Children on the Streets of the Americas: Globalization, Homelessness, and Education in the United States, Brazil and Cuba
Mickelson, Roslyn (ed.) (2000).
New York: Routledge; 304 pages. $24.95. ISBN 0415923220.
While I recommend both of the books under review, I do so for different reasons. While the books are clearly distinct, what they have in common is a presentation of the societal and cultural view of street children.
Patricia Marquez, the author of The Street Is My Home: Youth and Violence in Caracas, is a Venezuelan woman who studied in the United States. She is forthcoming about the fact that she is a person of higher social class who before beginning the study had not been involved with street children in Caracas, and for that matter rarely went out at night. Nevertheless, she does become involved with street children on the streets where they hang out as well as where they are incarcerated. Her study combines considerable participant observation and ethnographic fieldwork with a strong analysis of the societal factors that help to create and reinforce these children of the street.
Written in clear language without jargon, Marquez shows how the children’s (or more accurately, boys, with whom she worked exclusively) daily experience of violence is connected to global events, including national politics and the failing economy. She shows how the children are not simply delinquents, but are in fact also victims of these and other societal developments and events. She is able to see what makes the boys tick, and rather than making assumptions about them based on common public perceptions, she discusses their creativity and humor. She comes to enjoy them, and does not fall prey to pity, although she clearly has deep empathy. However, she also understands how the ruling class feels threatened by their presence.
Several of her findings are noteworthy. For example, her research indicates that the children’s worst enemy is the police, a finding which has very important implications for policy but which is not apparent in less well-researched studies. Similarly, she provides insightful observations of the children’s abysmal treatment when they are incarcerated. Additionally, she notes that even street children are consumers of international culture and indeed may define themselves by the brand names they wear- a finding that is sad, but not unique among poor children in the developing world. Finally, she demonstrates that many street children, rather than being simply neglected by their mothers, have strong and complex relationships with them.
Marquez manages to give the reader a close-up, sensitive view of street children which is controlled enough to provide useful insights into the lives of the boys she observes and the policy decisions and societal attitudes that contribute to their situation.
Her intimate portrayal of street children is balanced by the second book under review, Children on the Streets: Globalization, Homelessness, and Education in the United States, Brazil and Cuba by Roslyn Mickelson who is a North American professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
The editor’s introduction to street children came from personal experience in her hometown in the United States, but the book is a comparative exploration of the lives of street children in three quite different societies: the USA, Brazil, and Cuba. Several authors from each of these countries contributed valuable chapters.
Mickelson points out that in all cases poverty is the root cause of children being on the street. She urges that it is within a nation’s power to provide for the social welfare of its children, as does Cuba, despite the fact that it is not a wealthy nation. However, she also shows that with the increasing tourist trade and opening market in Cuba, street children are beginning to emerge. In this connection, she argues that globalization and free trade have increased poverty, and perhaps more importantly, widened the gap between the poor and wealthy (or to use her phrase, the gentrified compulsive spending class).
Several authors present information about the different sociological and educational experiences of street children in each of the three countries. Additionally, there are several articles on the role of the state in either contributing to or ameliorating the problems that poor children face. Finally, there are several reviews of successful programs for children in all three countries.
I recommend both books because they cover different ground: the first provides a close-up view of street children and the latter a detailed policy analysis of their circumstances. Reading them both will give readers a balanced understanding of who these children are as well as how the state affects their lives.
Reviewer Information
San Jose State University
Lewis Aptekar received his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Michigan. He is a licensed clinical psychologist and a professor of Counselor Education at San Jose State University. His cross-cultural research has been supported by various awards, including two Fulbright scholarships, and has led to numerous publications on children in difficult circumstances around the world.