STREETS

3 Million Egyptian Children Homeless

Study says 150,000 abuse drugs.

Among the societal decay in Egypt linked to President Hosni Mubarak’s nearly 30-year reign, the rise of street children is one of the biggest issues plaguing the country. A recent study estimated that 3 million children live on the streets, and concluded that 150,000 of them abuse drugs as a way of coping with violence, hunger, and harsh living conditions. Impoverished shantytowns on the outskirts of Cairo—home to millions of Egyptians who migrated from the Nile region to the Egypt’s capital in search of better lives—are also to blame for the phenomenon of thieving street children. During February’s uprising, reports surfaced that Mubarak’s regime recruited street children to fight protests in Tahrir Square.