The Street Is My Home: Youth and Violence in Caracas by Patricia Marquez

Abstract

Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 13 No. 1 (2003) ISSN: 1546-2250 The Street Is My Home: Youth and Violence in Caracas Marquez, Patricia (1999). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press; 284 pages. $49.50. ISBN 0804734534. While I recommend both of the books underreview, I do so for different reasons. While the books are clearlydistinct, what they have in common is a presentation of the societaland cultural view of street children. Patricia Marquez, the author of The Street Is My Home: Youth and Violence in Caracas,is a Venezuelan woman who studied in the United States. She isforthcoming about the fact that she is a person of higher social classwho before beginning the study had not been involved with streetchildren in Caracas, and for that matter rarely went out at night.Nevertheless, she does become involved with street children on thestreets where they hang out as well as where they areincarcerated. Her study combines considerable participant observationand ethnographic fieldwork with a strong analysis of the societalfactors that help to create and reinforce these children of the street. Written in clear language without jargon, Marquez shows how thechildren’s (or more accurately, boys, with whom she worked exclusively)daily experience of violence is connected to global events, includingnational politics and the failing economy. She shows how the childrenare not simply delinquents, but are in fact also victims of these andother societal developments and events. She is able to see what makesthe boys tick, and rather than making assumptions about them based oncommon public perceptions, she discusses their creativity and humor.She comes to enjoy them, and does not fall prey to pity, although sheclearly has deep empathy. However, she also understands how the rulingclass feels threatened by their presence. 264 Several of her findings are noteworthy. For example, herresearch indicates that the children’s worst enemy is the police, afinding which has very important implications for policy but which isnot apparent in less well-researched studies. Similarly, she providesinsightful observations of the children’s abysmal treatment when theyare incarcerated. Additionally, she notes that even street children areconsumers of international culture and indeed may define themselves bythe brand names they wear- a finding that is sad, but not unique amongpoor children in the developing world. Finally, she demonstrates thatmany street children, rather than being simply neglected by theirmothers, have strong and complex relationships with them. Marquez manages to give the reader a close-up, sensitive viewof street children which is controlled enough to provide usefulinsights into the lives of the boys she observes and the policydecisions and societal attitudes that contribute to their situation. Her intimate portrayal of street children is balanced by the second book under review, Children on the Streets: Globalization, Homelessness, and Education in the United States, Brazil and Cuba by Roslyn Mickelson who is a North American professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The editor’s introduction to street children came from personalexperience in her hometown in the United States, but the book is acomparative exploration of the lives of street children in three quitedifferent societies: the USA, Brazil, and Cuba. Several authors fromeach of these countries contributed valuable chapters. Mickelson points out that in all cases poverty is the root cause ofchildren being on the street. She urges that it is within a nation’spower to provide for the social welfare of its children, as does Cuba,despite the fact that it is not a wealthy nation. However, she alsoshows that with the increasing tourist trade and opening market inCuba, street children are beginning to 265 emerge. In this connection, sheargues that globalization and free trade have increased poverty, andperhaps more importantly, widened the gap between the poor and wealthy(or to use her phrase, the gentrified compulsive spending class). Several authors present information about the different sociologicaland educational experiences of street children in each of the threecountries. Additionally, there are several articles on the role of thestate in either contributing to or ameliorating the problems that poorchildren face. Finally, there are several reviews of successfulprograms for children in all three countries. I recommend both books because they cover different ground: thefirst provides a close-up view of street children and the...