Abandoned children deserve better care

The government programme for abandoned young children, Chhoto Moni Nibas, operating in six small centres located in six divisions, is doing a relatively commendable job of giving care to those without parents. However, like any facilities run by the state, they are not without problems. In fact, there have been complaints about the service that is provided, as well as allegations of corporal punishment and even forced religious conversion, but the main problem facing the children is the lack of a family environment. This could be solved if there were a uniform law or easy procedures for adoption through which the children could be taken in by interested couples without any hassle.

However, we do not have such laws that address adoption comprehensively. A law was enacted in 1972 to ensure the adoption of war children, but it was repealed in 1982 due to various complaints. For this, couples interested in adopting have to jump through many hoops to get approval, not to mention the still-unfriendly social attitude to adoption of children without parental identity. Sometimes they have to go to family courts. But many still cannot adopt – which can be understood from an estimate saying that 39 percent of the children in the Chhoto Moni Nibas system have not been adopted. For children who are not lucky enough to find a home, the future can be dismal. If they are not adopted by the time they reach the age of seven, they are transferred to government family homes where they can remain until they turn 18. However, without proper guidance and care, many end up getting involved in drugs and crimes.

Something very similar often happens with the vast number of street children in Bangladesh, many of whom are also abandoned or otherwise estranged from their families. Approximately 1.6 million street children live in the country, with 75 percent of them residing in the capital, according to an estimate. The number of street children in Dhaka alone, according to the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, stands at about 450,000. Non-government organisations working for street children say these minors often engage in various illicit activities, such as drug trafficking, theft, and robbery. More concerning is the fact that children, who lack any form of assistance or protection, are denied most of their basic rights and get addicted to drugs at extremely young ages.

This is very unfortunate. There is no denying that children are our future, and if they are not cared for and guided properly, that future is bound to be bleak. If we want a future free of crime and social disturbance, the state must ensure proper care for abandoned children. It should expand its coverage of services and bring as many of them within the purview of its support programme as possible. These children already come from a background of trauma; it is the state's duty to make sure they don't continue to live in that trauma for the rest of their lives.