Kosovo’s Street Kids: Neglected at Home, and by the State

A lack of capacity in social welfare centres means that many children - mainly from Kosovo's Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities - are left to fend for themselves, forced into work from an early age despite the dangers. Despite the odd police operation against human traffickers or abusive parents, Kosovo's state institutions largely turn a blind eye.

"They often do not place these children in state care, using the excuse that they are accompanied by their families," said Egzona Gashi, coordinator of the Pristina Day Care Centre of the NGO Terre Des Hommes, which provides support for dozens of street children every day.

Kosovo Ombudsman Naim Qelaj said alarm bells should be ringing.

"We have no information to suggest that social welfare centres have taken proper action in accordance with the law in the cases of children in street situations," Qelaj told BIRN. "What we see every day in the streets in different parts of Kosovo's cities remains concerning and it should be a constant alarm for institutions to improve the situation of these children."

'The majority have a family'

A Kosovo Roma collects waste at the garbage dump in Fushe Kosove/ Kosovo Polje, Kosovo, on January 11, 2006. Photo: EPA-EFE/VALDRIN XHEMAJ

NGOs dealing with the rights of children say that Kosovo has put in place a relatively good foster care system for abandoned or neglected children, but those made to work on the streets are generally ignored.

Klevis Vaqari, manager of the Coalition of NGOs for Child Protection in Kosovo, KOMF, said that some victims of child labour may also be victims of human trafficking.

"They might be unaccompanied, especially those who come from neighbouring Albania, but the majority have a family, which makes it...