Beaten and discarded, Congo street children are strangers to mining boom

By Aaron Ross KINSHASA (Reuters) - Kevin Lusongo has been on the streets since he was 11. He sleeps on a piece of cardboard in an unlit parking lot in a poor neighborhood of Kinshasa, behind trucks he hopes can shield him from view. Some nights he's unlucky. Recently police came looking for a stolen handbag and beat him up when they didn't find it, said the boy, who's now 14. Then there are the older children. "Often when you sleep, the others come and burn your feet with (flaming) plastic bags," he said. "The oldest will see you and take your money. If you complain, they beat you severely.