On a snowy night with temperatures dipping to a bone-chilling minus 26 degrees, a manhole cover was pushed open on a street in this capital city, releasing warm steam. Four teenage boys then climbed out of the hole.
They left home for various reasons, including poverty and domestic violence. Although reports say the number of manhole children has declined in recent years, new problems have surfaced, including homeless adults driving the children out of their only shelter in the brutal Mongolian winter or forcing them to commit crimes.
Not many grown-ups knew of this location, says Sukhbold, a 14-year-old who gulps down the soup offered by staff members of the Verbist Care Center, But recently, grown-ups have been coming here and beating up the children or demanding cash from them.
Sukhbold says he left his family home three or four years ago when his stepfather began to physically abuse him. He has been living underground for about a year, and spends his days collecting empty cans for change and buying bread with the little money he makes.
Sukhbold and the three other teenage boys say their underground residence offers them protection from the harsh elements. The heat from hot-water pipes connected to thermoelectric power plants produces underground temperatures of at least 20 degrees.
The nations economic struggles have been particularly harsh on rural areas. More adults are coming to Ulan Bator seeking work, but they often remain jobless, and some end up fighting the manhole children for the warmth of the underground shelters.
The Verbist Care Center distributes meals for street children once a week and cares for 120 children at the centre. They would like to expand their work… |
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