Three boys were sleeping on a footpath in the Vatara area of the capital around 1:10 pm on Thursday. When called by this correspondent, one of them – 14-year-old Siddique (not real name) – got up and looked with sleepy eyes.
About his way of life on the footpaths, he said that he used to seek alms with his grandmother in the area several years back.
“At one stage, I got acquainted with some other street children. Gradually, I began to sniff dandy (a type of glue) with them,” he said, adding that he needs a small pot of adhesive – which can be bought from any hardware store – per day.
Thousands of street urchins are abusing different drugs day and night across the country as the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) and the law enforcement agencies fail to take effective preventive measures.
Besides, the government projects are apparently failing to bring the drug addict street children back to a normal life, losing a big amount of funds of the exchequer. Addiction also drives these children towards different sorts of crimes.
According to a recent study conducted by a number of teachers, research unit staff and students of Gono Bishwabidyalay, 76% (64% male and 12% female) of street children admitted to taking different drugs like dandy, ganja and other substances.
The study engaged 50 street children – 39 males and 11 females – in Savar, Jahangirnagar University, Savar Bus Station, Gabtoli Bus Terminal, Kallyanpur, Darussalam, Shamoly Square, Mirpur, some points of Dhaka North City Corporation area, TSC (Dhaka University) and Dhaka Medical College areas.
Among the children under the study, 32% sniffed dandy, 20% took sedative injections, 22% smoked ganja through cigarettes, and 12% took sleeping pills.
According to a study on street children by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), with support from UNICEF, Dhaka city is home to 41% of the country’s street children.
In the survey report, the experts of UNICEF estimated that there are over 10 lakh street children across the country.
Drug addiction leads to crime
The study report says that each addict spends Tk50-100 per day for taking drug. They collect drugs from dealers, friends, slums and other addicts.
Asked where they get money to buy drugs after meeting their everyday expenses, Siddique said that he and his friends rely on the financial help of passers-by.
However, a security guard in the Vatara area told the Daily Sun that the street boys often robbed cash and valuables from passers-by of the area.
Crime expert and Dhaka University teacher Tawohidul Md Haque told the Daily Sun that the addicted street children are used for carrying and selling narcotics, mugging, and carrying firearms. Besides the addicted girl children are often sexually abused.
“There are big budgets for the existing government projects to return the street children to a normal life, but the projects are not working due to corruption,” he said.
He recommended changing the focus of the government projects to develop the street children’s job skills.
Director (Legal and Media Wing) of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Commander Khandaker Al Moin told the Daily Sun that the drug addicted street children are often used for illegal activities by unscrupulous people.
The force members often arrest them, he said.
Sabbir Imam, director (institution) of the Department of Social Services, told the Daily Sun that they are providing services to disadvantaged and destitute children at risk through the Sheikh Russel Children’s Training and Rehabilitation Centre.
He said there are 13 centres in Gazipur, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barishal, Sylhet, Rangpur, Faridpur, Barguna, Kushtia, Cox's Bazar, Jamalpur and Chapainawabganj, each of which can accommodation 100 boys and 100 girls in separate buildings.
From August 2012 to July 2023, a total of 15,753 children (8,224  boys and 7,529 girls) were provided services through these centres. Regarding the drug addicts, the officer said that they admit them to the government rehab and treatment centres.
However, the study report of the Gono Bishwabidyalay says that among the addicts, 26% did not receive any treatment while 34% went to pharmacies and 40% chose other treatment options.
Reasons of street children’s drug addiction
There are a number of reasons that push these street children toward drug addiction. Street children remain far behind from the mainstream development procedure as they are the victim of a violation of their vital socio-economic rights. To survive on the street with numerous problematic factors, street children get addicted to drugs, said the study report.
Some 76% of the 50 children under the study were separated from their families, while 24% had no families. They earn their livelihood by selling flowers, begging, collecting old stuff and in other ways.
The research report shows that they got addicted to drugs due to deprivation of fundamental needs, isolation and emotional distress, easy accessibility and affordability of drugs, influence of peers and adults, absence of parental guidance and abuse, turmoil in the home environment and long working hours.
The study also found that drugs’ effects on the children’s health were: vomiting, headache, loss of sense of smell, weakness, feeling dizzy, blurred vision and shortness of breath.
It also finds social effects of drug abuse, which include increased risk of violence, begging and involving in illegal activities, family disintegration, stigmatisation and discrimination, loss of trust within the community and loss of access to education.