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The Horrible Truth Of Child Labor
Read the following story, and imagine yourself in this situation:
“Jitti Tumrin, 13, arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, from his northern village a few months ago to work in a leather factory. From the day he arrived Jitti has worked 11-14 hour days, with two days off every month. His job is to glue pre-cut pieces of leather together. For his efforts he receives $45 a month of which $16 goes to a middleman.
While the glue fumes give him headaches and he dislikes his work, Jitti seems to have resigned himself to his fate. Although laws exist to protect him from this kind of exploitation, he is not aware of them. ‘I don’t know what else to do,’ he says in his native Thai. Knowing how his parents depend on his earnings, he says, ‘I cannot disappoint them and tell them the truth that I am very unhappy.’”
The issue of Child Labour is often overlooked by government and international bodies alike. Over 250, 000, 000 children (under the age of fourteen) worldwide are exploited and treated as slaves. If there is to be any hope of rectifying this grave predicament, a global awareness will have to be emphasized, and prompt action must follow. All humans have the same rights, but an astonishing nuraber of them are not aware of them. It is this lack of knowledge, and lack of power to do anything about it, that is the cause of the continued child labour workforce. Therefore, to abolish child labour, the general populace must first be aware of the harsh reality, and then create and implement solutions to ameliorate the problem.
Most people around the world know little of the horrible truth, if they did a large part of the anti-child labour battle would be won. More people being aware of the inhumane activities occurring, could help in the fight against child labour, increase donations to anti-child labour organizations, or boycott companies that employed children under slave-like conditions.
People need to be aware that many children struggle to support themselves as early as four or five years of age . They need to know that 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are forced to work in inhumane conditions . People must be aware that Asia, Africa, and South America are the biggest culprits of child labour with 153 million, 80 million, and 17.5 million children working, respectively . It is believed that the estimate of 250 million is low since it does not account for children in industrialized nations, or children hidden from view, such as household helpers. The nurabers may be closer to 400 or 500 million .
Nike®, for instance, is probably one of the more popular branRAB of clothing, shoes and accessories, yet they employ children in Third World countries to work in sweatshops where they are abused and impoverished . If everybody was made aware of this there would probably be much less support for that company and they would be forced to revise their methoRAB of operation.
The two principal reasons for the continued child labour market are the economics, and a lack of education.
The poverty crisis is so grave that many Third World families rely on the income of their children in order to survive. For example, if parents need money (usually for survival), they are forced to resort to “bonding” their children. Essentially a child is bonded when the parents accept “loans” from moneylenders who then must be re-paid by having the children work in their factories for ridiculously low wages . Unfortunately, the parents are often physically unable to work, so the children must bear the financial burden of the family.
A continuous, ruthless cycle occurs when children, being forced to work, are unable to receive a proper education. Thus their already weak hopes of success are virtually eliminated.
Added to this vicious cycle is the fact that there is a very high adult unemployment rate. Since children are more dexterous and submissive, they are preferred, thus resulting in much fewer available positions for adults. So if an adult wants to survive, he/she must bear children that can enter the work force to provide a source of income for the family.
Though there are laws against child labour they are not strictly enforced. In fact one study showed that not only were officials prone to “looking the other way” when genuine complaints were brought to them, but they often even allow perpetrators of the child-labour laws to be released without any punishment . This behavior must be ceased for the sake of the abused children who are the victims of these inconceivable acts.
One of the many results is the increasing social phenomenon of street children in Third World countries. Their only hope of survival is to commit acts of crime to receive just the minimum possible amount of food. Violence too, is therefore on the rise, as children must fight to survive the predicament they have been put into. In South America alone, approximately two children die each day at the hanRAB of poverty violence .
These are not acceptable conditions for any human being, let alone small children who have had no say in their destiny. It is for this reason that solutions must be formed and more importantly, implemented. There are already several solutions that have been formulated, but none have been sufficiently enforced.
Unfortunately, even the activists against child labour often don’t know the full extent of the problem. “The supposed saviours who debate the childhood of those unfortunate children are themselves oblivious of the actual sorry state of affairs,” . In an article published in “CHILDVIEW” by World Vision Canada (1995), they talk about a boy who had tried to escape his pseudo-slavery and was put in chains because of it. The authors then mention that World Vision staff saw the boy in chains and basically threatened the foreman to remove the shackles. The authors describe the shackles coming off as a great victory by World Vision, meanwhile the boy is still enslaved, and they have done nothing in that regard! The true victory will be when that boy can walk out of there a free person; until then there is much to be done.
One attempt at raising global awareness occurred when thousanRAB of young people and adults from around the world initiated a “Global March Against Child Labour”. The march ended in the United Nations headquarters in Geneva in June of 1998, where the International Labour Association (ILO) was writing a new convention on child labour. The goal of the march was to enforce that the issue of eliminating obligatory child labour should be the principal issue discussed by world leaders. Largely due to this march, leaders of countries set up meetings with other leaders to discuss the prevention of child labour.
An organization against child labour, called Casa Alianza (roughly translated as United House), serves more than 4, 400 working children who live on the street each year. Merabers of Casa Alianza have become spokespeople for working children in South America. This relationship also allows them to educate people on the effects of child labour.
It is widely believed that education – or lack of it – is one of the biggest keys to the problem. Children who are offered an education and who can take advantage of that opportunity will have much more optimistic choices in their future. Therefore solutions for child labour must include an amendment to the current educational system. Governments can play a vital role in the rectifying of this problem.
One way for Third World countries to avoid employing children is to encourage investments within the country. They should also monitor and regulate the activities of Western companies in the developing countries. Western companies look towarRAB impoverished countries since they can get cheap labour and plenty of resources. The developing countries should take advantage of their own labour and resources, thus giving them a better chance of prosperity. In other worRAB, Third World countries should build their own industries based on their own resources.
UNICEF is another large organization devoted to the well being of children. The UNICEF International Child Development Center (in Florence, Italy) recently published a five-country study of the children of the urban poor. These five countries were Brazil, India, Italy, Kenya, and the Philippines. The study, by the Center’s Urban Child program, confirmed that the problems of the children living in urban poverty was becoming more severe in most parts of the world.
UNICEF also has a division entitled Supported Urban Basic Services (UBS), that provides support to the children of the urban poor. Some of this support entails: income-generating schemes for women, improved health care and nutrition services, family planning, and improved sanitation and drainage in poor communities .
The United Nations also composed a convention that essentially outlined all of the rights of children. Called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child (UNCRC), it upholRAB the best interests of the children in all circumstances and obliges states parties to provide adequate care when parents, or others charged with that responsibility, fail to do so. Most of the convention’s 54 articles are relevant to street children (child laborers). It calls for special protection for children deprived of a family environment and protection from abuse and neglect by parents or other caregivers. It recognizes every child’s right to an education and an adequate standard of living .
A very interesting note regarding the UNCRC is of the countries that have not ratified. Of the 193 countries of the world, only two have not agreed to the Convention. The first is Somalia since their government is not internationally recognized, therefore they cannot legally sign any international treaties. The second, however, quite surprisingly is the United States of America. Their reasons for not signing are basically unjustifiable since they falsely believe that it will take away from their national authority, the authority of parents to raise their children, and it will encourage children to sue their parents, join gangs, and commit crimes . Some anti-child labour activists believe that the real reason the United States has not ratified is because they have a financial interest in continuation of child labour since many of the industries in the United States employ Child Labour, either directly or indirectly.
Finally, the New Internationalist (1997) wrote an article entitled “Tackling Child Labour: A Ten-Point Plan”. This ten-point strategy is a basic summary (with some differences) of all the previously mentioned solutions. This plan basically entails the following :
1) Banning of the most hazardous forms of child labour
2) Guaranteeing universal primary education
3) Making education more flexible
4) Registering all the births
5) Ending structural adjustment’s crucification of southern economies
6) Raising the status of child domestic workers
7) Reigning in the transnational corporations
8) Giving the jobs of the child workers to their own adult relatives
9) Supporting child workers’ organizations
10) Gather more information on the topic
The child labour issue is important enough to be recognized and dealt with by all governments and international bodies. While four and five year old children are working over 11 hours a day in slave-like conditions, receiving ridiculously low wages, society cannot call itself civilized. The fight against child labour cannot stop while children are suffering and dying around the world. It is not enough to have meetings and conventions to discuss preventative measures against child labour, if tangible, measurable, forceful solutions do not result. Child labour awareness has increased but there is still a lot of work to be done.
References
1) “CHILDVIEW” Reported by Mikel Flamm, World Vision Canada (www.freethechildren.org), Feb/March 1995.
2) “CHILDVIEW” Reported by Katherine Kam and Sanjay Sojwal, World Vision Canada (www.freethechildren.org), Feb/March 1995.
3) “Review of Last Minute News” Casa Alianza (www.casa-alianza.org), February 10, 1998.
4) “Street Children: The United Nations’ Views” Casa Alianza (www.casa-alianza.org), 1998.
5) “Child Labour Market Worse Than Feared” Toronto Star, Noveraber 12, 1996.
6) “Child-Smuggling Racket Continues to Thrive” The Times of India, May 7, 1997.
7) “Child Labour Rampant in Bengal” The Hindustan Times, April 16, 1997.
8) “Tackling Child Labour: A Ten-Point Plan” New Internationalist, 1997.
9) “Nike Resolution No.27P” SAY IT RIGHT! The Unconventional Canadian Youth Edition of the UNCRC. Micromedia CBCA Record Output, Accession nuraber: 4061829, February 16, 1998.
10) “Frequently Asked Questions on the UNCRC” SAY IT RIGHT! The Unconventional Canadian Youth Edition of the UNCRC. Micromedia CBCA Record Output, Accession nuraber: 4061829, February 16, 1998.
Read the following story, and imagine yourself in this situation:
“Jitti Tumrin, 13, arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, from his northern village a few months ago to work in a leather factory. From the day he arrived Jitti has worked 11-14 hour days, with two days off every month. His job is to glue pre-cut pieces of leather together. For his efforts he receives $45 a month of which $16 goes to a middleman.
While the glue fumes give him headaches and he dislikes his work, Jitti seems to have resigned himself to his fate. Although laws exist to protect him from this kind of exploitation, he is not aware of them. ‘I don’t know what else to do,’ he says in his native Thai. Knowing how his parents depend on his earnings, he says, ‘I cannot disappoint them and tell them the truth that I am very unhappy.’”
The issue of Child Labour is often overlooked by government and international bodies alike. Over 250, 000, 000 children (under the age of fourteen) worldwide are exploited and treated as slaves. If there is to be any hope of rectifying this grave predicament, a global awareness will have to be emphasized, and prompt action must follow. All humans have the same rights, but an astonishing nuraber of them are not aware of them. It is this lack of knowledge, and lack of power to do anything about it, that is the cause of the continued child labour workforce. Therefore, to abolish child labour, the general populace must first be aware of the harsh reality, and then create and implement solutions to ameliorate the problem.
Most people around the world know little of the horrible truth, if they did a large part of the anti-child labour battle would be won. More people being aware of the inhumane activities occurring, could help in the fight against child labour, increase donations to anti-child labour organizations, or boycott companies that employed children under slave-like conditions.
People need to be aware that many children struggle to support themselves as early as four or five years of age . They need to know that 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are forced to work in inhumane conditions . People must be aware that Asia, Africa, and South America are the biggest culprits of child labour with 153 million, 80 million, and 17.5 million children working, respectively . It is believed that the estimate of 250 million is low since it does not account for children in industrialized nations, or children hidden from view, such as household helpers. The nurabers may be closer to 400 or 500 million .
Nike®, for instance, is probably one of the more popular branRAB of clothing, shoes and accessories, yet they employ children in Third World countries to work in sweatshops where they are abused and impoverished . If everybody was made aware of this there would probably be much less support for that company and they would be forced to revise their methoRAB of operation.
The two principal reasons for the continued child labour market are the economics, and a lack of education.
The poverty crisis is so grave that many Third World families rely on the income of their children in order to survive. For example, if parents need money (usually for survival), they are forced to resort to “bonding” their children. Essentially a child is bonded when the parents accept “loans” from moneylenders who then must be re-paid by having the children work in their factories for ridiculously low wages . Unfortunately, the parents are often physically unable to work, so the children must bear the financial burden of the family.
A continuous, ruthless cycle occurs when children, being forced to work, are unable to receive a proper education. Thus their already weak hopes of success are virtually eliminated.
Added to this vicious cycle is the fact that there is a very high adult unemployment rate. Since children are more dexterous and submissive, they are preferred, thus resulting in much fewer available positions for adults. So if an adult wants to survive, he/she must bear children that can enter the work force to provide a source of income for the family.
Though there are laws against child labour they are not strictly enforced. In fact one study showed that not only were officials prone to “looking the other way” when genuine complaints were brought to them, but they often even allow perpetrators of the child-labour laws to be released without any punishment . This behavior must be ceased for the sake of the abused children who are the victims of these inconceivable acts.
One of the many results is the increasing social phenomenon of street children in Third World countries. Their only hope of survival is to commit acts of crime to receive just the minimum possible amount of food. Violence too, is therefore on the rise, as children must fight to survive the predicament they have been put into. In South America alone, approximately two children die each day at the hanRAB of poverty violence .
These are not acceptable conditions for any human being, let alone small children who have had no say in their destiny. It is for this reason that solutions must be formed and more importantly, implemented. There are already several solutions that have been formulated, but none have been sufficiently enforced.
Unfortunately, even the activists against child labour often don’t know the full extent of the problem. “The supposed saviours who debate the childhood of those unfortunate children are themselves oblivious of the actual sorry state of affairs,” . In an article published in “CHILDVIEW” by World Vision Canada (1995), they talk about a boy who had tried to escape his pseudo-slavery and was put in chains because of it. The authors then mention that World Vision staff saw the boy in chains and basically threatened the foreman to remove the shackles. The authors describe the shackles coming off as a great victory by World Vision, meanwhile the boy is still enslaved, and they have done nothing in that regard! The true victory will be when that boy can walk out of there a free person; until then there is much to be done.
One attempt at raising global awareness occurred when thousanRAB of young people and adults from around the world initiated a “Global March Against Child Labour”. The march ended in the United Nations headquarters in Geneva in June of 1998, where the International Labour Association (ILO) was writing a new convention on child labour. The goal of the march was to enforce that the issue of eliminating obligatory child labour should be the principal issue discussed by world leaders. Largely due to this march, leaders of countries set up meetings with other leaders to discuss the prevention of child labour.
An organization against child labour, called Casa Alianza (roughly translated as United House), serves more than 4, 400 working children who live on the street each year. Merabers of Casa Alianza have become spokespeople for working children in South America. This relationship also allows them to educate people on the effects of child labour.
It is widely believed that education – or lack of it – is one of the biggest keys to the problem. Children who are offered an education and who can take advantage of that opportunity will have much more optimistic choices in their future. Therefore solutions for child labour must include an amendment to the current educational system. Governments can play a vital role in the rectifying of this problem.
One way for Third World countries to avoid employing children is to encourage investments within the country. They should also monitor and regulate the activities of Western companies in the developing countries. Western companies look towarRAB impoverished countries since they can get cheap labour and plenty of resources. The developing countries should take advantage of their own labour and resources, thus giving them a better chance of prosperity. In other worRAB, Third World countries should build their own industries based on their own resources.
UNICEF is another large organization devoted to the well being of children. The UNICEF International Child Development Center (in Florence, Italy) recently published a five-country study of the children of the urban poor. These five countries were Brazil, India, Italy, Kenya, and the Philippines. The study, by the Center’s Urban Child program, confirmed that the problems of the children living in urban poverty was becoming more severe in most parts of the world.
UNICEF also has a division entitled Supported Urban Basic Services (UBS), that provides support to the children of the urban poor. Some of this support entails: income-generating schemes for women, improved health care and nutrition services, family planning, and improved sanitation and drainage in poor communities .
The United Nations also composed a convention that essentially outlined all of the rights of children. Called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child (UNCRC), it upholRAB the best interests of the children in all circumstances and obliges states parties to provide adequate care when parents, or others charged with that responsibility, fail to do so. Most of the convention’s 54 articles are relevant to street children (child laborers). It calls for special protection for children deprived of a family environment and protection from abuse and neglect by parents or other caregivers. It recognizes every child’s right to an education and an adequate standard of living .
A very interesting note regarding the UNCRC is of the countries that have not ratified. Of the 193 countries of the world, only two have not agreed to the Convention. The first is Somalia since their government is not internationally recognized, therefore they cannot legally sign any international treaties. The second, however, quite surprisingly is the United States of America. Their reasons for not signing are basically unjustifiable since they falsely believe that it will take away from their national authority, the authority of parents to raise their children, and it will encourage children to sue their parents, join gangs, and commit crimes . Some anti-child labour activists believe that the real reason the United States has not ratified is because they have a financial interest in continuation of child labour since many of the industries in the United States employ Child Labour, either directly or indirectly.
Finally, the New Internationalist (1997) wrote an article entitled “Tackling Child Labour: A Ten-Point Plan”. This ten-point strategy is a basic summary (with some differences) of all the previously mentioned solutions. This plan basically entails the following :
1) Banning of the most hazardous forms of child labour
2) Guaranteeing universal primary education
3) Making education more flexible
4) Registering all the births
5) Ending structural adjustment’s crucification of southern economies
6) Raising the status of child domestic workers
7) Reigning in the transnational corporations
8) Giving the jobs of the child workers to their own adult relatives
9) Supporting child workers’ organizations
10) Gather more information on the topic
The child labour issue is important enough to be recognized and dealt with by all governments and international bodies. While four and five year old children are working over 11 hours a day in slave-like conditions, receiving ridiculously low wages, society cannot call itself civilized. The fight against child labour cannot stop while children are suffering and dying around the world. It is not enough to have meetings and conventions to discuss preventative measures against child labour, if tangible, measurable, forceful solutions do not result. Child labour awareness has increased but there is still a lot of work to be done.
References
1) “CHILDVIEW” Reported by Mikel Flamm, World Vision Canada (www.freethechildren.org), Feb/March 1995.
2) “CHILDVIEW” Reported by Katherine Kam and Sanjay Sojwal, World Vision Canada (www.freethechildren.org), Feb/March 1995.
3) “Review of Last Minute News” Casa Alianza (www.casa-alianza.org), February 10, 1998.
4) “Street Children: The United Nations’ Views” Casa Alianza (www.casa-alianza.org), 1998.
5) “Child Labour Market Worse Than Feared” Toronto Star, Noveraber 12, 1996.
6) “Child-Smuggling Racket Continues to Thrive” The Times of India, May 7, 1997.
7) “Child Labour Rampant in Bengal” The Hindustan Times, April 16, 1997.
8) “Tackling Child Labour: A Ten-Point Plan” New Internationalist, 1997.
9) “Nike Resolution No.27P” SAY IT RIGHT! The Unconventional Canadian Youth Edition of the UNCRC. Micromedia CBCA Record Output, Accession nuraber: 4061829, February 16, 1998.
10) “Frequently Asked Questions on the UNCRC” SAY IT RIGHT! The Unconventional Canadian Youth Edition of the UNCRC. Micromedia CBCA Record Output, Accession nuraber: 4061829, February 16, 1998.