Experts warn against growing number of child beggars

They warn charitable donors not to give money to child beggars, as such benevolent aid motivates ill-intentioned people to force more children into begging. “Donors should not give anything to child beggars -- neither money nor something to eat because it urges those who use children as a means of making a living to send more children onto the streets. It urges them to believe that children are an easy way to earn money,” said Ferhat Şahin, vice chairman of the Children of Hope Association.

It urges them to believe that children are an easy way to earn money,” said Ferhat Şahin, vice chairman of the Children of Hope Association.

Data compiled by police departments point to a sharp increase in the number of child beggars in the past few years; the state is criticized for remaining passive toward this problem. Children are usually sent onto the street in miserable condition -- barefoot and in torn clothes -- to draw the attention of adults. They sit in a corner teary-eyed or walk among the crowd, asking people to give them money to buy a loaf of bread.

What pushes children onto the streets to beg is, however, not the need to buy a loaf of bread to eat but their families or groups that force them to spend many hours each day begging. “I was a street child. I spent 11 years on the streets. I know the situation of street children and beggars very well. The state should approach their problems in a more sensitive manner. Sound projects should be developed to save children from begging in the streets. Families should be rehabilitated to not force their children to beg. Deterring penalties should be imposed on child begging,” noted Şahin.

According to Şahin, some families view begging by children as a very lucrative business. “According to Turkish law, child begging is a petty crime, which usually goes unpunished or only faces light punishment. As people who force children to beg do not get severely punished, more and more children are thrown onto the streets to beg. This is almost a business for some families and groups,” he said.

Children are bought and sold among groups of beggars, according to a report prepared by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO). The report noted that a “beggar mafia” abducts young children and forces them to beg after inflicting injuries on them that leave them disabled.

“Children are physically disabled at an early age. Organized crime gangs use inhumane methods to disable child beggars. They are later forced to beg in the streets. Children usually do not remember when and how they were disabled,” the report read.

Organized crime circles also “rent” children from their families in eastern and southeastern Turkey and make them beg in western cities. “Those children live in misery and usually suffer from sexual harassment. They are beaten and even tortured if they fail to bring money to their higher-ups. Thus, those children resort to theft and purse-snatching to obtain the money criminals demand from them,” the report highlighted.

Beggars often wait near restaurants, ATMs

Şahin indicated that organized crime groups pick suitable spots for child beggars, including close to restaurants, shops, hospitals, bus stations, local bazaars, subways and ATMs.

Each group has its own spot and is not allowed to enter the spot of another group. Any violation of the principle often results in clashes among the groups, which leads to injuries and even death. “When children find themselves in the streets, they feel excluded from society. In time, they turn into glue sniffers, drug addicts and purse-snatchers. As they are given money or other material aid by charitable givers, they refuse to stay in rehabilitation centers. Therefore, we should refrain from any act that could urge children to continue their lives in the streets,” Şahin said.

Forcing children to become street sellers is also a form of begging. Children are usually forced to sell different kinds of small cheap goods in the streets. Dozens of parents are detained every week across Turkey for forcing their children to work in the streets instead of sending them to school. A father, identified as Sebahattin K., was detained earlier this week in İstanbul's Taksim Square as he was watching his four children sell tissues to passers-by.

Sebahattin K., during police interrogation, said he used the money his children brought in to travel through İstanbul. The man's children were taken under state protection and were sent to a rehabilitation center run by the Social Services and Child Protection Agency (SHÇEK).

“There are about 5,000 young adults on İstanbul's streets who use drugs. The number of child beggars is, however, even higher. The state should immediately take action to prevent children from being forced into begging,” Şahin said.