Youths need more attention [Archives:2003/632/Community]

Instead of searching for how to put plans for building training shelters and centers for homeless children and infirmaries to provide lodging for them as a part of the country and society, the international organizations and concerned ministries in Yemen embarked last Sunday on finding out how to establish prisons, courts and prosecutions for juveniles and how to expand and spread them all over Yemen.
That was the theme of the symposium that was held in Taj Sheba hotel last Sunday titled “Protection of Juveniles Rights is the Responsibility of all” organized by Ministry of Social Affairs & Labor in cooperation with UNICEF to discuss juveniles situations.
The symposium aimed at exposing governmental orientations to deal with youth cases and UNICEF's role in the improving programs for protecting and taking care of juveniles. Besides discussing the impediments and difficulties that courts, prosecutions and other sides face and suggest appropriate solutions for them. Moreover, building joined awareness among the sides dealing with juveniles to have unified visions about and coordinating between their roles when they implement their plans.
Our streets and villages lanes are full with juveniles that their number gets bigger and bigger day after day that resulting of expanding poverty percentage and unemployment in our society.
The 8 current infirmaries in Yemen include only 3% of the poor and homeless children. These infirmaries, in its current situation, are unhealthy places to educate these homeless the good principles. Moreover, those places secrete complicated and miserable youths that in turn reflect negatively on society safety, security and future.
Besides what juveniles are exposed to when they are thrown in the grownups prisons intermittently without consideration the consequences. Throwing those young among criminals, killers and thieves will definitely create improper and criminal behavior among them.
Mr. Abdualkareema al-Arahabi, Social Affairs and Labor Minister briefly said, “All efforts should be exerted to solve the have-different-dimensions problems related to homeless children that called street children. There is a program is being prepared by the ministry of social affairs and labor to deal with this new phenomenon that appears in our society resulting of the family and society disconnection under the modern urbanization. This program includes establishing centers for street children under Social Fund supervision. Firstly, two centers will be launched in Sana'a and Aden. We will pay attention to include the rest of Yemeni cities besides the 8 current existent infirmaries, however, they do not take care of all orphanages and homeless children. Any way, paying attention to those children depends on the applicable facilities besides rehabilitation the teachers and experts who are responsible for the program that needs much efforts and time.”
He added “A department in Aden University is founded and another will open soon in Sana'a University whose task is to train educational cadre in all fields for this centers. This will be done with cooperation of UNICEF and another concerned organizations. We also cannot forget the private sector role in this regard by financing these centers from time to time
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