Fr. Riccardo Tobanelli, s.x.

Stolen Childhood: Street Children of Bangladesh

From the Xaverian Mission Newsletter

Street children in Bangladesh are called “Tokai”. In fact, “Tokai kora” in Bengali means collecting things from the garbage or scrap. “Tokai” is the name given to people who do this job.

 

In 1995, Fr. Riccardo Tobanelli, Xaverian Missionary in Bangladesh, along with some Muslim and Hindu supporters, began to offer hospitality and support to children forced to live on the streets. Among the poor, children are the most vulnerable. The girls are exploited as domestic servants in the homes of wealthy families.

 

The Tokai survive on the margins of society. They work by recycling garbage, begging, selling trinkets, washing trucks and courier, or doing anything that is capable of getting them enough money to eat. The life of children forced to live on the streets is one of the most radical manifestations of injustice, poverty and segregation.

 

Fr. Riccardo came up with the idea of a shelter for these children huddled in a crowded district of the city of Dhaka. They also provide meals and a school education. “Here,” says Father, “these children find a safe haven for the evening where they can meet others who suffer the same kind of life and may find some support and help.”

 

A Missionary Life for the Poor

Fr. Tobanelli worked in Bangladesh for more than 27 years. Initially, he says, “My work took me to predominately Muslim communities. I worked with a group of outcasts building small schools and giving life to a small organization called Dolet who finds ways to support and encourage outcasts who suffer prejudice and segregation in their own country.

 

But probably the biggest obstacle that people in Bangladesh have to overcome is the prejudice that many of them face because of the long established caste system and oppression that Bangladeshi women face. Many of the communities are filled with “untouchables, the lowest level of the caste system. The children in these communities are often destined for lives as street cleaners simply because that is what their parents and grandparents were and there is little hope to be anything else. There is little value for education because in the past there has not been many opportunities for the people in this caste system.

 

Since 1994 I dedicated myself to the victims of urbanized slavery, which led many people to abandon their villages and to lose many traditional cultural values. Life in this hostile world causes much suffering. The family is often destroyed and many children most often are left to themselves.

 

These children fall into desperate and tragic circumstances, such as exploitation in sweat shops or work in houses of prostitution.”

 

Fr. Tobanelli goes on: “With some of my former street children who are now grown, we were able to begin two more centers. The first is Kaworan Bazar, near the railroad in one of those neighborhoods where life is nothing short of inhumane. The other is located at Savar, in an industrial area where we offer a night shelter, and during the day, we opened a nursery to accommodate the children of young women who were abandoned.”

 

Almost 85 percent of street children do not get assistance from either the government or non-governmental organizations, growing up without education or other rights. Such deprivation of rights often forces them into anti-social activities. A draft report of surveys of the Ministry of Social Welfare says at present there are more than 670,000 street children across the country of Bangladesh.

 

“One of our tasks is to strengthen relationships with the police,” says Father Tobanelli. “Indeed, the tendency is to stop street children, send them before a judge, condemn and put them in jail. After that, it is too easy to lose track of them. With these groups of youth, we created a primary care intervention plan. As soon as we become aware of these cases where our children are arrested, we attempt to intervene with the police to release them and entrust it to them.”

 

These most vulnerable of the poor in Bangladesh demand the attention of Catholics worldwide. For more information on how you can help contact us.
We would be happy to put you in touch with possibilities to serve.

 

Fr. Riccardo Tobanelli (from the Xaverian Mission Newsletter) » More