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Burkina Faso |
SOCIAL CONDIT.
An increasing number of young people, in the 15-24 age bracket, live on the margins of society
There are now more than a billion young people in the 15-24 age bracket in the world. An increasing number of them live on the margins of society and can look forward to a future which belies their smiles. And yet, the young are society’s most precious resource.
Unfortunately, more and more of them don’t go to school or are unemployed. They live in hovels, on the streets, in poverty-stricken villages or in the destitution of urban ghettos called shantytowns. They have little or no schooling. Trapped in the ranks of the unemployed, they are victims of drug abuse, ill-health, delinquency violence and gangs. They are excluded from a society in which they should have a part to play in its future.
Kofi Annan, the United Nations’ Secretary-General, says: «All youth aspire to a productive, fulfilled life, but more and more of them experience unemployment, lack of security, homelessness, social exclusion, ethnic discrimination». He adds: «A society cut off from its youth cuts itself off from life; it is doomed to die by cutting off its life blood».
There is no recognised definition of youth; it can differ greatly from one country to another. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA): «Young people are persons between the ages of 15 and 24. There are about 1.05 billion of them, and this age group is rapidly expanding in some countries. Almost one in five persons in the world is young and 84% of them live in developing countries».
Marginalized
Underprivileged, alienated, difficult, street children, excluded, uneducated — labels abound to describe these marginalized youth. Among them, a large number «live on the streets». Victims of an excessively materialist and elitist society, the youth on the streets are the forgotten ones of society. «Surplus goods» in a permanently changing society, living in a social structure where abundance exists side by side with isolation and misery, these street children are automatically excluded from the normal processes of education and professions.
Their world is limited to survival, and the very idea of fulfilment is excluded. One feeling predominates: fear and humiliation. They exercise all sorts of trades: washers of windscreens, shoe-shiners, car-minders, porters in the markets or airports, street traders, prostitutes etc.
In Burkina, street children plunge some areas of towns into zones where there is a great deal of aggression. They are generally organised in gangs, led by a big guy chosen by the group, whose very name sows panic and terror in the streets of the district. They threaten with flick-knives, their favourite victims being pedestrians. Some of these youth restrict their activities to having a «fix». Many of these young people meet almost every night in front of bars to smoke hash which kills, or traffic in drugs, which frequently brings them into trouble with the police.
Another characteristic: they become precocious delinquents. Aged between 15 and 17, they often have very disturbing records. Theft seems to be the principal activity of street urchins. They specialise in picking pockets and nowadays, stealing mobile phones. From time to time, when they see their chance, they steal parts of cars or motor bikes, with the complicity of adults.
Many causes
Our consumer society, our education system producing rejects at all levels, the thoughtlessness of irresponsible parents or simply their social circumstances which does not allow them to deal with their children properly, are all too familiar with this state of affairs. One can also blame existing situations whereby some children are abandoned — unmarried mothers without means of support; divorce; and polygamy... Deprived of love and understanding by parents, the children go on the streets. Besides the break-up of families, there is a rural exodus, connected with poor living conditions in the countryside, unemployment and poverty.
The economic crisis eats into the fabric of society. Together with the privatisation of enterprises and state companies, thousands of young people (called upon too young to be responsible for a family) have been laid off, and become incapable of supporting their families. They have lost even their self esteem. Poverty gives rise to a vicious circle of neglect, when the parents are so taken up with the struggle for survival that they cannot care properly for their children.
These children are also victims of neglect in school. According to a report by the International Consultative Forum on Education for All, a quarter of the 96 million children who entered school for the first time in 1998, have a good chance of abandoning school before the fifth year. The report observes that «For want of response to the needs of many ordinary pupils who have poor class results, schools cease to be really open and accessible to all».
Countless young people repeat or abandon school altogether. Doubtless the problem is due in part to the rigidity and lack of comprehension of formal school systems, which prove to be incapable of meeting the educational needs of all children.
Not a uniform scene
We must make distinctions. The view of street children is far from uniform. Some are honest, peace loving and very industrious, like the «fanicos» (washers-of-clothes) of the town of Bobo; these workers are very quiet, and in the opinion of most people they are decent, discreet, and faithful and they do not steal. It’s also the case of newspaper sellers at street corners in Ouagadougou who carry out their job day-by-day.
Take for instance, Sontôla, 19-years-old, calm and self effacing. He knows his job. After five years of practice, he no longer needs to weave among the cars to get rid of his papers. He knows his customers perfectly, their habits and their needs and even their schedule.
Even if some, such as the little car minders, do not always inspire confidence, there are others who have the eyes of a hawk. In fact street children seem to excel in the art of discovering lucrative gaps in the market which are ignored by ordinary people.
Thus, the newspaper sellers have succeeded in coaxing most drivers to form the habit of buying their newspaper at traffic lights. Those who prepare fish for sale; the young butchers who are installed near the cold stores of Ouagadougou or Bobo; those who pluck fowl near the markets, have succeeded in making many housewives, restaurant owners and sellers of roast meat, lazy in their habits.
Why? Because such people are no longer prepared to do such basic food preparation themselves. They want their fish, innards, heads, legs of beef or mutton or poultry purchases, to be ready for the pot.
The young street people are also imaginative and creative. The street not only provides «training» for the young people who are nearly permanent residents, it’s also creative of a culture, of values.
As a result, the young have invented a trendy language. A language which enables them to find an emotional palliative, and at the same time a code which can have various functions: they can recognise members of the clan, or escape from an authority they want to defy. They can lay claim to a kind of creative spirit; they can at once protect themselves and assert their identity. In this way, one can discern a kind of revolt against authority, an endeavour to affirm their personality, an attempt to join together under the banner of a language and a common way of behaving, the will to make another voice heard. At any rate, the young street people are neither lacking in imagination nor in creative ability.
Social reintegration
Unfortunately, employment prospects are dim and the future looks gloomy. What can be done? In Burkina the NGOs and associations working alone or in partnership with the authorities and international institutions, propose a certain number of solutions. They give priority to acquiring practical skills and the creation of employment opportunities, often in the unofficial economy where young people find employment as car mechanics, recycling or as auctioneers (especially in the fish markets).
Given that most of these young people are traumatised, there are programs set up to reintegrate them into society, or to promote in them social values and abilities, by teaching them to know and respect themselves. Also many NGOs introduce cultural, sporting or social activities which benefit both themselves and the wider community. One example: a Study and Information Centre for Youth, set up in 1995 by the Ouagadougou Municipality, in partnership with international representatives (embassies and organisations).
Unfortunately, in this country, unemployment among the young and other forms of social exclusion have reached intolerably high levels.
According to a survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Population, the unemployment rate among the 16 to 24 age group, is higher than among all other demographic groups, and sometimes is double the national average. The rate of unemployment of the 25 year old group in Burkina Faso, approaches 70%. In some of Burkina’s towns, three out of four young people are unemployed, which causes the young to be called «the waiting room generation».
According to analyses by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), young unemployed people in Africa are the most exposed to the risk of social exclusion. Here, three out of five young people begin work after leaving school (less than towards the end of the nineties). For half of them, this means temporary jobs, and many face prolonged and repeated periods of unemployment. And that is so, regardless of their level of education.
Even in prosperous countries, education is no longer a guarantee of a decent job. «You study, you make sacrifices, and in the heel of the hunt, you get nothing». Nothing! I sometimes tell myself that it’s not worth the trouble», says Nafi, a young Burkina female student.
The 1985 International Youth Year was further amplified in 1995, by the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly, of a World Action Program, leading up to the millennium and beyond. In this Program, all countries are urged to initiate schemes in areas such as participation, development, education and employment for young people. «To give priority to the problem of marginalized, vulnerable and underprivileged youth», this is the Progam’s principal message. Burkina’s government was invited to adopt it and to set up a framework favouring youth, a pillar of its future. Those in charge of employment and youth must work together in order to offer youth, maximum prospects and facilities. For the hope, the energy and the enthusiasm of young people will further our country’s progress.
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