Promotion of the children' rights culture at the Santikham center
May 2011.
« I’m a child, a human being.
I have the right to live, to get a family, a country.
I have the right to express my opinion, to learn and have a name.
There are my rights, and those of every child in the world. »
A recent video of the Foundation for Child Development (Thai partner of CCI) opens on these words. In everyday life, FCD works at promoting the children's rights culture and contributes to make the application of these fundamental rights progress on the ground.
Its community center, the Santikham Center in the suburb of Bangkok, offers services of reception, accompaniment, reference and listening to young workers and their relatives, among which some are illegal immigrants. Through the organization and the participation in forums or events in cooperation with the community, FCD attempts to increase the part reserved for the voice of the child in various spheres of its life. It works to allow them to position in the society with the essential marks in their development as a citizen.
Migration constitutes a painful reality for a considerable mass of children, who are illegal immigrants with their relatives. They are delivered to themselves, lost between an "over there" given up and a "here" which still looks like nowhere.
Do children's rights offer concrete solutions for these children? Of course, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) reminds us that the rights are universal. Therefore, migrant children have, in principle, the same rights as all children. Nevertheless, we know that in everyday life, their particular situation, their tearing between two cultures, between two lifestyles and two languages, as well as their vulnerability to the discrimination and to the exploitation put them in a situation where they meet specific challenges for their rights.
In everyday life, FCD notices to which point the reality of migrant children and illegal immigrants confronts with the theory of children's rights and the principles which it conveys. Their difficulty reaching the health care system or the school system, as well as the prejudices which they face are only some examples. And, the issue of rejection and injustice is very strongly felt by the children, constituting a real obstacle to any integration process.
The video ends by the story of a volunteer who joined FCD to contribute to inspiring joy for young people. « What is the use of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, if we do not take care of them and if we do not try and give rise to positive feelings in them? My friends and I joined FCD to organize activities in which the children can participate with enjoyment. »
In its way, he reminds us that if CRC is the most ratified convention in the world, the respect of children's rights is a fight far from being finished. Especially, we should not only talk about children's rights during November 20th, on the occasion of the CRC's birthday. A permanent mobilization is imperative, but also courage, rigor and continuity. It is the social responsibility of each one of us.
