Djeca s ulice su ona djeca koja žive na gradskim ulicama bez ikakve zaštite svoje obitelji, a neki od njih vjerojatno i nemaju obitelj. Oni žive u napuštenim zgradama, pod mostovima, na željezničkim i autobusnim kolodvorima i na drugim mjestima na kojima se osjećaju sigurno i van domašaja policije i kriminalaca.

UNICEF razlikuje dvije kategorije 'djece s ulice', te u skladu s tim ima dvije definicije ovog pojma. Prva definicija odnosi se na djecu koja većinu dana provode na ulici prosjačeći ili prodajući stvari kako bi zaradili novac, a uvečer se vraćaju svojim kućama i tako financijski pomažu obitelji. Ako bi financijska situacija obitelji postala lošija, djeca bi morala provesti više vremena radeći na ulici. Druga definicija odnosi se na djecu koja žive na ulici, bez obitelji u tradicionalnom smislu riječi. Obiteljske veze možda i dalje postoje ali samo sporadično.

Dokaze o tome kako ovaj fenomen nije nov možemo naći u slikarstvu i književnosti. Međutim, u posljednjih nekoliko desetljeća ovaj problem se prilično pogoršao. Socijalno-ekonomski razlozi svakodnevno prisiljavaju sve veći broj djece širom svijeta da provode većinu dana radeći ili prosjačeći na ulici, a ponekad čak i čineći kaznena djela kao što su krađe i prodavanje droge, umjesto da se školuju ili igraju.

Ekonomska kriza, nedostatak podrške od strane države, nemogućnost zaposlenja odnosno zadržavanje stabilnog posla, nedostatak obrazovanja i mogućnosti, neki su od razloga koji dovode do marginaliziranosti najugroženijih u društvu. Tokom prošlog stoljeća, navedeni razlozi kao i porast populacije stvorili su uvjete u kojima se čitave generacije djece rađaju u izuzetno lošim i opasnim okolnostima. Svi ovi razlozi pomažu nam da razumijemo zašto će ta djeca vjerojatno završiti na ulici, većinu vremena radeći, prosjačeći ili se čak obavljajući kriminale aktivnosti. Prvo počinje zbog preživljavanja, ali može se završiti ovisnošću o drogama ili kriminalnim životom. Većini društva je teško shvatiti ovo objašnjenje i nedostatak mogućnosti sa kojima se ova djeca suočavaju, već ih vide samo kao prijetnju. Tako se diskriminacija i marginaliziranost intenziviraju na razini na kojoj se suradnja između različitih sektora društva može smatrati nemogućim.

Romi već od malih nogu počinju trpiti diskriminaciju od strane ostatka društva samo zato što se razlikuju od lokalnog stanovništva. Djetetu koje je odgojeno u sredini u kojoj potencijalno trpi nasilje u vlastitoj zajednici, kao i institucionaliziranu i neinstitucionaliziranu diskriminaciju od ostatka društva, neće biti lako prilagoditi se tom društvu koje ga/ju diskriminira od trenutka kada se rodi.

Ta ranjivost uzrokovana siromaštvom, nedostatkom obrazovanja, diskriminacijom od strane društva i institucija, nedostatkom radnih mjesta ima tendenciju još više odvojiti Rome od društva u kojem žive. To dalje za posljedicu ima da neka romska djeca veći dio dana provode na ulici, proseći ili radeći kako bi zaradili nešto novca i izbjegli siromaštvo.

Kako bismo stvorili ravnopravnije, pravednije i ujedinjeno društvo potrebno je uključiti sve manjine bez obzira na njihovu nacionalnost odnosno etničku pripadnost, ekonomski status, vjeru ili državljanstvo. Ako je to ono što želimo, ako odlučimo promovirati integraciju Roma u društvo, a posebno integraciju romske djece, moramo promovirati obrazovanje. Obrazovanje je snažno sredstvo, ne samo kako bi obrazovalo Rome kako bi imali bolje mogućnosti zapošljavanja u budućnosti, već i za ostatak društva kako bi razumjeli povijest Roma. Ako potičemo ovu vrstu obrazovanja, koja se bori protiv rasizma, kao i obrazovanje romske djece, za nekoliko generacija moći ćemo vidjeti uklanjane tih prepreka.

 

 

The 31 of January is the Street Childrens day, a day to raise awarness about the situation of these children and young people which are going through difficult times in their lives. This day was first celebrated the 31 of January of 2009 with the intention of promoting aid to youth both nationally and internationally and sustainable development cooperation. Roma children tend to be one of the most vulnerable to this situation, in comparison with other ethnicities and minorities among Europe and worldwide.

 

Street children are those who live in a city’s streets without any kind of protection from their family, which they might not even have. They can live in abandoned buildings, under bridges, train and bus stations, or in any other place which they might feel somehow safe from a threat such as the police or criminals.

UNICEF uses two categories to define the term “street children”: The first definition refers to those kids who spend most of their day in the street to make money through begging or selling stuff, returning to their homes at the end of the day helping the family economy. If the family economy becomes worse, they would have to spend more time in the street working. The second one focuses on those kids who live in the street, without any kind of conventional family. Family bonds might still exist, but they are kept just occasionally or unwittingly.

This phenomenon is not new, as we can find lots of evidence of it in art and literature. However, during the past few decades, it has worsened quite significantly. Socio-economical causes are forcing each day more children to have to spend most of their day working or begging in the streets, or sometimes even having to commit crimes such as stealing or drug dealing, instead of being in school or playing.

Economic crisis, the lack of support by the state, the impossibility to get a job or to keep a stable one, lack of education and opportunities are some of the reasons that tend to marginalize the most vulnerable in societies. Throughout the last century, these causes all together with a rising population, have created the necessary conditions for whole generations of kids being born in an extremely poor and dangerous context.

All of these reasons help us understand why these kids are likely to end up living in the street, or spending most of their time on them either begging, working or even committing crimes. It is first related to survival but might end up with drug addiction and criminal life. And for most of society, it is hard to see this context and lack of opportunities, they just see these kids as a threat. And this is how discrimination and marginalization intensify to levels where reconciliation between different sectors of society might be seen as impossible.

From a very young age, Roma people start to suffer discrimination from the rest of society just for the fact of being different from the local population.

Having brought up in a context where a Roma kid could suffer violence from its own community, and from the institutionalized and not institutionalized discrimination from the rest of society, it will not be easy for him to adapt to that society that has been discriminating him since the moment he was born.

This vulnerability, caused by poverty, lack of education, discrimination from society itself and institutions, lack of job opportunities, tends to separate even more Roma people from the society they live in. And this forces some Roma kids to spend most of their day in the street, begging or doing anything to make some money to escape this poverty situation. 

In order to create a more equal, fair and united society it is necessary to include all minorities regardless of their ethnicity, economic status, religion or nationality. If we want this, if we decide to promote the integration of Roma people into society and especially of Roma children, we need to promote education. Education is a powerful tool, not only to educate the Roma to have better opportunities regarding employment in the future, but also for the rest of society to understand the history of Roma people. If we promote this kind of education fighting racism, and at the same time we promote the scholarization of Roma children, in a couple of generations we will be able to see the elimination of these barriers.