Child glue sniffing rises in Morocco

[Ghazala]

Child glue sniffing rises in Morocco
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BBC News, Rabat



Butane lighter fuel kills more than half of young solvent abusers
A non-governmental organisation in Morocco says substance abuse among children has reached alarming levels.

The Baiti association says 98% of children living on the streets in Morocco are now addicted to sniffing glue and the number is growing.

They shine shoes, beg from passers-by or even sell their bodies in return for the $3 they need to buy a tube of glue.

According to a government survey, more than 5,000 children are living on the streets of Casablanca alone.

Almost all of them are glue addicts.

As poverty and unemployment continue to rise in Morocco, more parents are unable to provide for their children, and more children end up living on the streets.

Crisis worsens

Cheap and easy to get, the children use glue to numb the feelings of cold, hunger and rejection.

A United Nations report says glue sniffing is making street children prone to tuberculosis, and they are contracting sexually transmitted diseases as they fall back on prostitution to pay for their habit.

Najat M'jid, president of Baiti, Morocco's first and only association for the protection of street children, says the situation is urgent as some street children sniff between five and 20 tubes per day.

"We have to work with the street children very, very soon because when they become dependent on glue it's very difficult to build with them a life project," Mr M'jid says.

"The impact of the glue on the brain really is a step to marginalisation and delinquency," he says.

Baiti is using sport to teach street children about the effects of glue on their lungs, and offers psychiatric counselling.

But the association is overstretched and cannot compensate for the lack of state-run social services.

Najat M'jid believes if more is not done soon, Morocco is heading for a street children crisis on the scale of Brazil.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4113441.stm

[Sista]

Its not only children, i know of a number of adults in maroc that take to this habit. Unfortunately as with all substance abuse its a form of escape. The situation in Morocco for some young people leaves them feeling destitute, when they think about what their future will be they wonder at what hope can they hold out for. Its so sad wallah.

[LDNgirl]

Salam sisters,

Did anyone watch the special program on 2M a couple of weeks ago? It was so sad wallah. Grown men and women are on these substances, some children from well off families are addicted. It's such a sad sight to see a whole line of kid just off their heads, looking so emaciated, and distant. They just line the walls of the streets. What gets me is the shops still continue to sell these porducts to these children, knowing very well that they will use it for.

They tried to highlight this in the film Ali Zaouia. That is an amazing film, and one to watch...Not with the family though! There was a part where the little boy went into the hardware store to buy some nails, and the shopkeeper told him to stop wasting his time, and just chucked a bottle of solvents at him and took his money. Haramien! Allah y gheebha feehum.

[Sista]

Salam LND Girl

Hope your well

Considering the economic situation in Morocco it doesnt surprise me. Making money is paramount to survival to some degree, but selling to kids is just plain wrong!

By the way the film Ali Zauia, is it in shops for rental or do you have to buy it from somewhere special?

[LDNgirl]

Salam sis, I well thanks for asking. I hope you're well too!

It was on BBC4 a few months back, and they usually repeat the films on that channel every couple of months. I think it's just one of those films that you need to look for a "world Cinema" sections of video stores.

[Ma_Li_Ka]

Salam,

I've seen the work of Baiti. They do some job! Working with both boys and girls rehabilitate them from streetchild to a life with a future. Unfortunately they are totally dependent on private foreign aid. And that's pretty sad.

[Sista]

Salam

Im very well thanks

I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

Thats the thing that concerns me about Morocco, there is no real state support system. So everything becomes dependant on foriegn investment. Morocco is all for becoming a modern, civil society but it appears only in the sense of generating income. They are doing everything possible to raise credability, making it a 'wannabe' tourist destination, cultural haven etc but reinvesting that into further attractions (or lining someones pocket!). What about the people, dont they deserve something more?