(ANS – Madrid) – “My life in the prison of Pademba Road (Freetown) was a continuous torture. I was in a cell with adults who were criminals. All I would get to eat was a plate of rice and a cup of black tea without sugar. The other prisoners would take away my sandwich at breakfast and other things from my plate of rice. Would not allow me to sleep at night as I had to fan for the elder ones. In the morning it was my turn to clean the can that we use as toilet. But the worst thing was the sexual abuses of which I was a victim for 2 years. I complained against them but no one listened. I was just a 14 year old kid”. This is the experience of Johnny in Sierra Leone. His crime was, sleeping on the streets.

According to the UN, more than a million children and teens all over the world are deprived of their freedom in police stations, in prisons or in detention centres for minors. A majority of them do not have previous criminal records. Often are accused of petty crimes and crimes that are not held against the adults like, sleeping on the streets. Furthermore, according to the UN report, 59% of the juvenile delinquents are in detention without being sentenced.

The minors who are robbed of their freedom know that their rights are being systematically violated. Most of them are treated like criminals, while in reality all that they need is just a little social support and guidance. While, sending a minor to the prison or a rehabilitation centre should be the last resort, in many places it is the common procedure. For example, in Kenya, more than 1,800 children are detained because they are homeless and live on the streets; about 500 because they are not under the control of parents and another 600 for begging.

To present the reality in which these children and youngsters live, the Salesian Mission Procure of Madrid has launched a campaign called “IN-Justicia Juvenil” (Youth IN-Justice). “There are alternatives to a child or a youngster entering a prison or a reformatory centre. The great challenge is to understand that to put an end to violence we must be able to transform the hearts of the violators and end the thought of vengeance”, explained Ana Muñoz, the spokes person of the organisation.

Through education transform these children and the youth in difficulty with the law, is the proposal and the mission of the Salesians in countries like Sierra Leone, Philippines, El Salvador, India and Brazil.

In the website of the Salesian Mission Procure, Madrid are available other information on the campaign of IN-Justicia Juvenil.

Published on 04/06/2015