FILM DEPICTING
PLIGHTS OF MIGRANT CHILDREN RELEASED
Wednesday, 24 September 2014 | PNS | BHUBANESWAR | in Bhubaneswar
The Migration information & Resource
Centre (MiRC) and the Aide et Action International-South Asia in collaboration
with the Bernard van Leer Foundation here on Monday released and screened
Migrating Childhood, a documentary unfolding the lives of migrant children
living at worksites.
Regional Thematic Head, Aide et Action Umi Daniel briefed the
participants about the film before its release by a panel of five comprising
Biren Das (filmmaker), Dharitri Patnaik (India Representative, Bernard van Leer
Foundation), Teki Vishy (Director, Communication Resource Centre), Digambar
Saptahthy and Umi Daniel.
Teki Vishy said Lots of such migrant children miss out on early
childhood care and education and become child labour. Health is a bigger issue
for these children when they migrate along with their parents to live in such
unsafe, unhealthy and hazardous environment.
Biren Das said, “It’s good to see such a complex issue being
captured in such a simple way. I hope government takes some proactive action on
this issue and provide the children a better living.”
The documentary was shot in four cities, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar,
Chennai and Hyderabad. It suggests solutions for creating safe and healthy
environment for the children living at workplaces like brick kilns,
construction sites and stone crusher units.
The film aims at creating public awareness and raising policy
issues to better the lives of migrant children. The video is produced by the
Communication Resource Centre (CRC), Hyderabad.
As per the UNESCO, 2011 report, annually about 50 million people
of the country migrate seasonally in search of jobs. Out of them, 15 per cent
are children. The elder and adolescent ones often migrate with their parents to
look after their siblings and help their parents in work. India is home to the
largest child population in the world of 420 million children in the 0-18-year
age group.
The Constitution of India guarantees all children their rights
and entitlements through its various provisions. According to the Directive
Principles of State Policy in the Constitution, it is an obligation of the
State to ensure that children are protected from exploitation, moral and
material abandonment throughout the period of growth and development.
But millions of Indian children grow without any social and
legal protection. One such category is that of vulnerable migrant children who
are still unnoticed due to their frequent mobility and fragmented location.
The UNESCO report says around 15 million Indian children are
migrants and denied of their rights and services guaranteed in the UN
declaration and the Indian Constitution.
A study by the Aide et Action in 2013 says children in the 0-14
year age group constitute 47 per cent of the total child population. The
migrant children do not get enrolled into Anganwadi or local schools due to the
language barrier. Children in the early years are particularly more vulnerable.
Deprivation at this stage affects human beings throughout their whole life
cycle.
Those who are neglected or abused in the first years of life
suffer damage from which they may never fully recover. Lack of access to proper
food and health services lead to malnutrition with all its debilitating effects
on them.
The film aims at influencing various stakeholders like the
Government, NGOs, civil society organisations, facility owners and the media to
look into the issues of the migrant children and adopt ways to better their
lives by providing them access to the basic rights and entitlements, safe,
healthy and learning environment at worksites.
