'OVER 90% OF STREET CHILDREN IN KARACHI ARE DRUG ADDICTS'

KARACHI: Over 90 percent out of 30,000 street children in the
metropolis are addicts of different drugs while 74 percent of these
addicts are involved in either glue sniffing or hashish and 15 percent
consume heroin.

In relation to reason for drug use, newly runaway street children
start using drugs owing to peer pressure of colleagues to forget their
previous life memories, prevent themselves from cold, get confidence,
ease hunger pain and forget fear, anxiety & sadness. After becoming
drug addict, they need money to buy narcotics, thus they start begging
and utilizing other illegal means of income.

This wad informed by President Initiator Human Development Foundation
Working for Street Children Rana Asif Habib while talking to Daily
Times. Referring to a report, he said the prevalence of drug addict
street children and drug selling through them is on the rise in
Jamshed, Saddar, Gulberg and Lyari Towns.

Ironically, glue has not been declared as drug in the country and
everyone even children has easy access to it at shops. Street children
tend to glue because it is cheaper than other drugs. A large number of
street children also take sleeping pills while 60 percent of them are
involved in drinking wine. The street children selling sleeping pills,
which they easily bought from medical stores in Keamari Town, is
called Formula Group, he stated.

When asked why these children do not go back to home as more violence
and discrimination is committed against them as compare to homes, Rana
said the mafia looks after street children and keep vigil on them, so
they do not want to go back to home as they enjoy a free, happy and
luxurious life as compared to their homes where they only see
deprivation and hardly get two times meals. On the contrary, they
easily get better meal at the welfare camps set up at various points
in the city, so they do not beg for meal but for drugs. Though, these
children become victim of violence, but the mafia provides them
recreational activities like cinema, travelling, drugs and others as
well on their good performance, he said.

Poverty, domestic violence and violence at schools and seminaries are
the reasons that compel children to come to the streets by leaving
their homes for ever. The ages of these children are between 06 to 18
years, he further informed.

Interestingly, the government vanish (detain) them in view of any
important event in the city, which shows that the issue can be
resolved if the government wants so, he said.

Rana said that child protection bill had been pending in the national
and the provincial assemblies for six years. "Twenty eight percent of
these street children are Barmi, Bangali and Afghani. How would these
illegal immigrants get national identity cards after becoming adults,"
he questioned.

He urged the government to establish child protection authority and
child protection bureaus under the Home and the Social Welfare
Departments. "There is need of capacity building of police and other
law enforcement agencies to tackle the challenge in largest interest
of the country."

He also stressed the need to develop coordination among home
department, anti-narcotic force, social welfare department and health
ministry. How could this menace be addressed as there is no
rehabilitation center at the government level for street children,
whereas there is only one ward in the biggest city of the country,
which is at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPGM) for drug
addict patients, which is insufficient to meet the requirement, he
pointed out.

The street children are too reluctant to visit to hospitals due to the
ravish attitude of doctors and paramedics because of their behavior
haunts them, Rana said.

He said: "The use of drugs could not be brought to an end unless
smuggling of drugs is halted in the city. Children who leave, run
away, or forced to take refuge in the streets are generally attracted
to Karachi, the economic capital of the country. Therefore, street
children are extremely visible in all 18 towns of the city."

The exact number of street children in Karachi is unknown. A look at
railway stations or bus stands strengthens the prevailing notion that
the arrival of any train/bus from rural areas of the country increases
the number of street children in Karachi.

Mr Rana said, " The street children start taking drugs soon after
smoking cigarettes, taking chewable tobaccos (Gutka) and sleeping
pills, thus they shortly incline to glue or solvent sniffing and
hashish and gradually become heroin and wine addicts. The survival
rate in heroin addicts is very low as compared to other drugs.

Chanessor Goth, Nazimabad, Sheerin Jinnah Colony, Lyari 8 Chock,
Chakiwara, Bihar Colony, Dalmia, Neelam Colony, Khudad Colony, Moosa
Colony, Machar Colony, Ibrahim Hyderi and Chashma Goth are main areas
where these children easily get hashish, he revealed.

The areas where they get heroin include Chanessor Goth, North Karachi,
Burns Road, Rerhi Goth, Lyari, Eido Muhalla, Eisa Nagri, Kalapul,
Hazara Colony, Nazimabad No 2, Metrovil, Nusrat Bhutto Colony and
Sheri Jinnah Colony, he added.

He further informed that two types of heroin are available - one is
called number 1 which cost Rs100 per token while the other is called
number 2 which cost Rs 25 per token in retail. The choice of most
street children who are addict of heroin is no 2 because of its low
cost.

Use of street children in crimes: "Mafia use them as informer to
commit robbery in houses, sell drugs and commit other street crimes.
After constant visits to houses for begging, they are well aware about
the number and timings of households presence. On their information
robbers commit dacoities in the absence of males at houses. The street
children also steal parts of vehicles. The lower grade black sheep
cops are also involved in trafficking and selling drugs and patronize
them," he claimed.

Drug mafia also use street children for selling drugs and committing
street crime as these children give sweet drink or other eating
substance mixed with intoxicant as relic and loot them after becoming
unconscious, Rana Habib told.

"While talking to street children, the researchers came to know that
street children use various kinds of drugs regularly. Out of these
children, 75% smoke cigarettes, 74% use hashish & glue while15%
consume heroine", he informed.

"If the tendency of violence is not stopped and no measures is taken
by the government to rehabilitate the street children today, then they
would be criminals of tomorrow," he concluded.