Friends
12 year old girl sits on a bench at the Gara de Norde
with 11 year old boy
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These children tell horrible stories of physical and sexual abuse, both in the homes of their families and in group homes. That is why they take to the streets. Some of the violence and contempt with which these children are treated is evident in these photos -- a policeman pulls so hard on 8 year old Florian's ear that he cries. Violence begets violence. The sadness and frustration that characterize the children's lives can be seen, as a 12 year old boy, in a fit of anger, stomps on a younger street girl.
One thinks of these kids as young adults. However, a photo such as the one in which Areeg sucks his thumb at the Ciresarii Juvenile Detention Facility is a painful reminder that these children are still just that - children.
Perhaps the most remarkable part of this story is that the children, even though they are abandoned and often scorned, still have a large store of love.
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