Lost Boys: A life of crime, a life on the streets

By Antonio L. Colina IV and Ivy C. Tejano

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

IT ALL starts on the streets. They start out as young children looking for peers, companions, defenders, gangs. And as they turn out to be more streetwise, they too turn to some other vices and crimes that prey on the lost: prostitution, drug addiction, and crimes.

Jane Romarate, a social worker at Boys Town in Maa, said the problem of street children and children in conflict with the law (CICLs) are intertwined in a vicious battle for survival: survival through food so as to live another day, and survival against other gangs preying on the helpless.

Sixteen-year-old Che from Surigao del Sur is a self-confessed thief, further admitting that she stole to survive as she made her way from her small town to the big city. She was arrested last March 15. At her age, she already has a live-in partner, a 19-year-old man who is also unemployed. “We need to steal so for us to survive,” Che said in the vernacular. Theft and robbery isn’t new to her. Her parents were into these, too. There were even times when they worked as a team. Her live-in partner and she would break into a house while her parents serve as lookout. “We don’t steal everyday only when needed. We have a complicated life, I know. But this is the only way we could easily earn. My parents don’t have a job, so they can’t afford to send us to school,” Che said. She does not fear being arrested so much because she knows she’s a minor.

Superintendent Johnson Almazan, chief of the Davao City Police Office’s Investigation and Detection Management Branch (DCPO-IDMB), said this is one of the problems of the policemen nowadays. Some children even walk around with their birth certificates, all set to present these whenever they are caught. But while not all street children are into crime, the prevalence of crime among this vulnerable group has stigmatized them all such that, Romarate said, some are picked up on the streets for no apparent crime and sent to the Women and Children’s Protection Desk of the police for vagrancy.

Jodelyn Tungal, a social worker at Boys Town in Maa, said poverty is the most common cause that leads children to commit crime. In addition to this are family problems, peer pressure, and lack of attention from parents and the community. It is in order to prevent these from happening to boys from poor families that Boys Town operates here. Run by the Salesian of Don Bosco community, Boys Town accepts indigents and abandoned boys sent by family or relatives who can no longer tend to their needs. “After they will graduate from high school kuhaon sila balik (they will be returned to their families),” Tungal said. By providing for the needs of the boys, they become less vulnerable to a life of crime.

Key for children from poor families to grow up without turning to crime is family support and care. It may not necessarily be financial, given the dire straits the family is in, but open communication and quality time with parents can do a lot of good to a child. “Ang mga teenagers man gud karon naa sa critical stage, kung walay open communication sa pamilya, mangita sila og laing tao nga mapagawasan sa ilang problema (The teenagers are at a critical stage such that when there is no open communication within the family, they will look for some other people to share their problems with),” she said. Most of the time, the support that cannot be found within the family is found with peers on the streets.

Roy, 17, a ward of Boys Town, said had he not been brought to the center, he would have been among the youth who are stealing and getting into trouble. “Nagpasalamat ko nga naa ko dire (I’m thankful that I am here now),” he said. “Nakahibalo ko kung unsaon mahimong leader, na-improve akong knowledge, attitude, and personality (I learned how to become a leader. My knowledge has improved, as well as my attitude and personality).” But not all children are alike; some just seem inclined toward what is bad.

Fifty-one-year-old Art of Bangkal admits he has gone through a lot just to have his son rehabilitated, but he’s as wild as ever. He said he has sent his son to a rehabilitation many times, and even spent thousands of pesos for his son’s treatment, hoping that he will return to a normal life, but that did not happen. “Depende lang jud siguro na sa bata. Ni dako naman lang akong ana pero hantod karon wala lang man kabag-ohan sa iya (Maybe it really depends on the child. My child is all grown up now and yet he has reformed his ways). But I will not quit on guiding my son. This is a challenge also for the parents, you take care of your children,” Art said.

Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on April 18, 2012.

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2012/04/18/lost-boys-life-crime-life-streets-216867

P E R S O N A L    R E A C T I O N 

     Nowadays, many children around the world have dropped out of school and are living on the streets. Almost all of them are combating for survival in many ways, such as stealing. Are they happy with what they are doing or were just forced to do it for existence? Who to blame -- the government, their own self or their parents?

   I remembered the last time I went to Boracay for vacation. As I was walking together with my sister who is a resident there, we witnessed how the group of boys attacked an American and immediately grabbed his cellphone. They were like ten of them and around 14 to 19 years of age. It seems like it was already planned because they were scattered in different places. The American was surrounded by the eight boys and they were passing the cellphone to one another until it reached the last guy and they immediately left. I asked my sister about that and she told me the different issues regarding robbery in the place. This issue is not only in Boracay but also in different places here in the Philippines.

     Poverty would be one of the reasons why children these days are into this kind of situation. But who must be blame, the government, their own self or their families? Government is doing their part by providing different organizations regarding children welfare. For me, their families especially their parents must be blame why their children is not on the right track. If they were just concern on the life of their children then these things wouldn’t happen. As what Che said in the article; “We don’t steal everyday only when needed. We have a complicated life, I know. But this is the only way we could easily earn. My parents don’t have a job, so they can’t afford to send us to school.” That statement proves how irresponsible some parents could be. As stated also in the article; Key for children from poor families to grow up without turning to crime is family support and care. It may not necessarily be financial, given the dire straits the family is in, but open communication and quality time with parents can do a lot of good to a child. Parents must be enlightened and act upon on their responsibilities for their children. As an advocate of this issue, we must work hand in hand for the better welfare not only for our lost boys in the country but also to those youth who are prone to this kind of crime.