled people who could not find work so they have to beg for their survival. However it has been noticed that nowadays that majority of them are physically normal children but due to their un-hygienic condition they may prone to get health problems. If we want to discourage child begging we need to see its impact on the child’s physical, educational, emotional health and psychological development.
Begging neglects all children’s basic rights of physical and educational needs. Physical needs include insufficient food resources, housing and hygiene. Educational needs include getting in a school at proper age. However to fulfill their basic needs that is food and to relieve their hunger and to get the physical strength children need money and they beg to earn money. We can say that poor families forcing their children to adopt the role of primary income earner but by doing this they are ignoring their childhood basic life needs such as schooling.
Child’s begging results in child’s emotional insecurity and fear of being threatened or hurt by older or stronger street peers. Begging puts children under pleasure and they loose confidence in their own ability to deal with any difficult situation. During this period the life of child beggars, is like a honeymoon period which is characterized by freedom and excitement, becoming a part of experimentation.
Begging is exploitation besides the work they are doing. They are also abused physically, mentally and sexually by the people around them.
Begging impairs a child’s psychological development who develop anti social behavior including living with a complexity or fear. A child beggar gets separated from his family, has low self esteem, and is likely to hold self negative behavior. It seems parents of child beggars are less sensitive to their children’s basic needs. Poor families cannot provide their children with a sense of belonging, which is necessary to promote children's interest. If a child is moved away from his parents than his psychological development gets impaired and there is a chance that the child will develop some kind of mental disorder in his adulthood, which may result in having antisocial behaviors in him and he may involved in substance abuse and harm their health. In fact people believe that begging is socially shameful work.
Beggars need to kill their egos completely before starting to beg. Once they overcome this psychological barrier then nothing stop them from begging. They work very cleverly and they get used to it. Thus we can say that child begging results in failure to provide psychological care to him or her involves children in domestic violence and allows the child to participate in drugs and alcohol abuse. Eradication of beggars specially the children beggars is very necessary, giving them money is not only the solution to help them overcome their problem because it may only increase the chances of child begging on a regular basis and does not solve the root cause.
Street Children and child abuse
While most child workers have homes to return, the street children are completely alone and at the mercy of their employers, and circumstances night and day. Their number of meals is one to three daily, often getting leftover from the restaurants and eating-places in the areas they hang around. Many are also found in the vicinity of religious shrines where people donate food for the poor.
When these innocent children leave their homes whatsoever is the reason, they do not expect or anticipate the dire consequences. When they become exposed to the outer world they come to know how cruel and corrupt it is. They are at the mercy of criminals, drug addicts, traffickers and the police.
This is the most vulnerable group to Child Sexual Abuse. They are forcefully involved in it by the organized crime network, and latter it becomes a means of survival in the streets. Their erratic existence some times produces distortion of the mind in the younger children who lose track of time, and distance, they do not know how long they are wandering. The unhygienic living and eating patterns of these children lead them to wards variety of health problems, like malnutrition bacterial and parasitic infections, skin ailments due to exposure to the extreme conditions of weather. Studies show that among the most serious threats to the health of street children is their high degree of the exposure to drugs and sexual abuse. They use cigarettes, alcohol and different drugs. Drugs that are easily available are solvents, marijuana, crack and glue. This is a new observed phenomenon of intoxication in the street children. These children also have a higher risk of acquiring STD and HIV because of their exploitation by AID sufferers, junkies and abusers.
They are often looked upon as delinquents, so nobody is willing to employ them in their homes and workplaces. This rejection from the society has an effect on the society. They develop anti social behavior, become criminals abusers, addicts, molesters, robbers, or drug traffickers just at the age of 16 to 18 years. They have no faith in humanity, no obligation. They know no law, no education, no system, no future and no life.HIV/AIDS increasing in country
Most of the 15,000-20,000 estimated child sex workers present in Lahore live in areas near bus stands and railway station. Male child prostitution is more common than any other form of commercial sexual exploitation in Pakistan.
Though the trend of selling organs (kidney.) for cash does not seem to have caught hold in Lahore or was not reported, quite a few children were aware of the fact that they could sell their blood for money if the need arose. The limited blood screening facilities make such practice extremely unsafe and can spread HIV/AIDS on a rapid scale. Though not a single child admitted to resorting to this practice, they had come to know about this through adult drug addicts.
In Pakistan, the estimated population aged below 18 years is 71 million, and 3.6 million children are involved in child labour. About 1.2 million children are on the streets in Pakistan’s large cities, working as beggars, vendors or shoeshine boys.Two million youth in karachi drugs addicts:
In Karachi the main addiction is of Hashish, because this drug is easily available at every nook and corner of the city. The main trafficking areas of hashish are Chanessar Goth, Dhobi Ghat and Massan near Keamair, he said. In Karachi more than 25000 children are living on streets and they are highly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, as they are also involved in sexual activities, he said, adding that 74 % of these street children are addicts. He said drug supply is available all around the city through those street children.
Pakistan 1.2 million street children abandoned and exploited
An estimated 1.2 million children are on the streets of Pakistan's major cities and urban centres, constituting the country's largest and most ostracised social group. These include 'Runaway' children who live or work on the street, as well as the minority that return to their families at the end of the day with their meagre earnings.
"World Vision is gravely concerned with their growing numbers. Children are turningto the streets amidst increasing poverty, unemployment, swelling family size and social disintegration seen in abuse in schools, as well as domestic violence, neglect and family breakdown," said World Vision Country Director, Sigurd Hanson.
"Street wise" as early as four, these children beg and scavenge around rubbish dumps or industrial waste sites or take on menial jobs as cart pushers or dish washers, working 12-15 hours a day to earn around 75 rupees or US.25- enough to buy a meal if they are fortunate. Most survive by prostituting themselves, stealing or smuggling, making them vulnerable to contracting sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Jaundice and liver or kidney disorders. A large proportion sniffs cheap, readily available solvents to starve off hunger, loneliness and fear.In order to save children from child labour and to help them avoid this insecure profession, we need to create and build an environment which is safe and supportive for them. It requires preventive measures, providing of adequate services like food, shelter and training to support those who beg as a profession. 
Caring for children
The rise in incidents of street crime in Karachi and other cities of Pakistan has been the subject of a report released this week by a local NGO. What the report highlights is the growing number of street children involved in this activity. This is cause for alarm. There has been a significant rise in the number of street children, particularly in Karachi says the report adding that the reasons for children running away from their homes include domestic violence, sexual abuse and corporal punishment at schools, especially madressahs. This is an issue that has to be dealt in a proactive manner. It may be noted that street children end up joining gangs which offer them protection in return for working on the streets. The gangs force the children into prostitution and crime. There has been a rise in child prostitution in the cities as a consequence of this. Also, incidents of petty crime have also risen as children are forced to beg, steal and borrow to retain their gang membership. Many of the children also turn to drugs and other substance abuse which only complicates the problem.
First we need to build this insight amongst ourselves that we will treat who are beggars with kindness and respect them and if we want to help them we could offer them food instead of giving them money.
We as a part of this nation need to ensure that beggars are able to live successfully with better lifestyle and also they permanently get rid of begging.Beacuse as we already aware that child beggars are already at risk as they have short term and long term impact on their lives. Each one of us from this society has a responsibility to ensure that these vulnerable children are protected. If we are able to do so we should give them one to one support, provide positive alternate activities or work for earning. All community people and stake holders should jointly resist any form of child begging using their best resources. Being community health care workers we should organize awareness programs for the community people especially sensitizing the parents regarding children rights and growth of development. We also need to work with the NGO’s with the consensus of community leaders. to identify their basic needs and its alternative solutions which can help them in growing children’s quality life, specially the child beggars need to provide education, professional training, food and accommodation so that they become useful citizens of our country.
Have a blessed time:)
This candle will forever stay lit
for all the innocent children.
*Ayesha*
