11 August, 2010

Child Labour – Lack of Compassion

Imagined not being able to move,
One place and so strongly grooved,
No play
No pen
Only soreness and soft small hands handling it all
..at the humble age
Losing innocence…
In every bit of
…difficult breath and bread..!


Definition of Child Labour that UNICFF, states is as follow:
Child labour as work that exceeds a minimum number of hours, depending on the age of a child and on the type of work. Such work is considered harmful to the child and should therefore be eliminated.
Ages 5-11: At least one hour of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week.
Ages 12-14: At least 14 hours of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week.
Ages 15-17: At least 43 hours of economic or domestic work per week.

A complete setback for me indeed!
An eight year old kid works for around 28hours per week. I never did.
Being at that humble age, I enjoyed my childhood in playing merrily with friends and going school.
But not every kid is lucky. It is believed that an estimated 158 million children aged 5-14 are engaged in child labour that is one in six children in the world!

sad child @ sam
“I’m very bad in making sad pictures. You need to have sadness from within to do that I suppose...”
sad child @ SAM


Million of children all around the world are working illegally, hampering their studies and risking their health. They are forcefully asked to work in mines, cracker making factories, glass bottle making workshops, small tea stalls and even some dealing in doing household works for 24/7.

-Many a times, the children are asked to work because they belong to the very poor families and are in utmost need of money.
-However, there are many other cases where children are forced to do work as no other person in family can or would work that are they are unemployed or underemployed.
-Perhaps there are also few unfortunate children whose parents are not there; hence the children enroll in to labour for the survival.
-Though, there are also some children who get sold to a manufacturer and they are forced into working.

Desperate for a secure job and income the children are often misused by the one who offer jobs, because children are cheaper, innocent and easier to exploit.

In short, those children have no choice but to shun to study and toil in work.
-Losing the kid’s heart desires and yearn…forced to earn.
They had to work which would not suit their age nor shall be apt for their healthy living. The children working in the glass-bottles making workshops, have to inhale a lots of poisonous gases. Children are engaged in hazardous situations or conditions, who work in cracker making factories or mines.

_The irony is that this work/labour capture against a continuum, from work that is favorable, promoting or enhancing a child’s development without interfering with schooling, recreation and rest to work that is simply caustic or exploitative.
-Indeed there is a huge gap between labour and child development.

For example:
-How would making match-sticks help in the children development or enhance their future!?
-Will working as a servant in different houses, help him/her to up build the career or bright future!?

Labour and the child development/studying are infinite paths and completely two different poles. They cannot be submerged or zing together. It is at the most vicious end, where children are used as implicit slaves to repay debts incurred by their parents.

We see everyday at every hook and corner of the city, where the children are forced to toil under adverse condition. Those burdens with domestic chores and chaos are devastatingly girls.
_Millions of girls who work as domestic servants are particularly exposed to exploitation and abuse. Those are beaten, verbally abused and mentally tortured at the highs of insanity.

Okay now reflect upon this…
..have you worked non-stop washing clothes, than dusting, latter going to market to buy stuff, coming back taking care to kids and then latter again washing dishes and the wheel of work goes on and on. You might feel exhausted for working non-stop without taking a break and above all not getting a penny out of it. Same happens in reality with such humble little children working in the factories non-stop. They are complete worn out with work and their life. The innocence is lost. Perhaps, a cheering childhood is lost into the chaos of labour.

~Wonder, what the downright logic is behind having children to work at home and take care of your kids!


They are struggling hard to survive and straggling to work hard with their soft tiny hands. The situation is already bad let not make it worst.
Child labour at many grounds shall exist despite if all the arguments and logic.
“I choose here to do the Things Right than just doing Right Things..”


  • Labour makes children dependent and utterly reliant. At the practical note, let’s not give money in hands of parent of the children who are working. Such free income from children to the parents only promotes parents to repeat such ugly acts with all their kids and continue such habits. Lets make an account of fix-deposit money in the bank in the name of the child, so that he/she can asses the money for his/her development when grown up.
  • Labour often obstruct in the children’s education. Under no conditions or case, children education must not be blocked..work out something that helps in the development of the child.
  • Let’s educate the parents to make their children educated and provide them better lifestyle. It’s not just only money that actually decides the right kind of the life-style yet there are many basic practices of living healthier life. Efforts are focused to stop such abuse, misuse of innocence.

~ Ensuring that all children go to school and that their education is of good quality with the salient amalgamation of healthy happy living are keys to prevent child labour. Lend your support to abolish child labour. _Let’s be more compassionate towards children!



NOTE:

  • The above sketch is specially created and contributed for this post by Samarjit Roy aka endowed artist SAM! Thanks so much buddy!
Every little step just reflects back and ripple beckon back as waves in the water.
We tried in our way and will sure move forward with every tiny step we take!
  • This post follows further feedback and enhanced joint effort only to support as stimulator to spread awareness on 'child-labour' and reflect upon in bringing many new ideas and thoughts from my fellow blogger friends. ckeck LINK: Cloud of Child labour.
So be tuned :) WE DO NEED YOUR CONCRETE FEEDBACK!

10 comments:

  1. Child Labor is a shame to our society. The worst is that everyone knows about it but nothing is done and things do not improve. This is a great post for a great cause, Rachana!


    PS: the sketch is sad indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Campaign against child labour is only a political slogan which is not being followed up except for a short period before elections.My question is--if the authorities decide to regulate child labour, cant they?

    ReplyDelete
  3. So true, too few amongst us might even be helping our mothers in her household chores, and these little children toil all day long just for bread.
    They are being denied everything, above all, they are being denied their childhood.

    Nice post. The message needs to be spread.

    Regards
    Blasphemous Aesthete

    ReplyDelete
  4. @ Lena

    Yes! Lena this is really sad and the worst reflection of teh society!

    But then if we try somthing from the one we come across...we can sure make a little difference!
    Thanks for the prompt reply.
    The sketch is made my very talented friend of mine...true..the sketch actually potrays the best of thoughs and emotions!!
    ~ Keep the Spark ALive..

    ReplyDelete
  5. @ BK Chowla Sir

    So true..we got so many issue in this world and no single solution...that would actually cash on for the little ones dwelling for basics in life.

    However, i do support the new act that allows the kids from poor background get the reservations in all the prompt private and govt. schools :)

    This shall sure give some o then the good oppotunity to bring better change!

    ~ Keep the Spark ALive..

    ReplyDelete
  6. @ Blasphemous Aesthete

    Thanks buddy for spreading the same as an awareness for teh issue. It is really imp. to keep doing something evreyday...to see a change in certain way latter or sooner.


    ~Keep the Spark ALive..

    ReplyDelete
  7. Some times I wonder to draw a line between moral and immoral. Child labor sometimes becomes such a thing. There are many a children who takes up work to live in this harsh society. There are many a men (women, too) who will read this article, publicly ban child labor and then go abuse a child employed in the tea shop or at her home. This

    world is funny!!!

    hey, Thanks for publishing my pic. btw I'm not a sad person :P

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very very true, Rachana.. Child Labour should be eradicated for sure which would help the beautiful flowers to learn and color our environment..

    Who knows, by eradicating this we may get another Abdul Kalam also..

    It is all in our hand, a very good initiative..

    --Someone Is Special--

    ReplyDelete
  9. hi buddy

    I would like to respond to the two posts on child labour wid another post ., may be radical too...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi,
    I like to share with u that “When the lives and the rights of children are at stake, there must be no silent witnesses.”, Unless & until we do something practical, nothing is going to happen.Lets join hands together & spread the news of awareness.Save the future of each child we see in child labour. Do something for them,at least we each can try............!

    ReplyDelete

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