Reiterating Our Concern about Alarming Street-Selling by School-going Kids and Others

It may appear as if no one is paying attention to the concern being raised against the danger characterizing street-selling by school-going and other Liberian children in the streets of Monrovia and its environs.

We had anticipated that ‘someone somewhere in or outside the Government of Liberia would have been attracted to the alarming and uncontrollable rate at which Liberian children are currently involved in selling on streets between and among vehicles in Monrovia and elsewhere.

Despite the danger of being tragically hit by some of these moving vehicles or kidnapped for ritualistic and other devilish purposes by heartless individuals, especially as we move close to the 2017 Presidential and Representatives Elections in Liberia, there seems to be no public information about attempts by the Government of Liberia and partners to address this unfortunate situation.

Discouraging and alarming it is for the deployment of children in their teens in the streets either by their parents or guardians to sell goods of all kinds, while Liberian public officials and those of national non-governmental organizations drive-pass them with deliberate ignorance.

While we may be cognizant of the difficult economic situation with which Liberians are confronted and the associated poverty-stricken conditions, the kids must not also be used to settle such economic
scores for socio-economic hope and survivability.

The uncontrollable increasing presence of children in the streets of Monrovia and other cities across the country may not only be exposing them to crimes against them, but also prostitution, as well as crimes they themselves commit as sell and growth in the streets to the disadvantage of the Liberian society.
And this is something for which we, again, appeal to the Government of Liberia and partners to urgently address.

They must be removed from the streets, parents and guardians identified and the necessary actions instituted for their well-being and that of our society.

It is taking too long for such necessary actions – and let us not wait until the worst happens; now is the time and the government and partners must act now to save the children of Liberia.