11 kids go missing every hour in country: Survey

Eleven children go missing every hour in the country. Four of these go untraced, a country-wide survey on missing children has found out.

During 2008-10, 1,17,480 children were reported missing in 392 districts. Of them, 74,209 children were traced while 41,546 still remain untraced.  This information has been collated by Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) through the Right to Information (RTI), National Crime Record Bureau data, National Human Rights Commission and Zonal Integrated Police Network (ZIPNet) website.

The data available is only the tip of the iceberg. This juggernaut of statistics forces one to ask the uncomfortable question-what really happens to the missing children? The dangers and terrors which await  children in the streets were put on spotlight by the harrowing experiences shared by the children who went missing but were lucky to be rescued.

Harrowing Experiences

Fourteen-year-old Kavitha (name changed) left her home in an obscure village in north Karnataka to fulfil her dream of seeing Bangalore. She landed at the Majestic bus stand. Once there, she thought she was lucky as one kind woman, came and asked her if she needs help.

Trusting the women, Kavitha went with her as she promised work. Once in her house, she was given food, nice cloths and a room.

After a couple of days, men started visiting her.

Initially, she was told to talk to them and be nice and friendly. But after a few days things took an ugly turn. Not able to put up with the situation in which she found herself any longer, Kavitha ran away from that house in which she was kept captive.

Luckily, she was picked up by the staff of Child Line, a network which rescues missing children.

Kavitha said, “I am lucky to be rescued. If not I do not know what would have happened to me. My life would have been completely ruined.”

Karan (name changed)(13) from Channapatna, ran away from home fearing his mother’s ire after he lost their cow as it was the family’s sole income provider.

Later, he was hired to work as a cleaner by a Tourist Tempo Traveller at Kollegal. For eight months, he worked with no pay, in return for a little food.

He said, “Whenever I tried asking the tempo driver for some salary, he would say learn the work properly, then talk about salary.”

One day Karan, decided to run away again and took a bus and landed in Bangalore. Here he was spotted and rescued.

Karan said: “Never leave your family. It is your family, your home, where a child belongs. When you are out in the streets anything can happen to you, there is nobody to protect you.”

Santosh (name changed), who is now 14, left home when he was 10 years old due to the harassment by his step-mother and his father.

Having lived a life of a beggar in different parts of Karnataka, it left Santosh totally withdrawn and sullen.

Sheeba, Child Counsellor of Bosco, the nodal agency for the Missing Children Bureau in Karnataka, who had been counselling Santosh, said, “Having lived a long life in the streets, Santosh and many other children suffered a lot of abuse. This, at times, can leave a lasting scar on their psyche.”

Reasons

There are many push and pull factors in operation that gets the child out of their homes. 

Poor economic conditions, irresponsible parents, illiteracy and ignorance are some of the factors.

The dream of a city life fuelled by movies, freedom, hope of a better life, curiosity and peer pressure are some of the pull factors, pointed out Executive Director of Bosco Fr George.

Coordinator of the Missing Child Bureau, Karnataka, Binu Varghese stressed on the importance of picking up missing children from transit points before they reach the destination.

He said, “When a child leaves home - the source point - they are in transit and agencies like us have to be alert in rescuing children at this point. If we miss them here, they will be lost. They become ‘invisible children’ whose number nobody knows. They can get lost to prostitution, child labour, beggary or sold for organs.”