“Without papers, how am I suppose to be an active part
of society?
Just because we’re on the streets doesn’t mean we
don’t have rights.
We’re out there trying to get ahead, like everyone
else.”
-Miguel, 19 years old, Mexico City
On May 28, 2013, the conference "The imagery of the street and its inhabitants: Analysis, critical and multidisciplinary
reflections" was held in the Faculty of Psychology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
(UNAM). The event was organized by the Psychology Student
Initiative (INEPSI, http://www.inepsi.com.mx)
in collaboration with the International Center for Research and Policy on Childhood in
collaboration with the Pontifical Catholic
University of Rio de Janeiro
(PUC-Rio) (CIESPI,
http://www.ciespi.org . br /), and the
Collective for Children’s Rights (CODENI,
http://www.codeni.org.mx/).
The aim of the event was to
bring together different actors involved with on life on the streets, including
researchers from different social science, civil society organizations, and youth
who live on the streets of Mexico City, to analyze public policies,
street-connectedness, discrimination, stigma and street identities.
In the opening of the event,
Danielle Strickland, who coordinated research on street life in Mexico City and
Rio de Janeiro from 2008 to 2012, said she was pleased "to see young
people so motivated to bring life and new initiatives to academia and, above
all, to get involved with other groups in society to achieve more together."
The Director of the Psychology Department of the UNAM, Javier Nieto Gutierrez, explained
that students have the initiative to bring together efforts to "strengthen
research, training and academic extension in the department and the UNAM, and thus
have a greater impact on important issues for the Nation."
The first part of the event
included the showing of the documentary "When home is the street" for
the first time in the campus of the UNAM. The film was directed by Theresa
Jessouroun under the coordination of CIESPI and CODENI, and shows the life
stories of young people on the streets of Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro.
Ricardo Fletes from the University of Guadalajara (UDG), presented a review of
the film, emphasizing the "high human content that brings awareness towards
a greater social consciousness, to hope, to what one can do and achieve in the
midst of an individualistic society."
The film reflections were followed by the first panel on "Public Policies, Interventions and Other Interactions with Street Populations"
moderated by Juan Martin Perez Garcia, Executive Director of the Network
for the Rights of Children in Mexico (REDIM).
The panel also included Ricardo Fletes,
Head of the Department of Social Development at the UDG, Luis Enrique Hernandez, director
of El Caracol, AC in Mexico City,
René Jiménez, from
the Institute for Social Research at the UNAM, Ricardo Ortega,
Head of the Center for Applied Research
on Human Rights
in Mexico City (CDHDF), Danielle
Strickland, international associate researcher at CIESPI in Rio de Janeiro, and Jorge Lopez and Miguel Romualdo,
representatives of youth living on the streets in Mexico City.
The
panel discussed the efforts and effectiveness of various government programs
and Civil Social Organizations (OSCs) to address the phenomenon of street
populations. Reflections revolved around how some of these programs are
welfare-based and lack prevention strategies, putting them at risk for creating
"better street children". The need for comprehensive public policies based
on human rights was also emphasized, as well as the need to reduce the
vulnerability of street populations with regard to social phenomena resulting
from the violence (e.g., addictions, drug trafficking, human trafficking,
prostitution). Additionally the panel raised the questions: Who does public
space belong to and who can act in such spaces? Regarding these topics, Jorge
and Miguel raised the questions, "How can we survive if we are not allowed
to work in public spaces?” And “How can we trust those who come to help us if
they force us to do things against our will?".
The second panel on "Street Identities,
discrimination and stigma" was moderated by social psychologist Izcoatl
Xelhuantzi of UNAM, and panelists included Human Rights specialist Nisaly
Brito, from Commeta Org., psychologist José Mayorga Martínez, Román Diaz from
EDNICA, Alicia Vargas, director of CIDES, and Jorge Lopez, Miguel Romualdo and
Jonathan Miranda, representatives of street populations in Mexico City.
The panel discussed the need to rethink the term
"street child," as it does not include all the people that inhabit
the streets (e.g. youth, adults and senior citizens), and the term street
populations was proposed as an alternative. In this regard, Jorge, Jonathan and
Miguel claimed not see themselves as street children, but rather as people
living on the street, people with "a home and family." The panel also
discussed how some institutions profit from the image of "street
children", unlike others that seek to develop educational models and
ethical public policies that address the needs of street people. To complete
the panel discussion, the scholars and representatives of civil society
organizations were asked why in the current discourse we speak of reintegrating
street populations? Are they not already part of society? In this regard,
panelists stressed the importance of differentiating programs that seek to ‘reintegrate’
from those who seek to ‘include.’ The difference is that the former seek to
adapt street populations to societal norms, whereas, the latter are aimed at
creating conditions or modifications of broader structural changes (political,
economic and social) that guarantee street populations the full exercise of
their human rights.
In conclusion, the conference showed the urgency of
creating spaces for multidisciplinary dialogue which seek to dignify street
populations and promote the development of public policies towards social
inclusion. In this regard, and to finish the event, the president of INEPSI, Ángel
García Juárez, expressed the need to transcend the academic discourse to concrete
actions that make it possible to rethink our reality. He indicated that INEPSI
is largely committed to this mission, stating that "INEPSI does not
complete projects, but rather leaves questions open and continues to work to
answer them".
