There are some lost and disoriented people in the society and around us for whom the hearts of many heartless rich people of the country do not cry even a little.For whom there are so little funds which do not reach in their hands.Yet every day,millions of taka and countless pure foods are being wasted in the name of luxury and fame.Those lost and disoriented people may have parents as guardians,but because they do not have the ability and earning power,we call those oppressed and neglected children street children or helpless orphans.
Yes,today I am talking about those for whom we have a lot to do. Those whom we are avoiding as helpless street children,no one can guarantee that they will not become the leaders of the country and society in the future.On the other hand, today we try to avoid those whose helplessness we ignore by calling them street children or street filth.Tomorrow when they become drug addicts and leaders of juvenile gangs and block your path and leave you in an embarrassing situation,what answer and lesson will we give ourselves and our generation as a nation and as responsible people in society…? Have we even thought about that once..? I left the question to the revolutionary conscience of society. We read the proverb in our childhood,’The wild ones are beautiful in the forest,the children are in the mother’s arms.” Although animals and birds can live a beautiful life in the forest,the home of millions of street children is not in the mother’s arms.The last home of millions of children is on the sidewalk,under the open sky,on the side of the railway line, next to the terminal.At the time of birth,they are born like other normal children.But due to the environmental situation, social attitudes and family opacity, they gradually turn from ordinary children into street children and their names are known as street children.
There are currently more than 3.4 million street children without families in our country.This information has been revealed in the “Street Situation in Bangladesh – 2024” report.According to the survey titled “Survey on Street Children 2025” by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics with the support of UNICEF, 82 percent of the street children in our country are boys and most of them come to work or on the streets due to poverty.About 13 percent of children are separated from their families and 6 percent are orphans or they are not even told whether their parents are alive.
The biggest festival of Muslims is the holy Eid-ul-Fitr.We know what Eid means. Eid means happiness. After a long month of fasting, we celebrate this joy.We have so many plans around this Eid.Let’s talk about childhood, when we think about the Eid days spent in childhood, we still want to go back to childhood.How many shopping are there centering Eid, hiding everything so that no one can see it after shopping.On a moonlit night, we all wore henna together! Oh, how beautiful those sweet days were.Just like that, those who will celebrate Eid in their childhood now have so many demands from their families.New clothes for Eid, receiving Eid salami on Eid, these are perhaps no words to express how happy a moment these are for a child.
Here is the joy, happiness, shopping,wearing henna,going to Eid ground with new clothes.Come with your family and eat semai, payas,biryani and many other delicious foods.But can millions of street children in the country enjoy eating,going for a walk..? I think,like every day,Eid is just a small day or time for them.They do not have a family,nor do they have various fantasies centered around Eid.Like other children, they cannot buy a new dress, a pair of shoes.They cannot apply a little henna on their hands.The amount of trouble they have to go through to get one meal by working tirelessly all day and night, so is Eid not for them…? Will those street children be deprived of these things..?
However,immediately after birth, they are born with the birthrights they have.But can they enjoy those rights at all..? Even if something is done through various organizations or private initiatives,it does not happen for everyone.In developed countries,it is seen that the state fulfills the responsibility of every child in some way or the other, but in our country it has not yet become possible which has become nothing more than an emotional statement even today.
We who are high-class people, we do shopping worth lakhs of taka at a time.Do we really need to shop for so much money…? It is just waste and show off. If we donate 5 taka or 10 taka per person from our respective places and create a fund for street children with that,it will be seen that it has become a huge amount at the end of the year.From this fund,we can easily put a smile on the faces of street children, even for a day.There is a proverb,’Little drops of water,little grains of sand, Make the mighty ocean,and the pleasant land”This is how the future generations should be built. So let us include them in our ranks of laughter and happiness.At least for one day,we give them a gift on the side of joy.Let us follow the words of the poet once and for all,”There is no happiness in enjoyment, sacrifice is real happiness”and sacrifice does not mean donation, but divine pursuit lies in it.
S M Abul Barkat Akash
The Writer is Executive Editor of Daily Capital Views & National Civil Rights and Elections Analyst.
