Street Children- Let them in

oil on canvas 607mm x 607mm Unframed

Painting Description
Painting Reviews (14)

It cuts both ways for them. Their own houses turned to beasts pushing them to streets. Our houses have no doors or windows to let them in.

Background : There are about 150 million street children in the world and the number is increasing daily. That is, more than half the population of the USA.They may be as young as three.
Street children exist in many major cities, especially in the Third World. They are usual suspects for and victims of police atrocities.Governments treat them as a blight to be eradicated-rather than as children to be nurtured and protected. Increasingly, these children are the defenseless victims of brutal violence, sexual exploitation, abject neglect, chemical addiction, and human rights violations or in extreme cases murder by "clean up squads" hired by local businesses.

Some reasons children have been driven out of their homes may be extreme poverty, severe family conflict, abuse , neglect, or parental abuse of alcohol and drugs.
In Latin America, a common cause is abandonment by poor families unable to feed all their children. In Africa, an increasingly common cause is AIDS.
In Russia and Romania, street children usually find a home in abandoned sewage systems during the harsh winter. These underground homes offer space, shelter and most important of all, heat.

A large number of street children get recruited in armies like Lords Resistance Army in Africa , or in Burma, where they are brutalised and become professional murderers in tribal warfare at the age of 10 or 12.

This image has been used by 'purush uwaach' in their Diwali special issue 2018

Besides the Reviews appreciation also comes from:

Caitlyn, USA; IK, Canada; Patrick Star, The Philippines; Sigied Himawan Yudhanto, Indonesia; Prisci, Ireland; Elizabeth, UK; Alan, UK; Alyssa, USA; Juan, Mexico; Scott Dillahunt, USA; Riley Rilke, Germany; L Gohmann, Poland; Khudiliya A, Russia; Susana E, Germany; Marco, Indonesia; Elsa, Brazil; Anastasiya, Russia; Jeanine, The Netherlands; Shirin, Iran; Valerio, Italy; Mariola, Spain; Susana, Germany; Rossana, Italy; Elke A, Germany; Alpha, USA; Marco, Italy; Jijin, Japan; Sabo, Germany; Marga, USA; Jenna, USA; Kamini, India; Celia, Australia