Concern over rise in juveniles roaming city
DOMESTIC issues, poverty and rebelliousness could be contributing factors to the increase in juveniles on the streets of Suva.
This newspaper has noted that children below the age of 16 are selling food or just roaming the streets begging for money.
Reporters from this newspaper came across three young boys, no older than 14, hovering around the tables outside McDonald’s on Victoria Pde.
They were observed scrounging for scraps, or begging for leftovers or coins from patrons and passers-by during lunch hour.
“Sister buy some purini,” was often followed by, “any spare?”
A taxidriver who conducted business close by said it was evident on the faces of the children that they were hungry but out of fear or some other unknown reasons, they would not eat the puddings they were selling out of a box.
“It’s very sad. You can tell by looking at them that they are supposed to be in primary school, yet they are here on the streets every day begging,” he said, speaking to The Fiji Times on the condition of anonymity.
“You can tell by the pudding they bring that someone is sending them to town to sell them and they are begging for coins so they can go back home with something.”
Our reporter asked the trio how far they travelled to get to the Capital City daily.
Their evasive answers spoke volumes.
One of the three hesitantly said they did not travel far because they lived on the streets of Suva but when probed about where they got the puddings from, they went silent and asked for coins.
A mother close by, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it was sad to see the trio because this was the start of a life in crime for most youths.
“They will beg and beg and when their need to survive gets too much, instead of begging they might just grab someone’s wallet and run off with it,” she said.
“They are close enough to do it. “Sometimes they sit in tables next to families, watching them eat and wait for any leftovers but what if they one day just run off with someone’s bag?”
The mother said the situation the boys were in was out of no fault of their own.
“Children this young should be at home, under supervision, protected and getting an education instead of trying to survive on the streets.
“It is our duty as parents to care for our children and not send them off hungry like this,” she said.