Children in Cambodia

The exceptional situation of children in Cambodia due to the long period of war, isolation and chaos has made life difficult for those most vulnerable.

Street children and their families are vulnerable in any country. In Cambodia they are the tragic evidence of the country's recent dramatic history and the uneven development of a new economy, political system and capacities to respond to basic human needs.

During this period of rapid change in Cambodia, in Phnom Penh in particular, lone children as well as entire families are finding themselves in new situations. The entire structure of many families was destroyed as a result of the massive killings and separations during the Khmer Rouge regime.

In the past, nurturing by grandparents or other elderly relatives as well as support from Buddhist monks and school teachers eased some of the pressures of parenting.
Now, however, the traditional family structure and support system for providing care and protection to children, including orphans, have been seriously compromised.

The population of homeless people, namely children, continues to increase in the capital city.The repatriation of Cambodian refugees has brought new residents to Phnom Penh. The difficult living conditions in the provinces are due to poverty, poor crop yield, continuous warfare and/or banditry in some regions. In addition, landmines prevent farmers from growing rice in many parts of the country, also affecting migrations to Phnom Penh. Illegal trafficking of young people for the purpose sexual exploitation in the commercial sex trade is on the increase.

A survey carried out by Mith Samlanh Friends (2001) on the profile of street children listed the following reasons, in order of importance, for leaving their homes:

• problems within or breakdown of the family
• poverty
• becoming orphaned.

All these factors have lead to an increase of the urban migration and, therefore, to an increase in the population of street children and their families. Urban poverty forces many children to work in order to supplement the family's income.

The cost of a public education (registration fees, uniforms, supplies, mandatory private lessons) prevents many families from sending their children to school. These children then spend extraordinary amounts of time unsupervised, either loitering or earning an income. An accurate census of the homeless or street population has yet to be carried out. Depending on the definition and according to the figures accepted by UNICEF, there are between 600 to 1,000 street children who have completely cut ties with their families and have made the streets their home and 10,000 street children who have kept ties with their family and return home either regularly or irregularly.

For its work, Friends has adopted the wide definition of street children (children who spend most of their time on the streets, returning or not to a family setting on a regular or irregular basis). Most of the street children in Phnom Penh come from the big squatter area in the Tonle Bassac area called "Building". Approximately 50,000 people live in this particular squatter community, including an estimated 30,000 children who receive little or no parental support. This population is already a prime target for prostitution, trafficking and sexual violence.