DELHI, INDIA – Delhi has been unusually cold this winter. The cold is particularly merciless at nights, at times dipping below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. At 11 p.m. it’s time to go to bed for Farman, a local child. He walks toward a corner under the flyover, or overpass, and hurls himself under a tattered jacket, his only piece of warm clothing.
After laying down some newspapers as bedding, he and his friends decide to warm up by making a tiny bonfire from the trash Farman collected from a nearby pile. Farman says they often sleep without food. But together, they survive the winters on the streets of Delhi.
Farman and his friends Gulzar, Sahib and Rafiq are a part of the invisible population of thousands of children who sleep on the roads in the Indian capital of Delhi, battling harsh nights all winter long.
In Delhi, advocates say there are no dedicated shelters for kids. But that’s OK with Farman. He and many children here say they prefer the streets to the shelters, where abuse is common. Despite a Supreme Court ruling a year ago that ordered the government to make arrangements for the homeless – especially during the winter – provisions for children who are homeless are lacking, as Farman and thousands of other children roam the streets.
Among the urban poor in Delhi, these children are among the most marginalized. In Delhi, a city of more than 14 million people, there are just 64 permanent shelters and 86 temporary shelters, none of which are dedicated to children. In total, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, the government entity that manages the shelters, says city shelters can accommodate only 12,000 of the city’s estimated homeless population of more than 150,000.
A 2010 survey ordered by the government here revealed that there are nearly 8,000 children who are homeless in Delhi. Local NGOs, however, say the number is likely between 10,000 and 50,000. Estimates by international bodies put the number even higher. The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, estimates there are 100,000 children who are homeless in Delhi alone. In all of India, UNICEF suggests there are more than 11 million children living on the streets.
Root Causes of Child Homelessness
Durga is trying to warm up his little sister. He made some fire with a few sticks and some discarded plastic bags. Durga says he does not know how old he is. His sister is small. She could not be more than 4. When asked where their parents are, he shrugs.
“Don’t have,” Durga says, shivering.
And where do they sleep? He points toward the open ground opposite the posh Nizamuddin area, an upper-class residential neighborhood of Delhi.
“We haven’t eaten for the whole day,” he adds.
Kids who are homeless in the city fall into various categories, says Sanjay Gupta, director of Childhood Enhancement Through Training and Action, CHETNA, an NGO that works for children’s rights in Delhi. Children with a parent tend to gather in certain areas of the city, while runaways and other children who are alone gather around railway stations and other high-traffic areas.
Gupta says many of the children who find themselves alone on the streets are often from families of migrant workers who move from town to town in search of better employment. Others, he says, are older children or teens who run away to escape poverty, abuse or family disputes.
“I ran away from home because my father used to beat me,” says Farman, who says he now earns his food money as a ragpicker. “He used to beat my mother also.”
Farman is witty. He likes to talk. And he has a lot of opinions, especially when it comes to the city shelters here.
“There are only elders at the shelter homes,” Farman says. “They are drunk and abusive. They make us do their work and even beat us.”
Farman fidgets. He tries to fix the zipper on his jacket as he repeatedly smells a piece of cloth in his hand that he says contains paint thinner. The fumes, he admits, make him high.
“We sniff fluid to keep ourselves warm,” he says.
Sahib, a friend of Farman’s, says the dangers of being young and alone here are many. But, like Farman, he says he prefers the street.
“An old man tried to pull me in his blanket,” Sahib says of his experience in a city shelter. “He touched me badly. I ran from there. My blanket and jacket got stolen.”
Gupta confirms that the shelters are no place for children.
“In the first place, kids rarely get an opportunity to get into shelter homes,” Gupta says. “And if somehow they manage to get in, they are taken for granted and even exploited. There are no arrangements for them.”
Recently, the National Human Rights Commission sent a notice to the government demanding explanations to some uneasy questions regarding children in India who are homeless, including why there aren’t any homes dedicated to children and what are the kinds of problems children face in traditional shelters.
Still, advocates say that when governments do offer dedicated shelters for children, they are unpopular because of the restrictions.
“These kids don’t go to children homes because they that can’t move in and out at their will,” says Subrata De of the Delhi chapter of ActionAid International, an anti-poverty agency that operates in more than 40 countries. “They see these homes more like jails.”
But De acknowledges that in Delhi, something needs to be done for the thousands of children wandering the streets. And child-centric shelters are often the answer. But first, the state will need to win the trust of these kids, De says.
“These children-specific homes should have a regular supply of food and also recreation,” De says.
Gupta of CHETNA agrees.
“There should be one shelter home per 100,000 people,” Gupta says. “That means that the city should have around 140 such homes.”
He says his group is lobbying to create a definite policy and identify specific locations where these centers can be created.
For De, physical space is only half the battle. The children need emotional support, too.
“The coping mechanisms of children are different,” De says. “Most of them are chemical users. They use readily available substances like fluid thinner as a part of their coping mechanism. These kids need additional support, adequate protection security and sensitive handling. The government should consider these issues and make necessary arrangements.”
Although these temporary solutions are a crucial first step, De says her organization is also calling for more long-term support for these children to make sure they don’t fall back into poverty.
“We also demand policy measures to convert good intentions into permanent rights for homeless children,” De says.
India is a signatory of several international legal instruments to protect children, including the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, know as the CRC. But De says there is little accountability on the highest level here. Government officials did not return calls or e-mails requesting comment.
“A homeless child has a right to survive like other children and develop as a responsible citizen of the country,” De says. “The current scenario where homeless children are getting invisible is a clear violation of CRC.”
For Farman and his friends, the main goal is keeping warm. So far this winter, seven people have died. The tally last winter was more than 300.
Before night falls, Farman looks up and rushes toward a slowing car. Someone is distributing blankets. The group of children sprint toward the car and chase it far down the street. But by the time they reach it, the blankets are already gone.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to comply with the Global Press Style Guide.
