Out in the Cold, Alone

My name is Sean. I now live in an abandoned park just outside the city centre, but only a few months ago I was living with my parents in a comfortable house.

My father was the reason I left home. When I was 12, he started showing the sort of interest in me that fathers are not supposed to show. He began by crawling into my bed, and then it got worse. He started sexually abusing me. I lived with it till I was 16, and then I got to the point where I didn't want to stay at home any more.

Sean

I knew I had to leave. When I moved out onto the street, I found shelter in a park. I had hoped the outside world would be better. Unfortunately, it was as bad as the other one.

The first nights spent in the park were so frightening. I met two female prostitutes. They were really nice to me and told me where to go if I wanted to work. Soon, I became one of them, except that I was a boy who was just 16.

The park where I live now is really bad. There are people who are mentally sick, who attack you and hit you. There are also addicts who would do anything to get money to buy drugs or booze.

There are so many kids my age who are drug addicts; for many of them, getting and selling drugs is both pastime and profession. People get AIDS and other serious diseases. It is not a place I would wish on anyone. It is also very hard, because you have to put up with the police. Some of them try to take advantage of you. I have to put up with them more than others because I am younger and look innocent.

Do I regret leaving home? Yes and no. I regret not going to school, and not having a place to live. I also miss my mother. But I don't regret leaving my father.

adapted from Teaching About Human Rights