Child vendors during the coronavirus pandemic

Intending to acknowledge the lockdown and the measures adopted due to the health emergency, a colleague from Radio Alternativa, during his usual journalistic rounds through the city streets, encountered children between the ages of 10 and 12 who were out on the streets as if it were any other day. The curious journalist approached them and asked: "How old are you? Why aren't you at home? Do you know there's a health emergency?"

The answers were emphatic; the children were fully aware of the health emergency: “…due to the presence of the coronavirus in Bolivia and in Santa Cruz…” So why aren’t they staying home? The question didn’t need an answer. The children were selling what their mothers produced, forgetting the danger as they waited for their buyers. They needed to sell, and the sooner the better; they, too, wanted to be at home with their families.

One child was selling bread, another cuñapé, another chairs, and so on; all were busy waiting for their potential customers. The chair seller had the most difficult situation. In times of confinement, even chairs are in the way, taking up the small space available to share among those confined, and in this emergency, who would want to buy a chair?

These children will have to choose between protecting their health by staying home and going out to sell goods. They fulfill the role of provider for their families, and the stay-at-home order makes it difficult for them to carry out their duties. What will their feelings be when they see and know that all the other children are staying home? Apparently, they compensate for that feeling with the pride of feeling responsible for delivering messages to their families.

The journalist's seemingly innocent article reveals the consequences of health policies adopted without considering that, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), there are 2,497,478 children (aged 0 to 11) in Bolivia. Of that total, 27.2% live in the department of Santa Cruz; and that nearly 4 million people in the country live in poverty, for whom the primary concern is survival amidst this and any other crisis.

Finally, the journalist asked one of the children, "Do you want to say anything to your friends or family?" "Stay home and take care of yourselves." The paradox of the situation is that while child vendors and so many others defy not only the stay-at-home order but also the deadly severity of the coronavirus, UNICEF is providing mothers, fathers, and caregivers with a series of tools to develop activities at home with children so they can continue learning, strengthen family bonds, and take care of their physical and emotional health. It's time to "call" for these tools to eventually reach every home and involve every child.

Women's Center

Alternative Radio 103.0 fm Santa Cruz-Bolivia