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American Morning

Homeless Children in Iraq

Aired May 28, 2003 - 07:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The siege of Baghdad, the looting and violence that followed it and the decades of rule under Saddam Hussein that preceded it have all taken their toll on the city's children. Homeless children, many of them hungry, some of them drug-addicted, have become a common sight on the streets of the capital.
Matthew Chance is there.

Good morning to you -- Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you as well, Heidi.

For so many days and weeks now, we've been focusing predominantly on the threat facing U.S. soldiers patrolling the streets of Iraq, but in all that it's easy to forget the concerns, the fears, the insecurity facing ordinary Iraqi people as well; of course, children among them.

There are no exact figures on the numbers of children wandering the streets, but aid workers say the looting of orphanages in the days following the fall of Baghdad has worsened the problem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE (voice-over): In the heat, a few of Baghdad's unwanted children splash in a polluted city fountain. It looks like fun, but the water here is stagnant and contaminated with raw sewage. They risk disease for a few laps.

From the smiles, you would never know it, but some of these kids are orphans; others have parents too poor to care for them. Since the war, there are too few schools to keep them off the streets, and aid workers say homelessness among Baghdad's young has exploded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely. We know of institutions that have been looted, institutions where children were residing. Many of these children have left. Some have come back to institutions, but the state of institutions is not good at all, and children are on the streets, definitely.

CHANCE: Hida (ph) is just 8 years old. He told me both his mother and father died long ago, and that his orphanage was smashed and looted in the days after Baghdad fell. Now he sleeps in shop doorways. It is a story of post-war neglect all too common here. And there's worse. Just a few steps from our hotel, we came across little Ama Abrahim (ph). He could tell us his name, but little else. The bag of glue at his mouth has robbed him of his memories. How many others are in this desperate state is anyone's guess. Passersby rarely intervene like this, with so many problems of their own, few even care.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's time to go home. Did you eat yet?

CHANCE: There have been efforts by some U.S. soldiers acting out of pity to find homes for a few, but some Iraqis say they blame these forces for failing to protect their country's most vulnerable.

Under Saddam, the problem of unwanted children was taboo and kept hidden. Kids like these were slung into orphanages, even jail. But this life on the streets seems hardly better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Heidi, this is just a snapshot, of course, of a much bigger problem. Poverty has many faces in this country, and aid workers are concerned that in the big picture the plight of these few young souls on the streets of the capital may simply be overlooked.

Back to you.

COLLINS: Matthew, any talk of what could be in the future for these children?

CHANCE: Well, I mean, what needs to be done about this is obviously a question that I've certainly been asking all of the aid workers I've been speaking to since I arrived in Baghdad. What they say, first of all, needs to be done, of course, is that the institutions, the orphanages, the schools need to reopen as soon as possible to get as many of these children off the streets as possible. There is also talk of implementing some kind of plan that would give these kids training, so they could learn skills, to learn to earn a living at least in later life.

But, you know, the much bigger problem is one of poverty, and that is going to take many, many years to address. There are no easy answers -- Heidi.

COLLINS: That is for sure. Matthew Chance coming to us live this morning. Thank you so much, Matthew.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired May 28, 2003 - 07:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The siege of Baghdad, the looting and violence that followed it and the decades of rule under Saddam Hussein that preceded it have all taken their toll on the city's children. Homeless children, many of them hungry, some of them drug-addicted, have become a common sight on the streets of the capital.
Matthew Chance is there.

Good morning to you -- Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you as well, Heidi.

For so many days and weeks now, we've been focusing predominantly on the threat facing U.S. soldiers patrolling the streets of Iraq, but in all that it's easy to forget the concerns, the fears, the insecurity facing ordinary Iraqi people as well; of course, children among them.

There are no exact figures on the numbers of children wandering the streets, but aid workers say the looting of orphanages in the days following the fall of Baghdad has worsened the problem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE (voice-over): In the heat, a few of Baghdad's unwanted children splash in a polluted city fountain. It looks like fun, but the water here is stagnant and contaminated with raw sewage. They risk disease for a few laps.

From the smiles, you would never know it, but some of these kids are orphans; others have parents too poor to care for them. Since the war, there are too few schools to keep them off the streets, and aid workers say homelessness among Baghdad's young has exploded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely. We know of institutions that have been looted, institutions where children were residing. Many of these children have left. Some have come back to institutions, but the state of institutions is not good at all, and children are on the streets, definitely.

CHANCE: Hida (ph) is just 8 years old. He told me both his mother and father died long ago, and that his orphanage was smashed and looted in the days after Baghdad fell. Now he sleeps in shop doorways. It is a story of post-war neglect all too common here. And there's worse. Just a few steps from our hotel, we came across little Ama Abrahim (ph). He could tell us his name, but little else. The bag of glue at his mouth has robbed him of his memories. How many others are in this desperate state is anyone's guess. Passersby rarely intervene like this, with so many problems of their own, few even care.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's time to go home. Did you eat yet?

CHANCE: There have been efforts by some U.S. soldiers acting out of pity to find homes for a few, but some Iraqis say they blame these forces for failing to protect their country's most vulnerable.

Under Saddam, the problem of unwanted children was taboo and kept hidden. Kids like these were slung into orphanages, even jail. But this life on the streets seems hardly better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Heidi, this is just a snapshot, of course, of a much bigger problem. Poverty has many faces in this country, and aid workers are concerned that in the big picture the plight of these few young souls on the streets of the capital may simply be overlooked.

Back to you.

COLLINS: Matthew, any talk of what could be in the future for these children?

CHANCE: Well, I mean, what needs to be done about this is obviously a question that I've certainly been asking all of the aid workers I've been speaking to since I arrived in Baghdad. What they say, first of all, needs to be done, of course, is that the institutions, the orphanages, the schools need to reopen as soon as possible to get as many of these children off the streets as possible. There is also talk of implementing some kind of plan that would give these kids training, so they could learn skills, to learn to earn a living at least in later life.

But, you know, the much bigger problem is one of poverty, and that is going to take many, many years to address. There are no easy answers -- Heidi.

COLLINS: That is for sure. Matthew Chance coming to us live this morning. Thank you so much, Matthew.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.