KARACHI – In the heart of Karachi, Saddar, gangs of street children are chock-a-block. Javed*, a 17-year-old young man, has almost graduated from one such gang. Working the street before he even entered his teens, Javed claims to have seen and know it all. “I do not know my date of birth, but I know I am around 16, maximum 17-years-old,” Javed said.
Javed first ran away from home some seven or eight years ago along with three of his friends. “The first night, we stole weights from a push-cart and sold them for Rs 80. We bought ‘Samad Bond’ and all four of us sniffed it to celebrate,” he said.
With no place to live and no money to rent a place either, the gang of four spent that night on a pavement outside a hotel. “Waking up the next morning, on a pavement, was eerie. None of us had slept on a pavement before,” Javed narrated.
The four then went to a local restaurant that served free breakfast to the needy. “We stole plastic bags from a shop afterwards. Later on, we started picking metal scrap from streets and places outside motor workshops. The money we earned from all this was used to buy drugs. We spent 10 or 12 days doing these things, but eventually returned home.”
All four were in for a severe beating at home, though, with parents and relatives worried sick about their safety and well-being. Javed though didn’t have much time for such emotions: “I found life on the pavement more fascinating, and so, I returned after another 15 days. This time around, I was alone and stole Rs 14,000 from my house before leaving.”
The first time around, Javed and his friends were along in the big city. This time, though, Javed joined a gang of pickpockets. “We were eighteen boys, almost all were runaways. My job was to provide cover to the others but I never pick-pocketed myself. As soon as one of us picked someone’s pocket, he would hand the stuff over to me. That way, even if he got caught, nothing was found on him.”
Was being caught by the police ever a concern? “Not really,” Javed shrugged. “Our gang leader had contacts in the police, and these officers would support us whenever we were caught. They pretended as if they were taking us to jail, but we would give them a cut to get freed.”
Apart from the money found in people’s wallets, Javed’s gang also used to pick 40 mobiles every day. While the wallets were thrown away once the money was taken out, a used cell phone dealer visited the ring leader on a daily basis to buy the stolen goods. “Depending on the condition of a cell phone, we were paid between Rs 800 and Rs 1,500. Our daily income was around Rs 50,000; this money was equally distributed among the gang members apart from Ustad, who would pocket an extra Rs 5,000. We spent this money on our clothes, food and drugs,” Javed explained.
With more money, Javed’s addictions also changed: Samad Bond was replaced with liquor and hashish – both of which are “easily available in Saddar.” Women followed soon after. “I sometimes sleep with prostitutes of Saddar, and usually pick them up near Zahid Nehari. But I hand them stolen cell phones instead of cash. A hotel room in the Saddar area can also be easily be rented out for a night,” he said.
“The police know everything, but since they are evenly bribed, they do not interfere. Sometimes, I also bring liquor for the policemen,” he said.
Javed was finally “caught” by the police in August, 2007 – at the tender age of 13. “We were stealing a welding plant from a workshop when the police arrived. All my friends managed to escape, but I was caught and severely beaten up. The policemen kept asking me for the whereabouts of the remaining gang members, but I kept mum.”
This indiscretion resulted in a year long jail term for Javed, but he rejoined his hang as soon as he was released. “A few days later, I was caught again. But this time around, our gang leader was also nabbed. We were released after seven days or so as the police didn’t have any evidence. Besides, a police official from Garden police station was involved with us, and he steered us clear every time.”
Javed claimed that the police as well as those on the run use street children for tip-offs. They are also asked to supply drugs from one area to another – usually a paid job – but Javed refrains from accepting such work. “If you fail, a horrible punishment awaits you. In our jargon, it is called a ‘remand’: a boy is gang-raped by six to eight men when he is remanded.”
The sexual molestation doesn’t end there: boys living on the pavement are also trafficked to other cities. “I don’t like this life ion the pavement, but what can I do? I don’t like studying; every time I try to study, I feel like sleeping. No matter how educated we are, you will never like to sit besides us. Tell me, what’s the use of changing track?”
Javed’s most recent addiction is to cut his body with a blade – something he claims he cannot quit. “I cannot quit this life now, because it is like is a necessity for me. Since I have been alone for a long time, there are no counter-thoughts to what I think. I have heard that people straighten up after marriage, so maybe I will do the same. I like a girl in my neighbourhood, and I will marry her,” he smiled.
* Name changed to protect identity
