The government, instead of protecting children
and safeguarding their rights, ingores them,
considering them a nuisance and a social stain.
The gorgeous universal letter on the rights of the
child which Guatemala has signed is a myth
of a fantasy in this country.

Instituto Austriaco Guatemalteco.  Seminario Los ninos de
la calle: Una realidad alarmante, (Guatemala: IAG, 1992), 139-40.

The Police

In the United States, the police are the ones whom we run to if we are in danger. In Guatemala, as well as other Latin American countries, the street children run away from the policemen because they are the source of danger.

The State of Guatemala view the street children as a nuisance, they are like cockroaches, and just like cockroaches, they need to be exterminated. The act of 'social cleansing' is very common in Guatemala. The street children are not safe from anyone; both the police and private citizens enjoy exterminating the children.

The police are an everyday presence in the life of a street child. Everyday they stop the children to see if they have any money, if they do, they must hand it over to the police. If the children happen not to have money, they are taken to jail. The police also request the children's citizenship papers, if the child has them, the police take it away. If the child does not have the papers, the police take him to jail. The police beat the children in the streets; it is a common sight.

Steal an apple; get shot in the head. I know that this seems unbelievable, but in essence it is true. The police are paranoid of and hate the street children, killing them is easy. The government does not even have any incentives to stop the massacres. The government, even with ample proof of guilt, often will let the guilty get off with a light punishment.

The Guatemalan Government
Articles from the Guatemalan Constitution

The Guatemalan Government is full of contradictions. If the Guatemalan government were following the articles stated in their constitution, then I would not be writing on this subject.

Article 19: The people who are taking actions regarding drugs are the nonprofit organizations, such as Casa Alianza.

Articles 33 and 34: The police officers watch as street children sit at the corners negotiating the selling of their body, but do not stop it. In many cases, the police officers themselves are negotiating with the child for sex (i.e. 'If you give yourself to me, I won't put you in jail'). In the jails, the police officers make the children take off their clothes and if the children to not comply; they rip the clothes off.

Article 37: Walking down the streets, it is likely that you will see a police officer beating a child. The children themselves testify that the police are after them everyday and even private citizens take apart in torturing them. I do not think that the government is following this particular article adequately.

Article 40: In the reports by Nancy Leigh Tierney the children claim that it was rare when one of them was presented in front of a judge, this means that their was no legal representation to try to defend the children. This ultimately means that the children were presumed guilty instead of innocent, and were not allowed to have someone defend their innocence. As for informing promptly and directly the charges against the children, I seriously doubt that the police officers do that.

Inter Press Service (IPS), 30 Jan 98. "Rights: Children of the Prisons - Defenceless Victims," by Juan Carlos Rocha.

OneWorld News Service, 13 Jun 96. "Guatemalan Police Convicted of Murder of Street Children," by Bruce Harris.

The Guardian (London), November 1995. "The Street Kids Who Took on a Government," by Anthony Swift.

The WorldPaper, Boston, Jan 95. "Children to the Slaughter," by Carlos Castilho