CHILDREN ON THE STREETS OF BRAZIL

The issue of street children is one that has gained high international publicity and concern. Indeed, the very nature of street children and their public place in the major economic centres around the world heightens this concern. It is a problematic and emotive issue as it relates to the most vulnerable and marginalised group in any society: children. However, it is also a very complex situation, and the root of any solution can only be found in consideration of that complexity. In this short article I hope to identify some of the main reasons why international constitutional reform has not translated into reality for the lives of disadvantaged children around the world. However, I also hope to point to some of the main issues concerning the lives of street children, and the development of legal, and practical aid and support for poor children in Brazil.

Brazil's Situation

The growth in the number of street children has become a matter of great concern in Brazil, and due to the international publicisation of this problem the image of the street child has in many respects become synonymous with Brazil. It is clear that the problem at hand is the result of a long-term lack of public sector investment. It is a problem which is linked with socio-economic trends in Brazil and which requires the engagement of all sections of Brazilian society in order for it to be resolved.

Brazil’s economy has expanded massively since the end of WWII (1960-1980 GDP rose by 4.1%, annual growth rates: 10%)(1) and this is intimately linked with demographic trends, which have seen the rapid rise of rural-urban migration and the natural growth of these populations. These trends are very much connected to the appearance of children living and working in the streets of Brazil. The squatter settlements or 'favelas' (shanty towns) which grew on the outskirts of cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, during various migrationary periods were stigmatised from the beginning, particularly with the arrival of ex-slaves to the cities after abolition in 1888. The physical coming together of these separate communities(2) caused a friction that still dominates the social and cultural structure of Brazilian urban society, and which has both positive and negative outcomes.

Despite the diversification and modernisation of the economic structure of Brazil since the end of WWII, massive income discrepancies remain and the living standards of most has not improved. A recent study by the IBGE(3) (The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), which looked at the development of social issues between 1992 and 1999, has claimed that despite the improvement of many problems, such as illiteracy, Brazil is notorious for the massive inequalities between the rich and the poor, men/women, whites/ blacks, Southerners/Northerners. Brazil comes third after Swaziland and Sierra Leone in a list of the most economically divided countries in the world, which considering that Brazil's economy is within the top ten economies in the world is extremely perplexing. Such divisions tend to permeate relations between groups with extreme stigmatisation against the poorest in society. For children, the most vulnerable group in society, this has become an extremely precarious situation.

The decisions made by policy makers and the framework that this creates within legislation influences the lives of street children profoundly. Brazil was controlled by a military dictatorship from 1964 until 1984/85, before this period social policy in Brazil had been very much framed around the ideas of marginalisation theory, through which the poorest in society were systematically blamed for their position, the dictatorship compounded this. Though theoretically we have moved away from this, in practice this attitude is still very much present. These approaches took the form of simply curative rather than preventative projects, underpinned by the trickle-down theory of modernisation, which emphasised investment in the private sector and cutbacks in the public sector. The Development strategies of the World Bank and the IMF promoted this, and as a result the economic and social development of Brazil is now severely constrained by and external debt of $262 billion.

Practically, in terms of how the government 'dealt' with the growing street children 'problem', this meant that the social programmes which existed were competitive and poorly managed and resources tended to go towards the upkeep of agencies rather than into projects (Rizzini, 1994: 76). The result was the emergence of institutionalisation as a quick-fix way of removing children from the streets. It has been proved by many sociological and anthropological studies(4) that such institutionalisation has not been effective, as for many street children the street is their home. Simply removing them from the streets has not proved effective, particularly for teenagers, as they are placed in a foreign world without being in control, in contrast to their high levels of independence on the streets. The result has been that those who are simply institutionalised often run away, refuse help in future and are extremely frustrated and depressed if they remain institutionalised. Tobias Hecht also points to the normalisation of institutionalisation within the lives of street children, as another means of temporary survival, rather than it having any real effect or significantly changing the children's lives. The acceptance of street children as citizens in their own right and capable of making decisions is therefore believed to be essential. This is clearly vital in the inclusion of children and particularly teenagers in the design of projects and the direction of the help and support given to them is able to emerge.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child(5) (1989) is regarded as a historic breakthrough, the zenith of the struggle to ameliorate children’s position in society, through the reconceptualisation of childhood and the restructuring of approaches dealing with children, in mainstream development discourse. The protection rights in the Convention were thus phrased in more practical terms than they had been in the past, and the first steps towards the recognition of children as ‘social actors’. This has been central within the contemporary Chldren’s Rights Movement, which has aimed at the acceptance of children as complete citizens and individuals, with their own human rights and the ability to competently exercise them.

After the economic crisis of the 1980s and the subsequent disintegration of the military dictatorship, Brazil developed one of the most advanced constitutions on the rights of the child in the world. The National Movement of Street Children in 1985 and the First National Street Children’s Congress in 1986, in which over 500 street and working children took part played significant roles within this development. The children particularly condemned the actions of FUNABEM(6) and demanded an end to institutional violence, a right to citizenship, better education and better living conditions, which gave street children a more positive public image and set the agenda for children’s place in Constitutional reform (Rizzini:78). The constitution incorporates the principles of the UNCRC and goes further than the Convention on some issues. The Statute of the Child and the Adolescent adopted in 1990 obliges government at all levels to establish councils for The Defence of the Rights of the Child and Adolescent with representatives from both government and civic groups.

In reality, however, conditions for all children in Brazil continue to reflect the inequalities within Brazilian society. More than half of Brazi'ls children live in families below the poverty line (less than half the minimum wage per capita)(7). In fact the UN's Report on Human Development (2001) indicates that the number of people surviving in Brazil with less than $1 per day has risen since last year.

It is estimated that over 7 million children have to work for a living in Brazil, some for more than 40 hours per week. The vast majority of street children maintain some contact with their families, but poverty and violence often prevent them from returning home. Life on the streets is seen as an escape to freedom, however, poverty, violence and drugs remain the vices of street life. Despite legislative progress, the lack of sustainable social programmes to address the main issues affecting favela communities, particularly during the 1990s, has meant that the actual situation of children in Brazil has improved little and extremely slowly in the last few years. A process of change has continued, however, the implementation of these various changes have proved difficult due to a lack of political and financial will at all levels. Certainly, there have been major improvements in the quality of the public education system, but the major rights set down by the Brazilian Constitution have not actively filtered down, and the public image of disadvantaged children continues to be synonymous with criminality and violence.

A Lack of Commitment?

During the last fifty years the institutionalisation of the notion of ‘development’ has led to the reconfiguration of international economic, political and social power structures. The emergence of international development agencies has shifted the structure of colonial power relations into ever more pervasive, structured, institutional spheres of influence. The heightened level of influence of the North over the South is implicit within this.

Task Brasil was established in 1992 by Ligia da Silva and three supporters. She and others had witnessed the shocking conditions that young people were exposed to, with no home, no access to health care or education, and under the constant threat of violence.

Task Brasil became a UK registered charity a year later, and began work raising awareness of the situation and supporting local shelters. Yet it was clear that what was needed was a permanent base in Brazil where street children could receive health care and education and above all find a loving place to live. Help came in the form of rock legend Jimmy Page. He had seen the squalid conditions of the shantytowns whilst in Rio in 1994, and realised the urgency of the city’s social problems.

With his £130,000 donation in 1997, Task Brasil was able to purchase a house with a large paved yard in the hilltop district of Santa Teresa in Rio de Janeiro. Casa Jimmy started functioning in October 1998 and took its first intake from the most vulnerable groups: the youngest children and the pregnant teenage girls. Local key-workers, as well as youth and social workers were employed to provide specialist care. Since then, one hundred and fifty-one children and pregnant teenagers have benefited from the home. Casa Jimmy is supported by the Prefeitura (local council and mayor) of Rio de Janeiro.

There are three projects in action. ‘Crescer’ is for the 1-7 age group, providing a stable and loving home, and access to nurseries or schools and medical treatment. ‘Dar a luz’ allows pregnant teenagers to give birth in safety and comfort, and gives them training in child-care and vocational courses to give them independence in the future. Finally there is the ‘Proximo a Rua’, an outreach programme with young people still living on the streets, which provides them with discussion groups, and educational and recreational activities. We are also currently in the process of setting up a project run by a coalition of the teenagers and the staff involved in our outreach programme, to set up a self-sustained farm on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.

Task Brasil’s projects have done a great deal to improve the lives of children living on the streets but there is still much that needs to be done. With the help of CGU insurance, Task Brasil has also managed to secure funding for a piece of land alongside Casa Jimmy where it is hoped two more homes will be established, to house more of the great numbers of young people in need of help. Our aim is to establish a separate house for pregnant teenagers and one as an overnight shelter for children and teenagers who are still on the streets. Although institutionalisation is never an answer, it is clear that small projects can create a stable environment which does not trap the children and teenagers and allows them to voluntarily make positive decisions about their lives. Our aim is to create an environment where this can take place.

Everything that has been achieved so far is due to the many people who have given their time and raised the money needed to fund the projects. All support to the work of Task Brasil is gratefully received.

Julia Sauma – Task Brazil