In the third installment of our blog series on 'Childhood and Migration,' Susan Kay-Flowers (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) discusses the reasons why many children become separated from their parents in Nepal, as well as these children's experiences and the difficulties they face in securing citizenship.
Source: Wiki commons.
Drawing on findings from a study of the experiences of separated children in Nepal, this blog focuses on the reasons why many children become separated from their parents in Nepal, their experiences, and the difficulties they have in securing citizenship. The researchers interviewed 20 practitioners (project officers, programme managers, programme development officers, deputy directors and directors) working with separated children in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and welfare agencies in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Researchers’ analysis of these interviews helps explain the circumstances faced by separated children in Nepal.
Over 4 million Nepalese workers gained approval for foreign employment between 2008 and 2018 – not including those who migrated across the open border to India. The rate of migration has declined recently, particularly since the Covid pandemic, but it continues to exert a considerable impact on families. For instance, in 2014, an estimated 4.8% of children lived in Nepal, away from both parents; of these, 75% said both parents were still alive. Within this group, 50% said both parents were residing in other households in Nepal, 23% said one parent was abroad and 27% said their parent(s) were living elsewhere but not in households in Nepal (probably as migrant workers).
Extreme poverty and lack of employment and educational opportunities in rural communities are key factors in children’s decisions to migrate from rural spaces to cities within Nepal, particularly Kathmandu. Individual vulnerabilities associated with their family environment and lack of parental care, are highly influential in their decision-making. Conflict and violence within the home, including child abuse, and poor parenting skills or lack of parental care were common features in children’s experiences. They migrate to Kathmandu to seek better educational or employment opportunities, often lured by false promises.
Practitioners found, on arrival in the city, many children were enrolled in a government school but employers insisted their work responsibilities had to come first, which meant their attendance was irregular and they often dropped out. Most were employed in child labour, as domestic or restaurant workers or as labourers in the brick kilns. Working conditions were very poor, they reported experiencing physical, verbal, and sometimes sexual abuse from their employers, as well as health problems. Some were trafficked into the entertainment sector or sex trade.
In most cases, practitioners found these children’s births were not registered by their parent(s) in their local area at the time of their birth, which meant they lacked birth registration documents, or any form of identification. Lack of such documents made it impossible to trace these separated children, making them vulnerable to brokers issuing false documents and to trafficking. Practitioners found it was not unusual for children’s ages to be falsified for them to work and cited examples of teenage girls being issued citizenship documents before they were 16 so they could be sent to India. Without birth registration, children were unable to access education, register for the Secondary Education Examination (SEE), or apply for citizenship at the age of 16. On occasion, children provided inaccurate information about their identity, which led to particular complications. In one example, a young boy, sitting his national examinations, knew he was from a Shrestha caste family but stated he was from another caste. This meant he now had to either drop out of studying because his mark sheets were under a false family name or try to seek a new identity, thereby, distancing himself from his own family.
Without citizenship, young people are unable to attend university, access government services, obtain a marriage certificate or passport, or confer citizenship on their children. Some children came into the care of these agencies as babies having been abandoned and found on the street, their origin and family unknown. Practitioners described the hurdles they faced in securing citizenship for these children who had lived in the organisation throughout their childhood. In some cases, finding it impossible, they had taken on the role of ‘protector’ or even adopted a child. These were emergency measures taken to address the current situation but had long term implications. Even if separated children’s parents could be traced, often parents did not have a citizenship document of their own, to prove they were a Nepalese citizen. Parental citizenship documents, combined with birth registration documents, are the means by which children can prove their identity and are able to acquire citizenship for themselves. In cases where children did not have birth registration documents and were ‘unidentified,’ they needed recommendation letters from the local ward office and ‘neighbours of the organisation where the child grew up’ to establish their identity.
Government action requiring all births to be registered, and all children to have a birth certificate before they can be admitted to school has increased the rate of birth registration for children under 5 to 77% in 2019/20. However, this does not address the gap for older children whose births were not registered at the time.
Practitioners believe appropriate policy and legislation is in place to address the issues of birth and citizenship registration for separated children in Nepal, the difficulties lie in its implementation. Processes are time consuming, often taking years. Practitioners believe the solution lies in a more coordinated governmental response at the local and national level and promoting understanding among families and within communities to ensure the importance of birth registration is understood. Defining the issue as a key element of the government’s national child protection strategy would emphasise its importance and be a significant step in protecting separated children.
There are early indications that federalism and the decentralisation of power has brought about a higher level of engagement by officials at the local level and the sharing of data at the national level during the Covid pandemic. Building on these developments would bring about a more coordinated government response to implementing separated children’s rights to birth and citizenship Article 7, UNCRC, as well as recognising their right to education Article 28, UNCRC and to special protection and assistance when they cannot be looked after by their family Article 20, UNCRC. Taking the necessary actions would improve protections for these children.
References
Dakal Adhikari, S. & Turton, J. (2020). Understanding ‘trafficking vulnerabilities’ among children: the responses linking to child protection issues in Nepal. Children’s Geographies, 18(4), 393–405. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2019.1676398
International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2021) Recruitment of migrant workers from Nepal: Country profile, International Labour Organisation. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---ipec/documents/publication/wcms_814432.pdf
Kamei, A. (2018) Parental Absence and Agency: The Household Characteristics of Hazardous Forms of Child Labour in Nepal. J. Int. Dev., 30: 1116–1141. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3371.
Kay-Flowers, S, Kadambari, P & Lama, N. (2022) Experiences of separated children in Nepal, Liverpool John Moores University. Available at: https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/18380/1/2022%20-%20Experiences%20of%20separated%20children%20in%20Nepal%20-%20final%20report.pdf
Kay-Flowers, S., Lama, N., & Kadambari, P. (2023). Exploring separated children's experience of migration in Nepal. Children & Society, 00, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12759
Khan, A.A. (2022). Embodied circular migration: lived experiences of education and work of Nepalese children and youth. Journal of Youth Studies, 25(4), 470–486. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2021.1902962
National Child Rights Council (2020) State of Children in Nepal, 2019, Ministry of Women, Children & Senior Citizens, Government of Nepal. Available at: https://bettercarenetwork.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/1588671135status%20report%20ENGLISH.pdf
Punaks, M., & Lama, S. (2021). Orphanage Trafficking and Child Protection in Emergencies in Nepal: A Comparative Analysis of the 2015 Earthquake and the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic. Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, 8(1), 26-37. https://doi.org/10.1177/2349300320975547
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989) Available at: https://www.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/UNCRC_summary-1_1.pdf