Today the UN Human Rights Council held discussions on the situation of children on the streets for the first time! The Consortium for Street Children in a tweet this afternoon stated that the key conclusions from the day were to: listen to street children; adopt itegrated approaches; share good practice. There is nothing groundbreaking or surprising about these objectives, but the critical point is about how these will be implemented and whether there really is the desire to do so.
At its worst, these events are always the stage for a multiple of platitudes to be presented and a chance for NGOs and individuals to have their 'moment in the sun'. But they can also form an important part in developing a political discourse on an issue that is often ignored by governments and civil society alike. It was summed up in the morning session that governments have to be prepared to do deal with street children. It's a slow slog but we all have to participate. This is very true, but the real agents of change will not come from UN resolutions (although they play an important part in ratifying government commitment), or NGO policy reports but from the local practitioners, activists, former street children and street children. Change needs to be harnessed by those who are the recipients of decades of neglect, injustices suffered, and arrogance encountered by others who believe they know best.
My organisation, Street Action along with many of our partners, believes that partnerships, greater co-operation, but most importantly empowering those in the 'south' to drive the agenda will be the only way to see fundamental and constructive change. Our part is to partner and work with those on the ground to help provide guidance for constructive and meaningful responses that might prevent the repetition of mistakes and misguided actions. It was argued this morning that in moving from a charity based to a rights based approach, you give a child back his/her voice. This is an important point and is backed up by a new report Including Street Children http://streetaction.org/ that I recently co-wrote with Glynis Clacherty on the situation of street children in Durban. South Africa. The report argues that street children are a difficult group to conceptualise on a global scale which results in a limited capacity to inform policy makers and practitioners. What is central to the analysis and recommendations is that street children hold vital knowledge around their experiences and therefore are the greatest agents of change and resource to understanding the issue.
Listening to the debate on child protection, UNICEF spoke of its desire to re-inforce the need for a renewed focus on equity to ensure that policies to protect children reach their full potential without discrimination. Street children have been discriminated against for too long and we do have an opportunity to change this if we do listen to street children, adopt integrated approaches to tackle their needs and to share good practice. If street children are not included and seen as the driving force in this process then the revolution of change we all hope for will be a long time coming. My friend and fellow activist Diarmuid O Neill, CEO of Retrak, tweeted with a final thought which read: "Today was a landmark day at the UN Human Right Council, but we all need to work together to ensure it doesn't become a footnote." A wise warning indeed!
The painful history of Burundi is little known in the English speaking world. Despite being Rwanda's twin, its equally tortured history is often over-shadowed by its northern neighbour. Mandela and Nyerere's mediation in a lengthy but eventually successful peace process sees this small beautiful country now grappling with the realities of reconciliation, reconstruction and inevitable contradictions that peace building brings. This is my second time in the country and every day I hear stories of the many remarkable peacemakers, activists, journalists and political and church leaders who are playing their part in moving this country forward.
I've been in Bujumbura for two days. There are many changes since I was last here in 2008. Dirt roads in the centre of the city have been replaced, there are many more cars and people around as rapid urbanisation takes place and cafe's with Wi-fi, even ifs painfully, painfully slow! Two years ago I hardly saw a 'European' or 'Muzungu', as white people are known as by the locals, unless they were with the UN or NGO, but this is changing. In contrast the price of development sees an increase in urban poverty, disputes over land rights as political patronage seems the powerless poor kicked of their land, and most obvious and evident to me there are a huge number of street children living on the streets. The intensity I wrote of in my last post is much more acute as there continues to be a high military presence on the streets of Bujumbura and huge UN compounds continue to dominate space in the city. Our host Dieudonné Nahimana who is founder and director of Street Action's partner New Generation, is an example of one of those remarkable activists who at great sacrifice to himself and his family, is committed to those still searching for the dividends of peace and justice. We were taken to some of the communities living in desperately poor conditions. Many families being forced off their land to make way for the development of housing for the rich. One women we met was living in a tiny tin shack, barely any shelter for when the rains come and five children to feed. She may well be forced off the land to make way for a 'rich' investor who is building a house. Where she goes, no one knows. Without New Generation's support this is how her five young children could be forced onto the streets in order to survive. We were told that just over £40 would enable her to start a small business and enable her children to go to school. Small actions can really change lives. We moved on to another community, where a group of people who were also questioning our presence, engaged in a long discussion with Dieudonné about the lack of opportunity to send their children to school. Burundi is supposed to have universal free education, but as is the case so many African countries, the reality is very different and many children fall through the net. We finished the days back on the streets to give food to the increasing population of children making the streets their home. The contradictions of peace is often reflected by the most marginalised in society. Bujumbura's street children are the forgotten victims of the country emerging from war into peace. They are the future and a new generation finding hope in Burundi.These stories, however poorly articulated, I hope give a glimpse of the realities of the struggles for many in this complex country. We leave a hot and humid Bujumbura and head north to Muyinga and then maybe over the border to Rwanda.
I've taken a long sabbatical from blogging but arriving a Bujumbura in Burundi and delighted to find a cafe with wi-fi, there seemed no better time but to redeem this habit. I was greeted with the word 'Welcome Home' as arrived off the plane from Nairobi. I've not been here since September 2008 but as we drove in from the airport with Dieudonne our host from New Generation ( www.newgenerationburundi.org ), I felt a sense of excitement and expectation as to what changes I would witness, but also the big challenges facing this beautiful small country blighted by years of civil war, genocide and deep poverty. I've flown in from Nairobi after 5 days in Kenya , James, who is travelling with me commented how he sensed immediately this was a country recovering from conflict as we drove past the vast UN compounds and soldiers with AK 47s on show. Its good to travel with someone with fresh eyes! I can feel an intensity in the air that I can't quite articulate into words, but I've only been here for a few hours and I'm sure this will become more obvious to me as I settle back into the rhythm and life of this country.
We're staying with Dieudonne's family not far from the lake and across the road from the watchful eyes of the main UN compound. As peace starts to take hold so does the influx of returning refugees and displaced people from Burundi's troubled past. Urbanisation has its positives and negatives, but I'm told the cities population of street children is increasing. I'm here to spend time and learn from Street Action's partner New Generation and to see the change and progress made since we were last here with the New Generation team in 2008. Its a privilege to be connected to a group of inspiring activists dedicated to supporting Burundi's street children and to stand in solidarity with a 'new generation' committed to bring peace to this beautiful small central African county. I hope I can continue to blog as I go on my journey this week. It may be difficult as we travel north towards Rwanda to visit the New Generation Village that Street Action has supported this year. As I write there are several power cuts which is a reminder of the fragile progress of development, so whether this blog actually gets posted today (Tuesday) will be another matter. However, I never expected to find a cafe with wireless (sadly no mobile phone connection at all!!!) here in Bujumbura so you never know when you might hear from me next.
I'm in New York to meet with UNICEF's Child Protection team to discuss, among other things, the need for street children to be recognised on the boarder development agenda. I'm also here to present the research Street Action and its partners undertook in Durban, South Africa and explore potential collaboration with UNICEF in the future. I've often critiqued the larger agencies response to street children, or lack of it, but at the same time the pragmatist in me knows very well that without engagement with organisations such as UNICEF on the international level, Street Action, and its partners stand little little chance of pushing the issues from the streets onto the agenda. UNICEF's Child Protection Strategy sets out its contribution to national and international efforts to fulfil children's rights to protection and to achieve the Millennium Developments Goals by 2015. Street children remain a marginalised and forgotten group, despite their high levels of vulnerability, so this meeting tomorrow (today depending on where you are in the world at my time of writing) is an extremely important opportunity to ensure that the issue does not remain just a footnote to the broader issue of child protection.
On a personal level, I've come a long way from my first ever engagement with street children on the streets of East London in South Africa. As I gaze at the iconic skyline of New York's Manhattan and for all the power and wealth that it represents, I can't stop thinking of my first encounters with those children in East London, South Africa. Their lives and daily struggle changed, inspired and challenged me and impacted the course of the rest of my life. Its a privilege to be here in New York and in a small way I feel that I am representing those first children I first met (indeed all the street children I have met and still know). Many of them never lived to experience adulthood and fto ulfil their potential. Despite the violence, abuse and poverty on the streets what they taught me, and showed me every day, was their humanity despite the constant struggle unimaginable to most of us.
What UNICEF and those responsible for bringing about social and economic change in this world need to recognise is that children need to play a key role in bringing about transformation. As I have begun drafting the final research report to be published this summer, I came across a fantastic quote from Enew and Kruger (2003) which sums up perfectly the need for a more child centred participatory approach. This can bring about a much better understanding of a child's life on the streets. "Theories of space and time, of social agency and the deconstructionist approach of discourse analysis, have all led to acknowledgment that children are capable social agents who construct meaning and subvert power, as well as understanding that they are not ageless and genderless." Maybe that's all I should say tomorrow...
According to David Cameron writing in today’s Observer the Conservative programme for government is founded on a radical revolt against statist approach of the Big Government that always knows best.” So is this what the fundamental dividing line between Labour and Tory is going to be in this election? Much has been made about the frame of debate being between “big state” Labour and “big society” Tory. Labour’s manifesto pledges to deliver "active reforming government, not absent government" while Cameron’s “big society” is backing "social responsibility, not state control".
Gordon Brown spoke of this campaign being the ‘big choice election’. Last week Cameron invited us all to “join the government of Britain”. His “big society” idea was about giving power back to us so that we could take control. But is the Tories idea of ‘people power’ just a brilliant piece of spin? Is it to make us believe that small government and minimising the power of the state will cure the social ills in our society and give us control over our lives and our communities? As we begin the third week of campaigning a clear divide between the two main parties is beginning to emerge.
To be fair, in theory, giving power back to the people is a great sentiment, but as Sadie Smith argued in her Left Foot Forward blog entry last week, "Cameron's Big Society is in democratic deficit". The Conservative plans for 'little platoons of civil society' to be enouraged to start new schools, run health services and to save the local pub is not only underestimating the level at which it can increase social division, but as Smith goes on to claim the "big society" is, "merely a back-door way of allowing the wealthy and educated to clean up at the expense of those of lower social class and educational attainment."
Essentially Cameron’s Big Society is a policy of outsourcing a much higher proportion of public services than at present. But a key question we have to ask is outsourcing to whom? Cameron’s answer to what he calls the “stifling clutches of the state” is to replace it with the transformative power of social responsibility. By making government more accountable and transparent this will open, “public services to new providers unleashing the forces of innovation.” Academics and public sector experts have warned that handing control of public services to private groups of individuals could result in higher levels of corruption and inefficiency, with the reality being corporate control of schools and the breakup of the welfare state. Tony Travers of the London School of Economics (LSE) was quoted in the Guardian as stating that the take of over of public services would only happen in areas where there were large populations of entrepreneurial professionals. This is echoing Smith’s argument of the rich and wealthy taking over at the expense of the poor being left behind. Travers asks whether it would merely, “strengthen areas that already have high levels of social capital and entrepreneurship?” The result of this reinforcing difference and those at the bottom of the ladder being left on their own.
This is not to say that everything about state intervention and big government is good. Of course its not, but progressive government is about a social transaction between state and people ensuring government intervention with individual freedom. Cameron’s speech at the launch of his manifesto attempted to invoke the sprit of JFK and Obama, but James Macintyre in the New Statesman wrote how “we were struck by the similarity of its language to that of George W Bush and the "compassionate conservatism" he advocated in his 2000 presidential campaign, with its promises of "local control" for schools and competition by private groups for the provision of public services.” In other words, the sweeping privisation of the pubic services. Should we be wary of the same happening here?
If you read Labour’s manifesto what they are seeking to do is bridge the gap between state and society. Giving the public a bigger say is not a new idea, but Cameron’s “Big Society” does create a more clear dividing line between the two main parties as to how to bridge this gap will be approached. Labour advocate an active state to empower civil society; the Tories want to ‘roll back the state’ with a bigger society. There is a now a real choice and whoever wins on May 6th, the way this country is governed will change.
The" great ignored" has to be the phrase of the day in the opening political soundbites of the election campaign. This was Conservative leader David Cameron positioning himself and the Tories as the vehicle for change in the country. The idea behind the phrase is simply playing on Richard Nixon's "silent majority". But who are the "great ignored"?
Of course at face value it may look like he is talking about Britain's most marginalised, excluded and vulnerable groups. According to the Tory leader they are: "young, old, rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight" (although it was quickly pointed out by Pink News that Cameron omitted gay people from the actually words of his speech - probably after the weekends spat over B&Bs owners banning gay couples). Johnathan Bartley @jon_bartley blogged this morning that we should, "listen more clearly to what he actually say's however, and it seems to be more of an appeal to ‘law-abiding’ middle England." He goes on to question whether the "great ignored" include those unable to vote, or those voters that simply don't count: prisoners, asylum seekers, those under 18, and the millions who will vote for independents or minority parties who will have no immediate voice in this election. This is important, but a further question to ponder is who then are the unignored? Robert Shrimsley of the FT points out that, "who have the parties been listening to exactly...people may feel ignored but do they actually want that suspicion confirmed?"
But there is a "greater ignored" beyond our shores who are marginalised and vulnerable because of the polices taken by successive UK governments. Governments of rich nations in the West have an extraordinary influence on the international stage. Their decisions affect the lives of billions across the planet. These are the "greater ignored" Yet, when a national election is called, this fact is often conveniently forgotten. Global poverty and inequality, the negative affects of globalisation can become sidelined, but the 2010 election is a real opportunity to move the development debate forward. There is now cross-party consensus that global poverty is an important electoral issue and with the Millennium Development Goals set to be reached by 2015, the main political parties have committed to ensuring the targets are met. Many groups, including children living on the streets, continue be excluded from the development agenda and the process towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015. Street Action's homepage led on a news article asking what does the election mean for putting Street Children back on the agenda? http://bit.ly/afrj68 Street Children is a global issue but remains a footnote for many NGOs, policy makers and government priorities.
Its hard to not be cynical and just dismiss the "great ignored" as a mere political rhetoric, but at the same we can't turn a blind eye to what could be a key theme throughout the election. As I wrote on the Street Action web site, "Strengthening the voice of the socially excluded such as Street Children is central to enable that the principles of a rights-based agenda are built into policy dialogue with government, and to ensure that some of the most marginalised and vulnerable children on the planet are recognised and prioritised in future development policy". Britain continues to have influence on a global scale and so this election will be about the "great ignored" beyond our borders and about our moral and ethical responsibility to those that are affected by the decisions taken by those we vote for on May 6th.
The Deloitte Street Child World Cup has been taking place in Durban, South Africa all week. It has brought street children from eight different countries together where they have taken centre stage, celebrating their potential and providing a platform for them to talk about the issues that matter most to them. Football is a leveller. Ex-England and Tottenham footballer Gary Mabbut who is currently down in Durban for the Street Child World Cup spoke on BBC Five Live this week about how football is a great unifier. With eight teams from around the world and about ten different languages spoken, once you put a ball on the ground every child knows what to do and the barrier of language, culture and background are removed.
The Street Child World Cup is more than just about football. It is a chance to spotlight the issues before the FIFA World Cup in South Africa this summer. While I was in Durban last month, I blogged on a daily basis about police round-ups and the draconian use of 'forced removals' as way of 'cleaning the streets'. As I write looking out across at the Thames in London, I have just received a call from my colleague Nick who is currently in Durban for the Street Child World Cup. Nick told me there were reports coming in that for the third day in a row Durban's Metro police are rounding up street children. The Street Child World Cup is giving those working directly with the children living on the streets an opportunity and a platform to demonstrate the alternatives to forced removals. This is about engaging with the children through an array of therapeutic programs developed to bring these children through the process of rehabilitation, and then re-intergration back into community environments. Tom Hewitt, CEO and co-founder of Umthombo Street Children who are hosting the Street Child World Cup, argues that, "Street children are not a safety and security issue, but a social development issue. Police put children in the back of trucks with adults and gang members. It exposes the kids to more trauma". He said removing children for the World Cup was not about child protection but about cleaning up the streets.
The Street Child World Cup is an enormously positive and significant event and is playing its part in putting street children back on the agenda. Sadly in its shadow the reality of street life continues as cities like Durban prepare for the FIFA World Cup and street children become the victims. We posted this short film on the Street Action web site to demonstrate the reality of round-ups. Click here to view the film or go to our web site: www.streetaction.org
Sunday 11 February 1990 was a day I will never forget. Not only was it the day that changed South Africa forever, but the image of the great liberation leader walking free after 27 years in prison had a profound impact on me. I was 12 at the time. Growing up in the 1980s, the pictures, films and stories of apartheid South Africa had already begun to awaken my consciousness of a system that was unjust, but watching the TV on that Sunday afternoon twenty years ago stirred something in me that began to shape the course of my life. Since then, I have had the privilege to travel and live for a period of time in South Africa over the last 14 years. If you've read previous blog entries, you will know through my work and personal friendships and relationships, South Africa is a country I feel deeply connected to which continues to inspire, challenge and change me every time I visit.
Twenty years after Nelson Mandela was freed from prison, South Africa, against all the odds, is a vibrant democracy. Mandela was to be a remarkable leader and statesman and his history as a freedom fighter and political prisoner proved merely a warm-up act as he became a symbol or moral authority, reconciliation and an apostle of peace. However, Desmond Tutu's coinage for post-aparthied South Africa as a 'rainbow nation' has yet to be realised by many. Almost sixteen years after the end of white rule, the two worlds, black and white, are for most people very separate. Two decades on from Mandela's release, many South Africans still live in grinding poverty, official unemployment is just less than 25% but analysts say actual joblessness is much higher. The taste of freedom has not been as sweet for everyone and millions still hoping for decent housing, education and health are now looking for leadership that can tackle South Africa's economic problems. I remember reading an article by John Pilger in South Africa's Mail and Guardian who described the social and economic catastrophe as a liberation betrayal. He wrote of the 'beatification of Nelson Mandela at the death of apartheid', but argued that one should one not diminish the power of personalities, but their importance can often become a distraction from the historical forces they serve and manage a country in its quest for democracy and stability. I think Pilger is right, and as history has shown transition from apartheid to a black governed liberal democracy was only possible if the free market was embraced as a substitute to social justice for the poor.
None of this is to diminish what Mandela has achieved. Without the great man the story of South Africa's transition from white rule might have been a far bleaker ending. In 1953 in an address to the ANC Congress Mandela stated, "You can see there is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountain tops of our desires." Twenty years on South Africa is a remarkable story. True liberation may still be a long way off, but there is hope for the millions who are yet to taste the real fruits of freedom.
One of the misconceptions people hold about working with street children is that by building relationships with them and investing in their lives while on the streets you begin to normalise street life and culture for them. This is simply not the case, and this is being demonstrated by the pioneering work of Umthombo Street Children. Children come to the streets from chaotic and destructive back grounds. To choose to live on the streets rather than at home with family and community is not only an inditement on the social system, but shows that children and young people often have little choice but to escape from the harsh realities of poverty, abuse and violence. Umthombo is leading a revolution in providing alternative solutions to street life for children in Durban. Umthombo empowers children to be able to leave street life and return to community life, but through a strategy of building up trust and relationships on the streets with an array of therapeutic programs developed to bring these children through the process of rehabilitation. On my visit to Umthombo this week I've focussed a lot on the impact of 2010 and the World Cup on street children and the work of Umthombo. The 2010 World Cup is a key moment to ensure that a good citywide strategy for street children is being followed in Durban. As I've written in previous entries this week, Umthombo advocates against the use of 'enforcement' strategies such as round-ups by police. Umthombo argues that street children are a social development issue due to the hight level of trauma that children experience while living on the streets. Therefore, Umthombo's Safe Space, a therapeutic drop-in centre for street children, offers specialist mentoring and psycho-social support through a range of programmes to prepare them to return to community life. As part of our partnership with Umthombo, Street Action is investing in Safe Space and committed to continuing supporting the growth and development of the programmes they run to ensure that street children are empowered to seek a way out of street life and are geared towards reintegrating children with their families and/or communities. I return back to London tomorrow. This has been a short trip but an important one. 2010 is an important moment, but Street Action's partnerships are about long-term relationships. Its a privilege to be here and to be connected to a group of dedicated street children activists here in Durban. Ultimately, its the children who call the streets their home that are the true inspiration and educators, and the reason why I and others continue to stand in solidarity with some of South Africa's most marginalised children.
Joe is co-founder and director of Street Action ( www.streetaction.org ). Street Action was established in 2007 in the UK to support and work in partnership with pioneering street children organisations in Africa.
Joe has worked alongside street children activists since 1996 when he first traveled to South Africa. Since then he has worked with a number of pioneering street children projects and activists in South Africa as well as traveling to other Southern and Eastern African countries. Studying a degree in Politics and obtaining a Masters in Development Studies and African Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), he has worked in the field of international development and also local community development in the UK. In 2010 he was made a research associate at the The University of London's Centre of African Studies, based at SOAS. Joe is co-author of Including Street Children (2011), a research report looking at the situation of street children in Durban, South Africa.
His work has taken him to a number of countries in Southern and Eastern Africa, as well as India. He's also spent time in the United States traveling to San Francisco as well as New York and Washington DC to expand Street Action's advocacy, policy and research work.
