Children who Work
According to Unicef estimates, one in six children (158 million) aged 5-14 are engaged in child labor. These kids aren't working at the local shopping center. Rather, they sell goods on the street, clean houses, or work in small factories and stay away from the watchful eye of local law enforcement or inspectors.
Despite being considered exploitative by many organizations and countries, child labor is still common and occurs in countries like India and Guatemala, as well as the United States and the U.K.
The problem of child labor is complex and stems from adult poverty. For many poor families, working children contribute much needed income that prevents their family from falling deeper into poverty. Product boycotts and factory raids over child labor can sometimes prove more harmful as children turn to more dangerous jobs like mining and prostitution to earn money.
Slate Magazine's Today in Pictures captures images of working children dating back to 1942. What's most striking to me is how young and tiny some of the children are in the photos. I'm used to seeing adults performing the jobs that these small children are doing.
Digg
Facebook
Google Buzz
LinkedIn
StumbleUpon
Twitter
Printer-friendly version
Comments
The Street Children of Sierra Leone
Al Jazeera recently did an interesting segment on one man's work towards helping the poor and forgotten street children of Sierra Leone. Armed with only a camera, Paul Williams traveled across Sierra Leone documenting the lives of the country's impoverished children.
Many parents will often send
Many parents will often send their children to ask for money in trains or out on the street, since they figure people will be more likely to give to children because they are so young. In crowded cities like Athens and Rome, kids no older than four or five (rather aggressively) try to pawn off fresh roses to tourists while the children's parents stand off to the side waiting to pocket the money. I once witnessed a little boy playing an accordion as he made his way through the subway cars, taking coins mostly from guilty American tourists.
In addition to asking for money, children will often assist their parents in petty thievery. Younger children will act as distractions while their older siblings or parents reach hands into pockets or bags, all clearing out before the individual has had a chance to realize they've been robbed.
It's a troubling situation, combining wanting to help the families of these children by giving them money, at the same time as condoning sending unaccompanied toddlers out into the streets to beg for "their share" of the family income.
Child labour
When concerned with the matter of child labour focus seems to put on the parents role, sending their children to work, depriving them from education and the right "to be a child". As stated above a family many times do not have any other choice, then to send their children into labour. Families where one parent has passed away conduct will say that the eldest child of the family shall take over this position (a conduct usually derived, because it being a necessity of action).
It is of course always a view that, countries where child labour is common, parents need to realize that education is important and can be (is not always) a future investment. Attitude and respect towards the right of children. Yes, implemented laws are important in order to change this attitude, but generally laws are not willingly broken against, sometimes families do not have any choice. It is in my view a lazy approach (as always) to target child labour from family perspective. Important though is to focus on factories which employ child labour.
Generally it is or if it is not, should be a governmental concern, to stop child labour. Poverty is a depriving measure of societal structure. Children should not work, but more importantly they should not have to work, parents should not have to send their children to work. Education should be easier to access and companies should be more attentive on how the working sphere of factories are.
Post new comment