January 31, 2007

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Alone in the Streets

By Rosario Adriana Alcázar González

SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS -- Juanito's black eyes squint against the burning sun reflected off the asphalt. In his small, dirty hands, he carries a  piece of rubber and a soda bottle of soapy water. His little, uncombed head moves to the rythym of the passing cars as he waits for the light to turn, for the cars to stop, and for his 70 seconds of action to begin.

Red light. Impatience and adrenaline flood Juanito's small body. He leaps onto a car's hood and starts to wash its windshield, hoping for a few pesos in return. But coins aren't always what he gets—some drivers scold or insult him, and others start to drive off with him still on the hood.

Alone in the Streets

Juanito, 11, and his friends repeat moments like these a hundred times a day at a busy intersection in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. These boys are used to adventure and disappointment. They play like children and work like adults. But they are kids alone on the streets, and the risks they run are many: at any moment they could be hit by a car, exploited by adults, or seduced by the quick euphoria of drugs.

"I've tried them," said Juanito Diaz, opening his eyes wide, but then dropping his gaze. Three years ago, he says an older boy introduced him to sniffing glue. "I didn't want to, but he made me. He put the can under my nose," he said.

Now Juanito uses drugs, mostly glue and marijuana, whenever people offer them, which he says happens about twice a week. "What do I feel? First, like I'm flying. Then I get really sleepy," he said, again waiting for the light to turn.

In 2000, Juanito, his father, and four brothers came to the city from Chenalhó, a community about 10 miles away. Eight years ago, his mother died while giving birth to his younger brother, Mario, who now helps him clean windshields. "We came to San Cristóbal because my dad couldn't find work in Chenalhó. He doesn't have land, and we didn't have anything to eat," he said, counting change.

During the last 30 years, the population of San Cristóbal has grown exponentially, doubling nearly every decade, according to the National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Information (INEGI by its Spanish initials.) Most of the newcomers are indigenous families like Juanito's, forced out by the increasing difficulty of earning a living from farming or expelled from their communities for religious or political reasons.

Most of the kids who work on the streets come from indigenous migrant families, according to data collected by Melel Xojobal, an organization that helps child workers and their families. They do a variety of jobs in San Cristóbal, from helping attend market stalls, to shining shoes, to selling crafts to tourists. In many of these jobs, children work alongside or near their parents.

But other jobs take children far away from family supervision. Marisol Vega, coordinator of the Street Team at Melel Xojobal, said that in the last three years the number of children working alone or far from family has increased. "They sell bootleg movies and sweets, they juggle and clean windshields. Every day more children and teenagers work these kinds of jobs that take them out of their family circle," she said.

Vega said that most kids who work in the streets live with their families. But although they have homes to return to at night, many spend their days with strangers, use drugs, and participate in the sale of contraband."There are places in the city where illicit activities are really common, such as in the market. There, it's really easy for children and teens to find or sell drugs," said Antolin Diezmo, part of Melel Xojobal's Street Team.

Though Juanito uses drugs, he still attends elementary school in the afternoons, after a morning of work. He is in fifth grade and wants to stay in school so that he can become a teacher. Juanito's father and older brothers sometimes have to travel to other cities for construction work, leaving Juanito and Mario to take care of themselves and get themselves to school.

Another boy who is called El Payaso, The Clown, also works at the intersection, but he has taken a different path. Like Juanito, he has lived in a one-parent family since his father emigrated to the United Sates five years ago. But El Payaso, 12, dropped out of elementary school this year.

El Payaso, an introverted, small boy with perpetually dirty clothes, said he buys drugs from an older kid El Muecas, Funny Face, who comes by the intersection sometimes. Other times he sells for El Muecas and gets a joint in exchange. "Why do I sell it? Because I like it," he said.

Mariana Castellanos Méndez, a psychologist in charge of the municipal government's program Prevention and Attention for At-Risk Children said, "The problem of children workers that take or sell drugs is a societal one. It is caused by the disintegration of the family, the economic crisis, and the lack of dignified jobs for children."

Méndez also said that it is important for child workers to learn marketable skills that will bring them economic independence later in life. Juanito tried construction work a few years ago. He was hired as a mason's assistant and worked alongside his father and older brothers.

But the work was brutal, especially for a child. "I only lasted six months," he said, "It was really hard work. I had to carry cinderblocks and sacks of cement and only had Sundays off." Juanito said he earned between 150 to 200 pesos (about $15 to $20 USD) per week depending on how hard he worked.

He started working at the intersection, first selling washcloths for a man called Don Ezequiel, who paid him 50 centavos (about $.05 USD) per cloth.

He soon realized that he could do better washing windshields at the stoplight, but before he could begin, he had to ask Don Ezequiel for permission. The children who work at the stoplight believe that Don Ezequiel built the light in order to sell his products—cleaning rags and car air fresheners.

Juanito says that selling in the street "really doesn't make sense. You work and walk a lot, and you earn little because you have to give everything to your boss, sometimes you only make 25 or 40 pesos [about $2.50-$4 USD]," he said preparing a little more soapy water.

The municipal Institute of Human Development (IDH) runs a center of attention for children that live and/or work in the street. Their objective is to get kids of the street by offering them yearly scholarships and conducting workshops for their families. But their project struggles with "time and budget limitations as well as a lack of continuity. Every three years a new mayor is elected, causing a change of staff," Castellanos Méndez said.

Although 122 at-risk children take part in the program, Castellanos Méndez said that they don't have the resources to serve children who are drug addicts. She said that drug rehabilitation centers exist, but that they are unequipped to deal with children. "We can only give them psychological help, but many stop coming and there isn't much follow-through," said Castellanos Méndez.

Alone in the Streets

But even when programs such as Méndez's exist, they don't appeal to all children. While Juanito participates in sports and workshops when given the opportunity, el Payaso is reluctant to take part in activities that don't pay in drugs or money.

Both Vega and Castellanos Méndez agree that the best way to fight the problem of drug addiction among child workers is through prevention and information.

In addition to educating children about the risks and consequences of drug use, "we have to create alternatives for them,"said Vega. "The government should play a important role in this," she said, noting that more artistic, athletic, and cultural activities should be offered. "If these things don't exist, well, drug use will be the option."

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