Many of the children being held in juvenile detention centres in the country are guilty of nothing other than being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
These minors are being treated as criminals, when they are, in fact, the victims.
What is most inexcusable is that children are often hauled off to these detention centres without knowledge of their parents.
It is of utmost importance that we reach out and help children who have been wrongfully accused of crimes.
At any rate, a child should never be locked up without knowledge of their adult guardian.
It goes without saying that it is a terrible thing for a parent to think their child may have died or been abducted when they are actually in custody.
To this end, some pro bono lawyers like Samir Afza and Roksana Reza deserve kudos for doing some good work towards tracking down the families of these detained children and preparing their case arguments.
Ultimately, it is a failure of the system to give these children a fair chance, and a good education.
Many of them are victims of circumstance, and get caught up in activities without full knowledge of what they are being used for.
Poor children are the most neglected and most vulnerable group of people, and, clearly, we are failing to protect them.
The rights of children locked up in detention must never be forgotten, and proper investigations must be done to determine guilt.
In the longer term, the issue of poverty, which is the root cause of this problem, must be addressed.
