According to the data of the Center for Social Work of the City of Mostar, from April this year until today, 9 minors and 12 adult citizens who were begging in the area of Mostar have been identified and recorded.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Welfare of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNC) stated that children who are found unaccompanied by parents or guardians on the street or begging, with the assistance of members of the Ministry of the Internal Affairs, should be taken by representatives of the Center for Social Work and placed in a reception center until biological parents, a foster family or accommodation in a temporary institution can be found.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Welfare of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNC) hopes to soon open the Public Institution “Educational Center of HNC”, which will, among other things, have such an organizational unit.
According to the president of the Association for Education and Development “Dignitet” Edisa Demic, the Educational Center is mentioned in the Protocol for the prevention and handling of begging and other forms of exploitation in the City of Mostar. That document explains the purpose of the educational center and also describes the powers of educational institutions, the center for social work and health institutions, the prosecutor’s office, etc.
“It is all written nicely, but in practice, it doesn’t work. The Protocol mentions an Educational Center, which we don’t have. It also refers to the conventions on children’s rights, which is a good indicator and way of how it should be in reality, but in practice, we cannot say that it is in operation,” said Demic.
Child beggars are mostly from the Romani population
She warns that child beggars most often come from the Romani population, both in Mostar and throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and instead of investigating these cases, such behavior is justified as a “traditional cultural custom”, and the children are returned to their families even when parents are involved in exploiting their children.
Moreover, Demic believes that there is a lot of room for improvement, and ordinary citizens should also get involved and react to a child on the street who is begging, meaning that he should report this to the police, and the police should further act in accordance with the law.
“Children should not be on the street, and those who are paid for their work are obliged to do everything in their domain to protect the child. A woman who begs with children who will soon grow up will beg again with her children in a few years. It is a vicious circle. It is an indication to us that society and the system have not responded adequately, nor is it working,” she concludes.
