Child Peddlars: Grown before childhood withers

Published in The Daily Star
Section: Star City
Mon. November 14, 2005

Mizanur Khan and Syed Tashfin Chowdhury

Thirteen-year-old Russel, (not his real name) was roaming round the Kamalapur Rail Station looking for customers. Having left his parents back in Mymensingh at the age of 10, he started life in the city selling newspapers at the station for the last 18 months. His trade remained, but goods changed. He now sells phensidyl to regular customers and survives on the income he makes.

He collects 20 to 25 bottles of phensidyl from a woman at a nearby sweeper colony on a daily basis.

"I get Tk 10 per bottle from her and if I am lucky, the buyers give me tips," he said, adding that most of his buyers are students driving their own cars.

But Russel could not give the name of the woman, who provided the bottles, nor could he name the source, but he said that there were three other phensidyl-sellers at the station that got their goods from the same woman.

On the other hand nine-year-old Tareq was found selling heroine and ganja in the Agargaon area. Tareq, like Russel, claimed that he has been deployed by a woman and did not know her name.

"I collect about 10 to 20 puriya (units) from her at the Town Hall in Mohammadpur at each time. I hardly sell 10 to 15 puriyas a day," he said.

When asked about the woman, the boy said: "We call her mother as she gives us the bottles and we survive by selling them. Sometimes she points out potential customers," he added.

Traders use children like Russel and Tareq in the drug trade and numbers have risen to almost 500 in the last few years. These children are spread to over 50 spots in the city, sources at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said.

Child peddlers and addicts are found in plenty in the BNP Bazar of Agargaon, Mohammadpur Camp Bazar, Town Hall Bazar, Katashur, Shukrabad, Lalmatia, Chankharpuland Tongi Truck Stand.

Apart from these areas, child peddlers are also surfacing from Mirpur, especially Mirpur 13 and the Mirpur Tinshed Colony. Other spots are New Market Post Office area, Katabon, Gulshan Niketan, Shahzadpur, Nikunjo, Karwanbazar (near FDC), Gulshan Taltola (opposite shooting club), Tongi Amtoli, Chauddotoli and City Palli in Sayedabad.

Peddlers peddlers pick their 'ware' with range from cannabis, ganja, cocaine, heroine, and phensidyl from different 'hide-outs' located in rather discreet spots inside shopping malls, government colonies and similar places.

"As children are least suspected by the police, traders choose them for these jobs," said Nabil, an ex-drug addict.

Nabil explained that child peddlers are stable, trustworthy and are quite dispensable by the traders compared to adult traders.

"Adult peddlers always look for an opportunity to make an extra income or even run away when a huge stash of drugs have been sold through him. But child peddlers will always return to the trader as they cannot resort to any other livelihood where the pay is so good," he said.

These underage boys are controlled by more than a thousand women who come from the lower income groups.

Sources also said that addict parents hand over their children to these women to have an income to sustain their habit. Peddlers sober at the beginning of this dubious career may resort to addiction in the long run, commented another drug addict.

Narcotics Department officers said they were unable to take action against these children because of their age, even if they were arrested.

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and the Narcotics department recently went on a joint drive and recovered a huge amount of drugs from several parts of city. Few female traders were arrested and the sale of phensidyl, heroine and hashish was significantly reduced.

Children caught for drug selling are sent to the juvenile correction centres while most of them get released after few weeks and become decoys for the godfathers. It is alleged that godfathers take an active role to free them through their influential connections.

"It is a vicious circle and is tough for peddlers to come out once they are in," said Sultan, a 19-year-old ex-addict, who was once a peddler himself.

"The trend is harmful for these children," said Selina Fatema, Lecturer, Clinical Psychology, Dhaka University, who explained that most of these children are still at 'the learning stage' of life.

"Most of them are yet to develop the sense through which they can distinguish good and bad. As they earn lumps of money through peddling, they naturally presume this an ideal career," she said, adding that apart from being addicts, they may end up being criminals.

"These children are being apprehended and then tried under the children's act. But as minors they are granted bail under special provisions," said Abdul Qayuum, Inspector General of Police, Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

He told Star City that the children are released and kept under the watchful eyes of counsellors from various NGOs.

"But most cases counsellors are indifferent to these children and the children usually return to their godfathers," said Qayuum.

"Children cling to this trade as most of them have families to feed and the need to survive. This issue will be easily solved if responsible and concerned citizens come forward as a community and aid concerned authorities to fight this growing problem," concluded the IGP.