Russia is the
country which is focused on modernization and innovation in the economic
sphere. Russia is a developing country, though it has a problem on the way to
realize all the ambitious plans. It is street children.
There is no
exact statistics about the homeless children in Russia, so the state
departments operate different numbers. There are several reasons for that.
Firstly, there is no clear definition for the street children. The statistics mentions
different children groups: neglected children, children with no parents, social
orphans and so on. Secondly, it is
difficult to estimate the number of the street children as they often hide from
people’s eyes. Some official sources say there are 700 thousand of them; others
say there are almost a million of the street children in the country. According
to the Ministry of Internal Affairs they represent 2,17 % of Russian children,
while the total number of children in the country is 28 million. Thus, rate is two
street children per every hundred children.
Some
characteristics of the Russian street children:
- Most of the Russian street children are social orphans. Usually they have parents but choose not to live with them. The reasons for such a decision can be different: the poverty, the family conflicts, physical and psychological punishment, alcohol or drug abuse, etc.
- Most of the Russian street children decide to leave home because of psychological conflicts they experience there. The research conducted by the Russian Science Academy provides the following information: 68,2 % of the street children have psychological conflicts in the family or in the orphanages. 74,8 % of the street children want to be back to the family or orphanages. 9,2% of the street boys have a desire to serve in the army. 10 % dream to have a normal life, to create their own families and to have a job. There are 29,2 % of boys and 47,7 % of girls among the street children who do not want to be back to their past. 74,7 % of children has the desire to work. Usually, they want to be a driver, a teacher, a doctor, a soldier or a fireman. Most of the children see a good life as a future possibility after they survive during their childhood.
- · The street children live in groups. The children who are not involved into any group and who live by themselves represent only 15 % of the Russian street children.
It is
necessary to mention here that there is a shift in the phenomenon of youth
criminalization, which is becoming more organized. Nowadays 70% of homeless
youth crimes are committed by groups. This negative trend leads to the
increasing of staying in a prison. Also homeless youth involve young people who
have families but spend a lot of time outside home. Another negative tendency here
is the increasing participation of youth in grownups criminal activity. One third
of youth crime is committed by grownups guidance. Also we face the increasing rate of the homeless children from the Former
Soviet Union countries. All the negative tendencies exist in the world
perspective but it is more “popular” in Russia, a country with a street crime mafia
and rich history.
The
phenomenon of the street children is connected to the increasing number of
parents who are deprived of their parental rights. However, according to the
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs the significant part of homeless minors committing
crime, comes from successful families without any financial problems. Their
parents are not drug or alcohol abusers and they belong to a “normal” family
type.
Most
of the parents were grown up in the Soviet Union where financial success was a
rarity. Now this generation spends much time and energy to give their children all
they lacked themselves. However, while they are busy with the financial success
they forget about other children needs. The lack of parental love and their participation
in children’s life lead to children aggression and the desire to attract the
attention by deviant behavior.
The
transition to the capitalist system destroyed the old structure of
socialization without creating a new one. As a result the number of free
preschool institution, schools for children was reduced while the income level
of the most families was not. Now
children have a limited access to public sport, music, draw, dance school and
other children entertainment activity and recreation center which used to be a
significant part in socialization. The secondary education turned to be
optional and be the higher education became commercialized. It also effected in
a negative way. Earlier it was obligatory to finish high school. Nowadays young
people are required to study only nine years.
The last two years at high school are optional. Moreover, if the studying
during these nine years was not successful for the child, he cannot continue
the education. Meanwhile the institution of higher education requires to
complete 11 years of high school. Quite many young people at their age of 15 do
not continue their education nor do not work.
They do not
need public education, the street gives them necessary for their “unique” life: need something – take it no
matter how. Unfortunately, this kind of education often leads to the sad
future. It is a well-known fact that street children are the main reserve for
the juvenile correction. According to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs
60% of Russian street children became the criminal offenders.
There is a
plenty of researches about homeless youth conducted by state and independent
organizations (like UNISEF) as it is one of the main social problems in the
country. Most of the recommendations are created to solve the problems and they
can be divided into three groups:
1.
The improving interaction between
organizations working with youth in the existing government system; the
improving the law system and increasing the financial resources; the creating
of special government body subordinated by President Administration and
responsible for solving this problem.
2.
The developing preventive methods.
I decided to
tell about the Russian street children as it is the perfect way to illustrate
how changing of the systems and values leads to the social problems. Russia
transferred from socialism to the system of market relations because people
were tired to be controlled by the government and they looked for a freedom to
control their lives by themselves. Nowadays Russian people have more
opportunities and possibilities than before, but they still expected the
government to protect them from vulnerable groups of population. However, when
people rely on the government, the obligation to concern children issues exists
in every country.
It is often
said in literature that street children exist in economically poor countries.
However, the Russian example shows that it is not the key factor. According to
the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation, the
government spends averagely 1,7 thousand dollars on one orphanage per month. Most
of the Russian children living with their families do not have such financial
resources. Moreover, there are different
special programs. However, it does not
help to improve the situation. The critics say that the problem is that
children are not involved to anything but study. It makes them to have a
consumer attitude toward the government.
The Russian
history analysis shows that the country had a better success to reduce the
number of the street children after the Russian Civil War and World War II. The
devastated country with poor financial resources used to solve all these
problems. The specialists speak about schools and communities with much
attention to the labor education. Education and labor became the principals for
the process of decriminalization. Thus children had a clear idea in the mind that
they have to work hard, to earn their own money to survive and rely on them.
Do you think
the government is able to protect the children without participation of the
society? What are the concrete steps for the government?
