This may sound callous, but it is a common sight here in India. When I was living in a hostel in New Delhi, India's capital, I had to travel by train frequently as I had to spend all my vacations in my home town about 250 kms (156 miles) away.

Just before entering New Delhi's railway station, there are a lot of slums. The plight of the kids there was abysmal. With the barest minimum clothing covering their privates, (some weren't even that fortunate) these kids roam on the tracks.

Similarly, here in Chandigarh too we have slums (infact, they are present in each city of India) and the sight there makes my heart cry out in pain.

The BeaStKid

This was nothing half as bad as starving children. Not that none of this would happen in France, but though abuse occurs, and even malnutrition (more quality than quantity anyway), when you see people in distress, they're usually adults. Though the time I saw an ex-student from the school I worked in panhandling --I'd known him from ages 10 to 16-- and apparently inebriated at 10 in the morning, I had quite a shock.

For the guys in the train, they could have been delinquent (petty thieves or something), but what struck me, compared to other "juvenile delinquents" you can meet, and who look like they don't give a crap, was they really looked scared when I saw them sitting in the train.