Emmanuel is from Sierra Leone. He ended up living on the streets and soon found himself in a remand home (juvenile detention centre).
Emmanuel (15) was living with his mother. His father works over 150 miles away. She found it difficult to look after him and he ended up living on the streets. He found some work with a truck driver. But he wasn’t paid a salary. To make money, he and his friends stole the windscreen and break lights of the truck and sold them. Three of them were arrested. The other two were sent to the maximum-security (adult) prison, as they are over 17 and Emmanuel was sent to the remand home.
The system in Sierra Leone demands that a relative attends court before a young person can be tried. While it is a good idea to have relatives present in court when possible, many young people who get into trouble with the law in Sierra Leone have little contact with their families, often because their parents have already died. This restriction means that the process is slowed down and young people spend more time in detention.
Emmanuel's brother has been visiting him and even went to court with him, but was told he was too young to bail him. Although his mother knows he is in the remand home, she doesn’t turn up to court appearances. Because of this, Emmanuel thinks he will probably remain in the remand home indefinitely.
